Finding My Wunjo

I’m always coming up with new things to learn, new ideas to explore, new hobbies to pursue. Some time ago I began reading and studying Norse mythologies, found it fascinating, and went on to purchase a set of black obsidian runes. Now I’m learning the runic alphabet, as well as the sounds, symbols and interpretations for each of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark. It’s an interesting subject.

On one particular day recently, I was studying the rune known as wunjo. Here’s how it is drawn:

Some rune authorities claim that this represents a weather vane, and among the resulting interpretations is the idea of a favorable wind blowing. In other words, this is a pleasant rune. According to some it foretells the arrival of good news. Other meanings associated with wunjo include: strong relationships, fellowship, cooperation, family ties, and essentially all things joyful. This rune is usually referred to as joy and happiness.

I was, however, finding neither joy nor happiness as I sat at my drawing table that morning. Since getting those lovely acrylic inks recently, I’ve been eager to try out a lot of different methods for using them. Now, don’t laugh when I say this — those who have read this blog for a long time will understand what I’m saying here — but I decided to try dip pens.

Yes. You read that right. Now, newcomers to the blog might want to skip back to September 2019 to read about my catastrophic attempt in using dip pens back then. I tried, and I failed miserably. Or you can check out another of my miserable ink-dipping failures here. Again, I tried, but dip pens and I didn’t do well together. Of course, I chalked it all up to a good learning experience. What did I learn? Simple. I learned not to try using dip pens!

But then, along came those acrylic inks, and maybe… well, yeah, right. It was a crazy idea, but I convinced myself that maybe using dip pens with acrylic inks would be a lot of fun. At this point, though, I had no idea where to find that Speedball set I’d bought two years ago. I made a cursory search, didn’t find pen-holders or nibs, shrugged, and placed a new order with Amazon.

When the new set arrived a few days later, I picked it up, put it with my inks, and already I was feeling a little apprehensive. I probably wouldn’t have much better luck with a dip pen now than I did two years ago.

I was right. For some reason I just don’t seem capable of using a dip pen for art. In frustration, I came to the computer and looked up a video. It looks so easy here, right?

Well, it wasn’t easy for me. I fussed around a bit, finally wondered if maybe the problem was the acrylic ink — it wasn’t, by the way — then went to the studio to grab a bottle of black India ink. I tried a couple different nibs, and I finally managed to get a few lines written.

“Why am I torturing myself with a dip pen?”

“Why am I torturing myself with a dip pen?”

“Why am I torturing myself with a dip pen?”

Yep. I asked myself that question over and over as I continued writing it out, over and over. And gradually my words became a little more legible, my lines a little more fluid. Now, don’t misunderstand! I’m still not good with a dip pen, but at least I was making marks on the page. That was an improvement in itself.

So, next, feeling a bit of wunjo, I drew the rune symbol at the top of another page. Beside it, I slowly wrote out its name. W U N J O. Then, feeling pleased with myself, I moved the pen nib down on the page and started doodling, scribbling in a tree and truly having fun making lots of fine lines going this way and that. It was a joyous moment, indeed, especially when I started scribbling lots of leaves. It was a bit childish… well, it was a lot childish. Just scribbles. But fun scribbles. With a dip pen!

I kept right on scribbling until I’d scribbled all the way to the top of the page. Then I grabbed a sea sponge, poured out a bit of green acrylic ink, and added leaves to the tree. I added a touch of yellow acrylic ink, too. Just dabbing here and there and having a lot of fun.

I laughed a bit at the thought of covering up my rune study, but realized that if I looked, I could still find my wunjo there among the branches. For me, that became somewhat symbolic. If we’re willing to look, we can find joy, even in the most unexpected places.

Yes, it’s really just a lot of scribbles, but it was also a lot of fun. This childish drawing made me happy, and sometimes that’s all a piece of art needs to do. And along with giving me a chance to play with a dip pen and inks, it reminded me, too, that joy is everywhere around us. May you find your wunjo today and every day!