Pilot Parallel Pens

I love Pilot Parallel Pens. They come in several sizes and give wonderful, crisp lines. I like the larger sizes especially. Brenda Broadbent, owner of Paper and Ink Arts, gave a nuts and bolts demonstration of the versatility of these pens at the IAMPETH convention.

She first had us dismantle our pens. Assuring us that it was virtually impossible to ruin them. Her main goal was to convince us that these pens are more than cartridge pens. They are easy to disassemble and clean with ammonia water or Windex. Soak the pieces in the ammonia solution, rinse and dry.

The greatest thing is that you can load your fluid directly into the barrel of the pen. You can load them with nearly any fluid....sumi, watercolor, gouache, walnut ink, etc. She was hesitant about using acrylics though. Several people in the class said they've even used bleach successfully.

I used walnut ink. I have given step-by-step directions over on my Flickr account. You can view the tutorial here.

This is Brenda's book Parallel Pen Wizardry. I think it's a must have if you own one of these great pens. You can order it, along with the Parallel Pens, from Paper & Ink Arts here.

Dimensional Calligraphy with Sharon Hanse

My calligraphy guild, CGI, just held a wonderful, two day workshop with Sharon Hanse.  It was titled "Dimensional Calligraphy."  We learned to make stencils and cutouts from our lettering and artwork.  Here is my cutout.  Sharon had us rough out our lettering on tracing paper first. Then once we had our design, we cut it out of Bristol Board.  I will definitely be on the prowl for a soft grip Exacto knife with my next 40% off coupon!  I placed my cutout on various backgrounds.  You can see more on my Flickr page, but I love this background.  It was made by Sandy Wagner.  I think it's FABULOUS, and it's in my colors too.  I thought about sticking it in my bag, but I'm pretty sure she would have missed it.

Another project Sharon had us complete was an embossing of our lettering on a piece of copper.  (Chillax is a blend of "chill out" and "relax.")  I discovered the wider the letterforms the better.  I got too thin in a few places.  I added the handle and beads at home.  I want to find a little hanger for it, so I can put it on the back deck. (Since that's where we do most of our chillaxing in the summer.)

The thing I liked the most was creating a stencil of our lettering.  Additionally, Sharon had us save and mount the "drop out" pieces onto drafting vellum.   This way, using a light table, I'll be able to emboss and deboss the letters on the same piece of paper.  It will give the illusion that some letters are in front of the others.  I haven't had time to play with it yet, but I'm looking forward to doing it.  I'll also be able to use the stencil for pastels, chalk, etc.

Using the stencil from above, I did a blind embossing on a piece of Canson Mi-Teintes.  I plan on lettering Proverbs 3:5-6 on it, which is one of my favorite verses from the Bible.

It was a great workshop, and you can see more photos from the workshop here.  Please check back on Friday for this week's flourish!

The Book of Jane

I have finished binding my three books for the Cyberscribes' calligraphy book exchange! The calligraphy on the covers was inspired by the terrific lettering of Mark Brooks.

If you would like to see more photos, you can see them in my "The Book of Jane" set at Flickr. Poor Sheba.  I ran out of room and time, but she knows she's the treasured baby of the family.  Here's a little peak at my makeshift book cradle!

Calligraphy Book Exchange

The deadline for the calligraphy book exchange I'm participating in is fast approaching. Yikes! Here are a few of my pages.  This page is a comment on growing up as a Hoosier. (Although I am definitely NOT an I.U. fan!)  Our Japanese exchange student was most impressed by all the basketball goals he saw.  It's true.  Basketball is a big part of Indiana culture.  Evidently, Titivillus was sitting on my shoulder, because I see I accidentally lettered "and" twice in one spot....oops!

Our books are to be autobiographical, so these next few pages are about my family.  I toyed around with Claudine Hellmuth's Poppet style, which is great fun.

