Calligram in Your Soul

This is a calligram using lyrics from one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, "Birdhouse in Your Soul," by They Might Be Giants. A calligram, if I can loosely and haphazardly define it, is an image made with words and letters. In my Lettering & Typography class, the assignment was to create an image with either poetry or song lyrics, and after banging my head around songs that were too abstract (like ELO's "Twilight"), it all came together when I went back to sweet lovin' TMBG. It's partially influenced by a bird calligram written in Islamic. My lettering is kind of ass, I know, but I'm reaally happy with the way it all came together.

The ink is cyan darkened with a couple of drops of black, and its done with a calligraphy nib no. 3, a "spoon" nib, and a little brushwork in the tail/M.

Birdhouse In Your Soul lyrics Copyright 1990, They Might Be Giants.