joy upon joy

this has been my favorite commission lately:  "the windhover" by gerard manley hopkins.  it was with extreme joy and purpose that i answered the email requesting this text to be hand-lettered for someone who was going through a hard time.

the person requesting the artwork wondered if i was familiar with hopkins' poetry... i responded that not only was i familiar with him, but that he was my favorite poet of all times and that it so happened i have this particular poem memorized (the recitation was a gift for my late grandfather, whose name, i later discovered, meant 'falcon', the bird hopkins employs as a Christ metaphor).

i set to work immediately creating this piece that has since gone to live with someone i have never met but whom i hope takes great joy, comfort, and encouragement from both the images and the text.