Ever wonder what kind of life students have outside of the studio? When we’re not being drowned by deadlines, what do we choose to do to fulfill our life? Perhaps some beautiful calligraphy, or even running a small business? We know someone who accomplishes both.
This month, we’re unearthing this inconspicuous hobby of a 1A student – Michael Salib!
“I think words are so beautiful; and also for me, I try to have a lot of art as well, not just words. So I’ll do illustrations, or I’ll make the words really artistic. I think there’s such beauty in words. And sure, I do agree that sometimes things without words convey a lot because you’re not actually putting the words there; you’re interpreting it yourself, but I also think that words bring so much emotion. I was at a coffee shop in Egypt during my last visit, and they had this brick wall with just ‘Life is short. Enjoy it,’ and I was like, ‘Ah, yes!’ So, I would just say my favorite part is bringing words to life.”
Like the start of many stories, Michael was introduced to this through one of his friends. When his Secret Santa wish never came true, he was gifted with a set of brush pens for his birthday in February instead; and the rest is history.
Naturally, these series of events fell in line with quarantine, but there’s nothing better than starting a new pursuit in the middle of a pandemic.
“I thought, ‘okay, I have the time and I’ll start a little Instagram page’. And I was taking part in a challenge where I did a piece every day for the month of April. Then once people could see what I was posting, some of them started asking for things that they wanted to buy; and so I would do little custom things over the summer. And now, over reading week, I’ve been working on a few that I’m hoping to get printed.”
Something Michael emphasizes is to not get worked up overproducing content on a tight schedule. After all, it is a hobby! Whether you do it every day, once a week, or even less than that, it should be a creative outlet. So don’t put pressure on yourself! With school in the mix now, he admitted that the last time he made something was 4 weeks prior.
“Probably the last time before reading week I had done something, was maybe 4 weeks before. But I think that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be the number one priority, at least for me. […] I just go with the flow. When I do something, I post it, but I’m not like ‘I have to post every week’.”
Michael draws his inspiration from all sorts of places, but his top source would have to be nature! He is inspired by the beautiful array of colors seen in the fall and in the starry sky.
“Another thing I really want to do is to go somewhere where there’s no light pollution at all at night, and just stargaze. And I need, I NEED to go there, because I’m so inspired by the galaxies and stars and colors.”
And when we gave him the freedom to choose his own studio spot, he responded with a colorful answer:
“It would definitely have to be somewhere outside! Imagine me in a Finnish hotel at night; and the hotel has glass walls… at night to see the northern lights above me.”
Some of us might have asked ourselves if our hobby will ever take off and make us famous. Michael doesn’t pressure himself in this way: a hobby is a hobby. It’s supposed to be fun! And if it’s not, it’s work.
I definitely see it going places […] I would love to get into some wedding business and create those signs that [say] ‘Welcome to the wedding of blank and blank’. But I don’t see it being huge. I think the charm is still having it small; because if it’s too big it might add another level of stress and it defeats the whole purpose. […] But maybe if it does become a big source of income, would it still be a hobby anymore?”
To all those interested in getting in calligraphy, here are some advice from Michael;
“I would definitely recommend just starting with what you have. [When] my friend bought me brush pens for my birthday, I wasn’t like ‘Okay, now I’m doing calligraphy; I need to have all the supplies.” But no, you can literally just start with a pen and paper, and just do that faux calligraphy. You don’t need to have everything. You can even do the same with ‘real calligraphy,’ with Crayola markers that you have lying around. So, I would say start small; […] practice with what you have and then you can start growing and buying more. But also, it’s important to remember that your level of skill is not dependent on the quality of the product you are using. Because you can have a really good product; but if your skills aren’t developed. you won’t be using them to their full potential. […] The products just work to enhance what you have to bring to the table.”
So have faith in yourself, keep practicing, and pursue your passions! When we asked him how he would convince someone to join him, he simply said, “Why would anyone say no?”
Follow Michael on Instagram @mikewrites_
Leave a Reply