Map of Poland
In 2006 I was commissioned by the London Assembly to inscribe The Book of Commitment for Holocaust Memorial Day so I equally thrilled to be invited to contribute to the “memory quilt” project. As a professional calligrapher with many years‘ experience of working on a range of commissions , I loved the idea of being able to use my skills to work on something so meaningful. Although I knew it would not be easy to successfully combine a pre-war map of Poland with 350 names to create a pleasing image, I had no idea quite how much of a challenge, nor how moving an experience it would be.When I decided to create the shape of the country with the names, I had to plan it all meticulously to ensure every name was included. No easy task. Then came the actual writing using a broad-edged pen and 5 different paints in “earth” colours. I wanted to give each individual their due respect so changed the colour for each person as I wrote along the line. In consequence my progress was slow and on average only managed 15 names an hour! However it was well worth it to once again be able to play a small part in both commemorating and celebrating the lives of this group of holocaust survivors.
Cherrell Avery
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