Studio Sunday-Desk Corner

Goddess Collage card by Laura Pendell, Buddha in basket (gift from my husband many years ago), handblown glass from my one and only experience doing so last year that I am watching grow algae inside, and a letter S paperweight by Rosemary Buczek that was a gift from my friend Norma

National Handwriting Day

Today is National Handwriting Day. As with many national days, this one was started by an organization of businesses, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association. While I tend to turn my nose up at holidays geared to the consumer, I take exception with something as near and dear to my heart and as taking real pen to real paper. My reflections for the day are on how much my handwriting changes with the instrument I am using and its purpose. The photo above shows two examples.

I have found that I prefer keeping a journal in a Composition Book, the ones with the black marble on the front. Its utilitarian nature and connection to my elementary school days take away all concern that the words need to be in some way worthy of the container. I have been using this Lamy ABC fountain pen for the past few months. It's what they say is the kid's version, made for beginning handwriters. I purchased one in Paris for my daughter (who is 22 and not a beginning handwriter) and used it on the trip. Its medium nib might not give the finest of letters but I liked its feel and flow. After using it there, I ordered one for myself on my return. Because it is not an edged pen, I don't feel any need to be calligraphic as I am trying to keep up with the words and thoughts that come tumbling from my brain.

I keep my collection of quotes on index cards. When I copy down a quote, I write in a more leisurely way. The words are in front of me and I can take my time. I've become a fan of JetPens which is where I ordered this Akashiya Thin Line marker. It has been an absolute delight. From the first time, I put it to paper, I wrote like this. I love it!

May I encourage you to take a few minutes today and put any pen, marker, or pencil to paper, and enjoy the movement of your hand and the emergence of the words on paper.

Book Arts Tuesday-Lindisfarne Gospels

A fascinating microscopic look at the lettering and illumination in the Lindisfarne Gospels from the British Library.

Here's a sample:

Tiny drops of red/orange colour produced from toasted lead are found throughout the Lindisfarne Gospels creating outlines, patterns and backgrounds for many of the folios. This type of decoration often appears in early Irish manuscripts. In Figure 1 a section of the initial page of the Gospel of St Luke on folio 139r was analysed with image processing software to determine the number of dots. 1,939 dots were found in just this one example area. It is no wonder that the manuscript’s production was costly both in time and materials!

And some history of the Lindisfarne Gospels also from the British Library.

Thanks to Diane McDougall-Desautelle of Thistleworks Design Calligraphy Studio for the alert to this on the Masscribes facebook page.

Studio Sunday-Book Play

I have been playing with the hot dog booklet as I work on material for a series of workshops called Book Play. The book in the back of the photo was made with a card stock weight vellum. The one I am most excited about is the circle on the stone. I will be doing a series of different sizes using, I think, Masa paper and all will contain this quote from Albert Einstein, hand-lettered in repitition inside: Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.

In the workshops we'll use recycled materials and experiment freely with simple forms. Here's what I have written for this summer's 2-morning workshop at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill on Cape Cod:

Enjoy bookmaking at its most friendly and accessible—no rulers or precious papers, no designing or planning ahead. The emphasis is on freedom and possibility—how the simplest forms can be adapted, varied, and combined to unlock our creative juices. Using cereal boxes and grocery bags, buttons, and sticks, we'll make intimate books that fold and fan, hang and stand.

There will also be a 2-morning workshop on making Spirit Books at Castle Hill. They are scheduled for June 30 & July 1 and July 2 & 3.

Winter 2014 Schedule

FREE EVENTS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 6-9 PM
Author's Night at Zorvino Vineyards, Sandown, NH
This is the third year of the event but the first for me. Sounds like fun.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 7 PM
Book Play: Simple Bookmaking with Recycled Materials, workshop at Newburyport Public Library, Nbpt, MA
Join us for an evening of hands-on fun and creativity. We'll make simple books from one sheet of paper and then play. The books can be shaped like hearts for valentines, ornamented with beads and ribbon for hanging, or glued together to form accordions. Everyone will leave with a small treasure or two and the ability to continue making books at home. No art experience or creative confidence is needed; this workshop is truly for everyone.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 7 PM
Pecha Kucha Portsmouth, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH
Pecha Kucha are fascinating events featuring 10 speakers per evening. Each person shows 20 slides and can only talk for 20 seconds about each. It's fast-paced and fun. This will be my third. The theme is Here Today, Gone Tomorrow and I'll be talking about exhibiting at Outdoor Sculpture at Maudslay.

SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2 PM
Art Lessons: Reflections From An Artist's Life, illustrated talk at Chelmsford Public Library, Chelmsford, MA
This is part of the CPL One Book Program. They are reading The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro (excellent) and my talk is one of the special programming events related to it.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 7 PM
Gardens of Paris, illustrated talk for Newburyport Horticultural Society, Newburyport Public Library, Nbpt, MA
Newburyport artist Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord takes you on a visual journey through the gardens of Paris from the well-known Jardin du Luxembourg to small pocket parks and gardens, from the past—the medieval garden at the Cluny Museum—to the present—the Promenade Plantée created on a raised rail line in 1993. You'll see the beauty of the gardens and learn a little history along the way.


And this summer, I will be teaching at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill—June 30 and July 1: Book Play-Simple Bookmaking with Recycled Materials and July 2-3: Spirit Book Workshop. More to follow.

As always, should you know of any place that might be interested in either of my talks or in a bookmaking workshop for adults (including book clubs and women's groups), please let me know.

Book Arts Tuesday-Letterform Archive

A wonderful contribution to the digital world. From the site:

The Letterform Archive collects inspirational analog artifacts to digitize in high fidelity, for all who love letters. It is curated by Rob Saunders, who has been collecting for over 35 years while pursuing a career as a designer, teacher, publisher, and consultant. This site is intended for inspiration, research, and teaching. All photographs and text are original (unless otherwise noted). You are welcome to share the images on this site for non-commercial purposes, provided you credit and link to LetterformArchive.org.

And

A number of people have asked me what we’re all about, so here goes.

1. Letterforms

Why? Short answer, because I love ‘em, always have.

Why not Typography Archive? Because Letterform embraces the entire history and future of letterforms, before, after, and beside the dominance of typography. Twelve of the letters in our logo are not typographic, does that make them any less inspiring?

Some have asked, are you focused on letterforms in isolation? No, that would be daft. It’s equally about design with letterforms, and things that go with them. So isn’t that really just the history of graphic design? Yes, but with a special focus on letterforms.

For a better idea of our scope, just browse the site.

2. Imaging

We want to raise the bar in imaging graphic design.

How? By capturing the tactile aesthetics of the object, not only digitizing what’s on the surface. Scanning and traditional copy photography won’t do, because they don’t capture texture well. What’s needed is high resolution photography of original works with lighting carefully tuned to capture tactility.

Our goals include:
Sufficient resolution so that you can zoom in to see detail,
Appropriate capture of surface texture,
Full spreads and full margins with edges showing so you see the whole design, and
Consistent color which captures even the subtle variations of “white” papers.

Note that these goals exceed not only what’s generally available on the internet, but also in some ways transcend the limitations of print in reproducing graphic design.

There’s a lot of inspiring design bouncing around the internet, but the quality of the imaging is terribly inconsistent and often quite low. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as you recognize the limitations of what you’re seeing – it mirrors both the convenience and the quality limitations of compressed music.

When folks come to visit, they often say about some iconic piece of design that’s been reproduced everywhere: “I feel like I’ve never really seen it before.” Nothing can replace that experience, but high fidelity imaging is certainly a step in the right direction.


On the gallery page, you can search by year and subject. Enjoy!

Letterform Archive

Twelfth Day of Christmas

May the new year bring us unity and peace in the embrace of the eternal circle.

Wreath of an embroidery hoop wrapped with the tiniest white lights that were a gift from my daughter this Christmas with sprigs of Japanese holly tucked within.

Eleventh Day of Christmas

As the twelve days draw to a close, the white board will soon be back to business and lists. But for now...

Tenth Day of Christmas-Frost

New patterns and new ideas for the new year. Design in Photoshop made using same technique as with The Wondrous Nearer Drew squares of flower imagery and lines from Emily Dickinson. This time I started with a photograph of frost on the garage window. Am thinking of making more and creating a digital quilt.

Ninth Day of Christmas

I have loved this passage from Fra Giovanni's Christmas Letter since I first heard Robert J. Lurtsema read it at the Christmas Revels in the late 1970s. I used it to start the final essay in this past year's Art Lessons: Reflections From An Artist's Life. And here is a little book I made I would think in the '90s. I wish I were better at dating things. I scanned a juniper branch from the garden and then printed the text in type on tracing vellum.

Eighth Day of Christmas

One of my favorite seasonal evergreens-the yew, Taxus bacatta. Here is a quote from Wordsworth's poem "Yew Trees."

"Of vast circumference and gloom profound
This solitary Tree! -a living thing
Produced too slowly ever to decay;
Of form and aspect too magnificent
To be destroyed. ......."

You can read the complete poem here. Drawing and lettering done with an automatic pen. Color added in Photoshop.

Seventh Day of Christmas-Happy New Year

Last week my husband said, "Why do we have this eggshell on our windowsill? I said, "I don't know but I'm sure there is a reason." Which was to be part of my new year greeting for 2014. Black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten at the new year for good luck and the rose is a symbol of love. I wrote 2014 directly on the egg with my Pentel brush pen. The greeting, in Centaur, was added in Photoshop.