Looking at Easter Upside Down

It’s the time of year when everything is blooming to life again. The seeds planted in the Fall are yielding beautiful buds and flowers that one day will produce a harvest.  

And in the Spring, we celebrate Easter.  Easter, for the faithful, is the resurrection of Christ from death to life. And, just like new buds, It is through death that new life is born. This seems so opposite and upside down from what is intuitive to nature. 

Many examples of opposites exist in our world today. How often have we said it’s more fun to give than to receive? And by helping a stranger we are the ones filled with satisfaction and love; and by lifting another, we too are lifted in our hearts. 

This Easter, I would love to share my upside-down story with you.  

In 1992, while creating a Christmas card for my graphic design business, I learned that I could create upside-down images, called ambigrams. It happened by accident when I dropped my sketch on the floor. Seeing the word from a different perspective allowed me to see the phenomenon of two words in one. Over the years, since then, I’ve created two award-winning books and videos using upside-down images.  

The following images below are featured in Beth’s book, “The Other Side of Easter”. The word Easter can be flipped to become another word. Also, the bunny becomes another picture. Can you guess what they are?

(HINT: PRINT THE PAGE AND TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN)

Watch as an Easter basket becomes the empty tomb/cave in the sketch below. You’ll notice the colorful, final artwork for the page not only includes the tomb and the crosses on the hill but also a bunny, which flips over for another surprise.

Another ambigram I created just before Covid 19, was the word ‘peace’. This design doesn’t become a different word. I like to think of it as peace is everlasting and never changes no matter what is happening in our lives. Through the past few years, I have printed cards, keychains, and ornaments with this design bringing hope and encouragement to those who are hurting.  

After learning I was one of only 94 recognized ambigram designers worldwide, I felt inspired to share this rare gift in to keep the art form alive for future artists. To accomplish this, I have created a fun instructional class video I’d love to share with you. 

Attached is a link to my tutorial. https://bethgully.com/products/making-upside-down-words-worksheet. Use the family discount code to download the worksheet from my website.

I hope that you will include my Easter book and Christmas book in your family library. Both are available on Amazon and at www.BethGully.com. When purchasing products on my website I invite you to copy and paste this family discount code: SPECIAL PRICE