Word Art

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Most of my ambigrams are either Name Art or Greeting Cards. But sometimes I will be inspired to try other words or phrases. Below is a list of Word Art that I have drawn, with partial thumbnail images as reference. More will be added to this list as my collection grows. (Prices not yet determined unless otherwise noted. But you may make an offer. A required minimum of $5 U.S. Dollars will cover postage and handling for deliveries within the U.S. and most areas outside the U.S. Overnight delivery is extra.)

Rotational or Reflective Art -- I have two types of rotational art in my collection. The pieces marked "r" can be turned 180 degrees and still be read the same. Those marked "c" are 180-degree rotational ambigrams that form an infinite chain (other than arranged in a ring). Drawings marked "q" (for "quarter turn") are 90-degree rotational ambigrams, where the featured letters become a different set of letters when turned to the side, usually as an acrostic (sort of like an acronym or initialism). Reflective, or "bilateral" ambigrams can be viewed the same left-to-right, as in an upright mirror (marked "b"), or top-for-bottom, as though off the surface of a lake (marked "l"). When "symbiotograms" are added to my collection, where one word or phrase becomes a different word or phrase when viewed from a new perspective, I will mark them as follows: "sr" - when rotated 180 degrees; "sq" - when rotated 90 degrees; "sb" - bilateral, as though reflected in an upright mirror; or "sl" - bilateral, as though reflected off the surface of a lake.

Figure/Ground Art -- marked "fg" -- is a cousin to the ambigram. The background, or "empty space" between the more obvious shapes, also forms shapes that can be clearly recognized as its own, separate picture. The advantage to this is that the artwork does not need to be turned or flipped for the viewer to see both images. M. C. Escher is famous for his animal shaped tessellations -- the lizards and/or birds, among other shapes, that fit together so that there is no space left empty.

Perception Shift (or "Oscillation") -- marked "o" -- is another type of ambigram that does not need to be turned to view both words or phrases. In this type of ambigram, the viewer may perceive more than one possible word or phrase from the shapes presented. For example, see below for a partial thumbnail of my drawing for Genesis 3:19 (Scriptural Word Art section, first row, third column). You might look at the strung together letter shapes and see the word "YOU," or you might discern that they form "DU" from the word "dust." In either case, you are correct.

Three-Dimensional Art

r - Coin Banks

Clean, recycled containers -- such as plastic peanut butter jars, 'very large' blue prescription bottles, etc. -- decorated with labels bearing ambigrams of the words "pennies," "nickels," "dimes," and "quarters." You can help save the earth while saving your change! Limited supply -- see "Quantity In Stock" before ordering.

r - Pocket Tissue Packs

Pocket-sized packet of facial tissue bears the ambigram "Feel Better Soon," as featured on the greeting card of the same title.

Two-Dimensional Art

Scriptural Word Art

In the list above, the 90-degree rotational ambigrams include a pair of parallel lines to emphasize the "anchor" word or phrase in the acrostic, and are available in different formats as follows:

=> Gift Giving Ideas <=

If you wish to give Psalm 139:14 as a gift for the family of a new baby, I can include the baby's name and date of birth on the design for you. The 8.5" x 11" card stock can be trimmed to fit 8" x 10" frame or mat; the 5.5" x 8.5" card stock can be trimmed to fit 5" x 7" frame or mat. (Framing not included. Please confirm the spelling and date before placing your order, as there are no refunds for incorrect information as provided by you.) Option A: Regular hand-written-style lettering at no extra charge; Option B: Ambigram-style lettering for an extra $1 per name, whether individual ambigrams or 'symbiotic' ambigrams. (Example: first, middle, and last = 3 names = $3. Special pricing applies only to this offer.)

"In Memorium" Triptych - If your 5x7 photo of your loved one will be displayed in the left opening of the three-panel frame, I recommend placing the phrase "In Loving Memory" (as featured on the Greeting Card of same title) with your loved one's name and dates or years of birth and death in the center opening, superimposed on the left side of a photograph of an open Bible, and your choice of Scripture Art in the right opening, superimposed on the right side of a photograph of an open Bible. If your 5x7 photo will be in the right opening of the frame, simply reverse left for right. For this gift giving idea, my personal choice is John 5:28. However, you may choose from any in the list above. (Framing not included. Please confirm the spelling and dates before placing your order, as there are no refunds for incorrect information as provided by you.)

