Drolet brings joy with poetry, pens, paint & a spark of whimsey

Patricia Bruno
MethuenLife Writer

 

Long before word signs became a design trend, Jean Drolet began spreading her joyful words around the country. Traveling with her husband and children in tow, Drolet spent decades setting up shop at arts and crafts shows, festivals and fairs to share her poetry. But these were not simply lines of printed words on blocks of wood. Skilled in the art of calligraphy, Drolet painstakingly drew each character of each word of each line in her poems. Some were embellished with watercolor or oil paints and framed in refurbished antique frames; others were customized on the spot on slate, according to the desires of the customer. What they all had in common was the concept of family and a sense of joy.

Dating back to ancient China, where characters were initially drawn on animal bones and tortoise shells, calligraphy – the art of beautiful writing – evolved through the decades, from inked paper scrolls to etched writing on Roman statues. In the Western world, we tend to think only of the elegant lettering on wedding invitations and diplomas, yet the technique is still a highly regarded art form in the Middle East and Asia, superior even to painting and sculpture.

Drolet discovered her love for calligraphy when she took a private class in 1977.

“After this one class, I taught myself with the help of books,” she says.

After many calligraphy books and a lot of practice, she ventured out into the arts and crafts show world to share her talents. A registered nurse by profession, Drolet was also a poet with strong family values.

“Traveling to shows and meeting other artists was so much fun,” she says, “but the best part was connecting with so many different people and creating art specifically for them, such as personalized signs and artwork.”

What began as a fun venture quickly became a lifestyle for Drolet and her family.

“I stepped back from nursing when I realized that I was making more money selling at shows,” she says.

Her husband purchased a printing press, they bought a mobile home, and for over 30 years they worked the craft show circuit.

“We went to up to 50 shows a year,” says Drolet, “from Atlanta to Pennsylvania to upstate New York.”

Offering a variety of her artwork, from framed calligraphy to customized signs to a line of greeting cards, Drolet and her husband were regular vendors at most of the prominent shows, including the Big E Fair.

“Our most popular items were our 8-x-10-inch framed family-themed verses,” she says. “People would approach us and ask what we had about sisters or brothers, for instance, and if we didn’t have it, sometimes we would create something on the spot for them.”

“The craft circuit is a different world,” says Drolet. “You really have to get out there and hustle. It was exhausting, and the frames and glass can be heavy at times. But we met a nice community of friends. And although my husband has passed and I no longer do the shows, I still meet with a group of eight women I met along the way.”

Along with the calligraphy, Drolet paints in watercolors and oils. In fact, these days in her Salem, N.H., home studio she is more apt to be painting than lettering.

“Watercolor is so much freer, more spontaneous than the structured art of calligraphy,” she says. “I love how the colors take on their own directions and come together.”

Many of her paintings feature cherub-like characters that the artist refers to as “Droles.” A play on her last name and a nod to the French word which translates to “amusing, whimsical or funny,” the artist’s Droles are, in her words, “short comical rascals,” and she began drawing them way back in nursing school. She later got a copyright on the name.

“Those little people are my heart,” she says. “It’s funny, but as much as I try to draw them all the same, each one comes out just a bit different, with its own personality. But they are all always happy.”

While she mostly now creates for her own pleasure, Drolet still makes hand-drawn posters and signs for local events.

“Everything is so different now,” she says. “Instead of a pen and ink, I often use calligraphy markers, which dry so quickly and come in so many beautiful colors. And now you can type in words on a computer and turn them into calligraphy … but that seems like cheating to me.”

As for the nursing career, Drolet did return to nursing again for a while after leaving the show circuit.

“I have been very blessed to have had two good careers,” she smiles. “I love my life and the way it turned out.”

Patricia Bruno is a Methuen native, currently living in Haverhill. A writer and photographer, she is also the owner of The Winged Rabbit gift shop in downtown Haverhill.