I drew this when we were driving back to San José from Puerto Viejo. I've been listening to a lot of Shabba Ranks, Damien Marley, and the likes lately and keep hearing "divided we stand, united we fall" in the lyrics of these Jamaican artists. I'd never really contemplated this phrase I've heard all my life as an American student until now— maybe because it feels astonishingly relevant at this moment in our society, with the division in our country unbearable, suffocating, and encouraged almost daily by our leader(s). I had this image of letters hand-carved into hand-made stone and concrete churches and schools. Maybe I saw a lot of that on the Caribbean coast or maybe it was on my mind from the constant parade of news images of Hurricane Irma engulfing the Caribbean islands. Anyways, I wanted to recreate the sharpness of those letters. I was picturing something resembling United Sans, but my chubby pen didn't allow for the crisp edges I envisioned. It still felt really empowering for some reason to meditate on and gain some gratitude for this concept.
My sketchbook drawings/documentation from Costa Rica plus some calligraphy practice.