I am all for blunt life advice. It seems to me that giving flowery advice that ends in an overly idealistic, "It's going to be great!" proclamation doesn't always work. Don't get me wrong, I'm an exceptionally positive person, and always will be. But you can see a silver lining while still reminding your friend that what they're about to do is a terrible idea. Artist Stephanie Wiehle creates beautiful calligraphy with blunt life advice, and it's honestly my favorite.
I'm pretty tempted to hand out her work to my closest friends as greeting cards. (What? That wouldn't be negative. That would be called being a supportive friend.) Friendship means telling someone you support them, but that they need to back off of that bad idea. Giving kind but frank advice is always helpful. And at least with Wiehle's work, I'd be wrapping the blunt advice in a pretty package.
Wiehle told Bustle, "My work is often inspired by a bunch of things, like stuff I stumbled upon on the internet, things I've seen on the streets and a little bit of boredom. This is a blast for me to try out."
In a self-published post on BoredPanda, Wielhe wrote:
"I thought, what if you stop giving nice advice or spreading encouraging demands. Just be honest and say that life sucks from time to time in a funny way.
I used bright watercolors and parts of flowers to make the artworks look extra nice and soft, which builds a good contrast to the ironic messages. Sometimes it’s better just to be honest and say that you are sick and tired of all these lemons in your life. Decorate it with pretty flowers and everything will be fine!"
Prepare to Instagram the hell out of her work. It's perfect for any occasion.
For anytime you're annoyed that no one is bringing you flowers:
You don't need 'em. Barbara Streisand did without flowers too.
For when you're over "eating healthy":
#Bye, kale.
For when you're done giving f*c%s:
For whenever someone gives you exceptionally lame advice:
If we're being honest, I hate lemons.
Images: Courtesy of Stephanie Wiehle