I usually have mad love for Arches Text Wove, but this sheet has been a beast.  Maybe it's because I added walnut ink and crumpled it up first, but the calligraphy has been a battle.  My nibs have been picking up fibers with every stroke....grrr!...but, my daughter Rach sure is cute!

I like the style of lettering I did on Matt's page.  I just made it up.  I like the Legende typeface for its long ascenders and descenders, and I had that in mind as I was working.

Hmmm....maybe I should do a page for our sweet, little dog, Sheba!

Drafting and Calligraphy in Full Circle

My dad gifted me his old drafting set. (Let's just say he can take a hint...)

He used it during his undergrad days at Purdue University and then as a Professional Engineer. I've played with one of the ruling pens before just to try some expressive calligraphy, but this week I've been using the compasses for some wedding calligraphy pieces.  As I was working, I remembered that in elementary school I could never remember which was the compass and which was the protractor. 

Here is a peek at one of the calligraphy pieces on which I'm working.  I say it's wedding work, but I think the text would be applicable to many relationships not just marriage.  I have put the "love is" verses of 1 Corinthians 13 in my own words and am lettering the text on a round of watercolor paper.  I'm going in circles, but enjoying every minute of it.

Here is a peek at another piece on which I am working.  Lately, I have received many requests regarding Quaker style marriage certificates.  For this type of certificate, the guests at the wedding sign the certificate as witnesses and supporters to the union.  I think it's a beautiful tradition. I decided I needed to have a sample on hand, so I am using my husband's and my wedding information for the text.  I am going to do the border with off-hand flourishing.

It was wonderful to use my dad's compass for the border line and then to letter his name on the certificate.  It was a coming "full circle" kind of moment for me!

Calligraphy and Bookmaking - Patience Required

I took a bookbinding workshop with Bonnie Stahlecker a few weeks ago.  We made four different structures in less than 8 hours.  I love it when I leave a workshop with finished pieces. Of course it helped considerably that Bonnie had done most of the measuring and cutting before class. I'd love to have a studio elf whose sole purpose was to get all my supplies ready for me. Unfortunately, I do not have a studio elf.  I had hoped to start and finish 3 books this past week for a calligraphy book exchange in which I'm participating, but I didn't even get close to finished.  You can see what will eventually be my covers and text block.  It is frustrating for me, because I really want to jump ahead and bind the book.  I'm restraining myself, because I need to do all the lettering first.  More patience please!!

Calligraphy Treasures from Venezia

My family was fortunate to travel to Venice last summer.  All the things artists say about Italy are true! Art appreciation is a way of life in Venice.  From door knockers to the cappuccino, it is all presented with a deliberate, artistic flair.  Here are some of my treasures:

I had read about a few shops that I hoped to find while in Venice.   I purchased the paper printed with scenes of Venice at Il Papiro.  I also bought some nibs there.  Rivoaltus (sorry, no link) was the easiest for me to find, because it was located on the Rialto bridge. The storeowner was so kind and helpful.  She gifted me a few extra treats, one of which was this little, silver, winged lion paperweight.  The winged lion represents Saint Mark and is the symbol of Venice.  I purchased the two journals with leather bindings from her.  

The next shop was Legatoria Piazzesi. It came highly recommended.  The storeowner was a bit intimidating at first, but when she learned I was a calligrapher, she really went out of her way to welcome me--and my daughter--warmly.  We talked about the lettering arts and also Fabriano paper.  She informed me genuine Fabriano paper has not been produced for many years.  I believe the original mill is now a museum.  They had many, beautiful journals, but my daughter and I opted for the Saint Mark's Basilica and campanile prints. When my daughter said she couldn't even afford a keychain at Gucci, the storeowner assured her that she was purchasing "The Gucci of Bookbindings."  You can see the three journals we purchased, including one that is opened, from her better in this photo:

One day we went to the island of Murano.  My husband bought me this beautiful, handmade pen holder from the Bortoletti foundry for my birthday.  One of my goals for this year is to deliberately practice the fundamental alphabets of calligraphy.  I plan to record an exemplar of each one in my Legatoria Piazzesi journal.  My first page is Copperplate.  I quickly realized how varied my own Copperplate had become, and I had to concentrate to create the standard forms.