An Inspiration Led to an Epiphany

I was recently inspired by the work of another ambigram artist: Nikita Prokhorov. His collection of "Seven Deadly Sins" (found among his gallery on Flickr) got me thinking of another finite set of scripture-themed ambigrams. The scripture I had in mind was Galatians 5:22,23. In the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures it reads, "The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." So I started sketching the 9 aspects into individual ambigrams. It was going great. Then part way through sketching them I had an epiphany: I wanted to make a 90 degree ambigram where the initials of each aspect, when displayed in a list and turned 90 degrees, would spell out the word "Fruitage."

I automatically figured that the individual ambigrams wouldn't fit into the list-style image that I had in mind, so I paused my work on them and just focused on the initials of each aspect. I had to juxtapose the P of Peace and the L of Long-suffering so the combination resembled the U, and it was just as well -- there are only eight letters in "Fruitage" and there are nine aspects. And I had to swap the words Mildness and Self-control, as it is easier to make a sideways S look like a G and a sideways M look like an E, rather than vice versa. That went rather well. It took all of half an hour to go from thought to completed sketch. I was pleased, and set the project aside as it was late at night and I would finish it in the computer later.

The next morning I started thinking about that 90 degree ambigram again... Since not everyone looking at the word "FRUITAGE" would know that it and its accompanying words go with "OF THE SPIRIT," I was just going to add those three words to the drawing as plain words. Then it hit me again! Could I get the whole verse expressed in the same drawing??? I immediately grabbed my sketch and the gears started turning. I put "THE" in front of the word "FRUITAGE" and turned the page 90 degrees. I can make that look the capital letter "I" that has the cross-bars -- for the word "Is." I turned the page back and put "OF THE SPIRIT" after "FRUITAGE." The "of" can be drawn to resemble a capital letter "A" when laid on its side for "Against". The "the" in the middle can be drawn to look like a laying down "S" of "Such".... "S" of "spirit" became "T" for "Things." The "P" could almost make a "T" for "There," but the extra stroke just wouldn't look right in either orientation... unless... the downstroke of the "h" in "There" became the top horizontal stroke of "P." ... Perfect!

I worked all the rest of the words from the verse so their initials would line up with the remaining letters "IRI" and was left with the "T" in need of something. Since I had turned the "T" in "fruitage" into the "g" of "goodness," that final "T" would be the most ideal place to fit the "g" of "Galatians 5:22,23." Voila!! In another half an hour, The Entire Scripture Was Sketched Within The Same 90-Degree Acrostic Ambigram!!!! I was ecstatic!!!

In exactly one hour's working time, from thought to finished sketch, I had the whole verse -- my first attempt at a 90-degree rotational ambigram -- done. Drawing it into the computer and getting it to look well-spaced on the page took all of two hours that same evening. On the computer it is laid out in portrait, but I intend for it to be displayed in landscape orientation. I put my "design by Rebecca May" logo and the date in the corner on a 45 degree angle so it can be seen easily from both orientations.

I printed it and showed it to my then-husband's little brother -- he was 17 years old at the time. I first showed it to him in landscape orientation so he would see the opening phrase, "The Fruitage of the Spirit," and asked him what it says. He had a little trouble with the sideways "P and L" combination. But I pointed out that it was all one letter when viewed this way, and he understood it to be a "U." He got the rest of the opening phrase without any problem. Then I turned the page 90 degrees and he read the rest of it aloud... "Is Love, Joy, Peace...." etc, all the way down to "Galatians 5:22, 23." I turned the page back to the landscape orientation, then to portrait again and said "Isn't that neat?" He chuckled a little, "Yeah." I asked for his input on the "P and L" combo since that was the only point he got stuck on. We decided I should extend the vertical stroke of the L a little farther along side the P than I first had it. So I did, and he approved. After that, I showed it to my then-husband. He's a little less enthusiastic about my hobby than I am, so he just gave me an "Uh-huh."

Since then, I have drawn many other scriptures in this manner. Of course, most of the verses have been paraphrased for aesthetic appeal, and I had to rearrange the "lists" to make their initials correspond with the letters in their anchors. I am careful not to alter the meaning of the verses. I only use "artistic license" to make them more visually pleasing in each drawing. I have added partial images of those here as well. I may at some point work on finishing the individual 180 degree rotations of the nine aspects.