Books, Art, and the Ordinary
Telling stories has always been a huge part of my life. Not that I was necessarily the one telling them, but the stories I read were especially important to me growing up. I loved books and reading, and it was rare to find me without a book in my hand. When I started school, I’d read between classes, and sometimes I’d even read during recess. And while I had a lot of friends growing up, we also moved a lot, and my books became my constant. Books were important to me, and good storytelling even more so.
Books weren’t the only things I found that told stories. I was a pretty artistic child and art was always my favorite subject in school. During my other classes, you could find me drawing in a notebook or experimenting with different letterforms. While I didn’t explicitly realize how art conveyed stories until I was much older, I knew there was something meaningful in art. I loved the process of creating, learning about different mediums, and discovering how those mediums would affect the final piece. This is how I came to realize that not all stories have plots; some stories are conveyed through visual emotion and through the significance behind a work of art.
I believe that we all have stories to tell. I once coordinated a library event with a local retirement community. They brought in a speaker to talk about how to and what it meant to share your life stories with your children. Several years back, the retirement community had compiled a book filled with stories that their residents had written about their lives. The speaker read a few samples, and they were nothing significant – just simple stories about ordinary days in their lives – and yet at the same time, they were so profound and revealed so much about the people who wrote them. These seemingly innocuous moments in these peoples’ lives told so much about the time in which they lived, their family life, and what was important to them.
These stories don’t even need to be told explicitly. Just as art can tell a story, so can just about any object of significance. This is demonstrated in the concept of heirlooms. Heirlooms can be anything – a photo album, a desk or piece of furniture, artwork, jewelry, or even something as ordinary as plates or silverware. What makes these seemingly ordinary objects special are the stories and meaning behind them. Heirlooms connect us to our ancestors – many times people we don’t even know personally, but who are connected to us by blood. Heirlooms display the humanity of our ancestors, giving us an insight into their lives.
Heirlooms and Family Storytelling
During the library event I mentioned earlier, one senior commented, “But my family doesn’t want to hear my stories. They don’t ask me about my life or how I grew up or what it was like.” People make many excuses to not tell their stories, and I would say the myth of disinterest is the most egregious – let alone faulty logic. Here’s the thing: most people simply don’t know how to ask! I know I didn’t, and I would have loved to hear more stories from my grandparents’ lives. The stories I did hear gave me so much insight into who my grandparents were. They gave me a sense of connection to them and brought me closer to them.
Family storytelling is so important for your children. According to a study done in 2001, “the more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.” Because they were aware of the ups and downs their family went through, they knew they could handle what came their way and had a greater sense of belonging to their family. Additionally, telling family stories and reminiscing with your children has also been shown to have many of the same benefits of reading books to your children. It can help your children to empathize with others, learn to cope with difficulties, and better craft their own narratives.
Heirlooms are a natural opening for telling stories of your life. They give insight into how ancestors lived and what they valued. As heirlooms are passed from family member to family member, so do the stories behind those objects and the significance or importance of those objects.
If you are looking for a unique way to tell your story, consider custom calligraphy. Each piece is a work of art that not only conveys the emotion of your story, but may even tell a portion of your story with the words that are written. Memories of significant events (from wedding invitations to vow inscription), family tree artwork (more coming on that in a few weeks), or meaningful poems and Bible passages can all be preserved with calligraphy to be cherished and displayed as a family heirloom.
The wonderful thing about calligraphy – something that uses words and art to tell stories – is that it intrinsically will invoke questions, give you something to talk about, and help you pass on your legacy.