I would love to return to Venice.  I want to quickly mention the exceptional company we used to book our trip.  Untours is a special company.  I greatly admire Hal Taussig, the founder of Untours.  We had no interest in taking a tour, but never having traveled abroad before, we didn't feel confident in making all the arrangements ourselves.  The goal of Untours is to have you experience a place as a local, not a tourist.  The Untours approach to travel was perfect for us, and I would definitely use their services again!

Designing My Blog's Header

I've been trying to design a header for my blog.  It has been two steps up and one step back, but you can see I haven't been completely unsuccessful. (Still can't figure out why the image is protruding beyond the border on the right.)  Thanks for helping me get that fixed!

I have had Photoshop Elements 4 for many years.  I thought I'd take to it like a duck to water, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case at all.  However, with the helpful posting of Trish Meyer to one of my calligraphy lists a few months back, I was finally able to tackle a task using PE4.  With black sumi, I hand lettered the word Flourish, along with the little floral and wheat elements, onto white paper.

Using the instructions I had saved from Trish's post,  I inverted the lettering from black to white.

Continuing with Trish's instructions, I combined my lettering with a background I had made in Victoria Pittman's Tortured Metals workshop.  

I added some text and wahlah!... my new header.  It was so gratifying to finally accomplish something in Photoshop Elements after all this time. Yay!..and "Thank you!" Trish.

My Calligraphy at Snippet and Ink

Thanks to everyone that gave me a headsup about Snippet and Ink.  Kathryn displayed my calligraphy on her board for yesterday.  So glad to see I'm right next to that delicious looking cake!  My niece, who is planning her upcoming wedding, informed me that Snippet and Ink is one of her favorite wedding blogs.  I can see why, with all the lovely photos displayed in one place. There seems to be a wonderful, bridal labryinth of which I've been completely unaware. Here is the backside of the piece displayed at Snippet and Ink:

 

I am happily surprised at the response to my calligraphy.  Thank you to everyone that emailed me!

Valentine's Day Calligraphy

Wishing You a Happy Heart
Originally uploaded by carmelscribe

A little calligraphy to go with a Valentine cookie. I baked a batch of Valentine's Day cookies to send to my daughter at university. I love this cookie cutter. I bought it locally from Michael Bonne before his Martha Stewart days. It is always a challenge to frost the cookie without breaking off any of the fingers. I did the lettering with Moon Palace Sumi and a Hiro 700 pointed (flexible) nib. Happy Valentine's Day!

Calligraphy for Springtime

There was a foot of snow outside when I did this piece.  I enjoy doing these watercolor flowers, because they are pretty much fool proof.  It was nice to daydream of Spring and flowers while I worked, even though I know it will be months before they actually arrive.  My client is giving this piece to a special friend from Japan.

I am trying not to frustrate myself with blogging.  I want to know how to do everything before I begin, but I think I just need to relax and fumble my way around.  I intend to post once per week.  Maybe I can post more often once I get comfortable with the process.

A Place to Flourish

The long debate is over. I've decided to begin a blog with the hope that I'll be more dedicated to producing substantial work as a result. I am a calligrapher. For several years I've debated whether blogging would steal precious studio time from me or motivate me to use my studio time more effectively. I am launching this blog optimistic that the later will prevail. I love lettering wedding envelopes and place cards, and yet I long to create finished pieces suitable for my local guild's exhibitions. I have a treasure-trove of ideas. I want to become more disciplined in moving these ideas from my mind into my hands and out of my studio.

So come along... I hope you'll take the journey with me. My desire is for this to be a place to flourish!