Love Letters: Moira Milne
Through February, we’ve been asking local creatives to send us love letters. They can be about anything or anyone. So far, I’ve loved the variety and the interpretations of this project which showcases our different perspectives and our capacity for love out-with the realms of romantic love.
Today, Moira Milne has a love letter to share with us - but first, a little about the artist:
“A graduate of Grays School of Art and for almost 30 years, teacher of Art and Design; since retirement, local artist Moira Milne has worked on a variety of Charity based projects including the 20 for 20 Anchor Trail in 2017, and the 2019 Oor Wullie Big Bucket Trail.
In 2020 she had her first solo exhibition. She mainly produces linear pen and ink studies, portraits and batik and textiles pieces which reflect her life long passion for working in fabric and love of the sea and natural form.
Each piece of work begins as a pen and ink study originating from the artists observations, experiences and memories. Drawings are then transferred on silk to be developed into batik (painting on silk with melted wax and dyes) or textile collage using recycled fabrics with the addition of beading and hand and machine embroidery. Portraits are mainly executed using acrylics.
Moira can be found on Instagram @momilne or on her Facebook page Art4ArtSake by Moira Milne.”
Moira Milne has written a wonderful love letter to the humble pen. This letter, normally contained to the confines of the instagram post, was a little too long for a caption but I couldn’t bring myself to cut even a single word from it. So here it is:
“Dear Pen.
Have I ever told you how much I appreciate and need you? My earliest memories of holding you were when I was poorly and off school. I must have been quite young, I remember a small bed. My mother came in and handed you to me along with some white paper. I held you and began to make some small blue marks. Gaining confidence I created swirling shapes, dots and jagged lines. At such an early age, I had experienced no better feeling than the sensation of you flowing across the smooth surface as my arm moved stimulating sight and brain, so much so that when I ran out of paper I used the pillow case and sheets. This gave a different sensation, I had to press harder, the surface was more textured to work on. Fascinated I couldn’t stop frenetically creating overlapping circles again and again building up layers of darkening blue shapes. Reflecting, I wonder if this is why blue is my favourite colour.
Something else to thank you for unlike the cross words that came from my mother as she gazed at the once white bedding covered in inky blue marks. Fearless, I was determined to draw with you again and soon I was experimenting on the plastic surfaces of my dolls faces. I will never forget the amazing smooth gliding sensation as I created an army of tattooed warriors.
From those early days, I have been forever grateful for being introduced to you. You are my drug, my good drug. Throughout my school days, you were a great friend and companion, you kept me sane throughout the madness of teenage years. I chose you to be present in all art exams. At Grays you were a constant while I experimented with other mediums and as I graduated in Sculpture and Ceramics you were still there to help me draw onto and press into clay.
On many occasions, during almost 30 years of teaching Art and Design I introduced you to my students hoping that some, would fall in love with you as I have.
Whether you come in ink or acrylic form, nib, felt, ball, black or coloured I find working with you across different textured surfaces to be intoxicating.
Since retirement I have used you more and more. I now have many boxes filled with different varieties of you, you never cease to cheer me up, keep me positive and give me new and renewed experiences. I feel privileged to have you in my life. You have been and still are a constant and I couldn’t live without you.
Thank you dear pen for all that you have given me. With much love from your humble servant.
Moira Milne."
Thank you for sharing with us Moira!
Kirsty xo