Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and this year Chinese New Year begins at the same time.  2010 will be the Year of the Tiger.  I’ll have to incorporate the tiger theme into a future post, because tigers are one of my favorite animals.  In fact, I have a beautiful hand-painted stuffed tiger on a wicker love seat in my living room.  His name is Bubba, and he’s an elegant addition to the room.

But I digress.  Several days ago I decided to make a Valentine calligraphy project for those of you who, if you’re like me, don’t go in for all the pink hearts and roses, and could do without sticky-sweet sentiment.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for love and romance, but I think calligraphic greeting cards should show a bit more elegance and/or whimsey than the ordinary off-the-rack variety.

I knew what I wanted to do, but the design just wouldn’t flow until I let go of the traditional vertical greeting card format and decided on a long horizontal card to fit a #10 envelope.  That’s the size all your business paperwork uses, but surprisingly enough, this size envelope comes in many colors as well.

I think of the months of the year in color combinations, and I definitely see February in pale peach and coral tones, pinks, oranges and mauves.  Just think of the robins who come back to the north this time of year, and the male house finches whose chests start to turn coral pink in preparation for the courting season, as well as the pale greens that are beginning to show in the garden, and the reds and golds of the willow branches.  You get the idea.

I wanted to use the sentiment “Be Mine” on the front of the card, and leave the inside free for whatever personal message I might like to send the recipient of the card.  Furthermore, I wanted to use a very free-form heart motif, as well as stylized flower forms intertwined with the words, and I wanted the card to convey simplicity and delicacy.

I used gouache for the calligraphy as well as for all the flourished lines connecting the heart flowers and the small dot embellishments. I mixed a spring green from Cobalt Blue, Hansa Yellow, and a touch of black to tone the color down slightly, and thinned the paint with droplets of water until it was the consistency of light cream.  I then lettered the whole card, including the outlines of the heart flower shapes.  When the gouache was dry I used 6 colors of Prismacolor pencils to color and shade the heart flowers.  I did all this before I folded the card, because I wanted the design to continue in an unbroken fashion onto the back of the card.  I also signed the card on the back while it was still flat, remembering to turn it so the signature would be right-side-up after the card was folded.  I used a bone folder to make sure the fold was crisp and sharp.

I made my card on buff card stock, but if I had wanted to print multiples of the card, I would have used white paper for the original and left it unfolded.  Then it would have just been a matter of photographing or scanning it into the computer, sizing it and correcting the color, and then printing as many cards as I wanted on the buff (or any other color) card stock.

Here is an image of the “Be Mine” card.  When you first see it, you might think it’s too difficult for someone who’s just learning calligraphy, but the style is simple Italic, and the flourishes I added to the upper case letters are simply repeats of the strokes I used for the stems of the letters.  The flourishes that form the floral heart stems are simply strokes you might make naturally holding the pen at a 45 degree angle, or strokes you might find in the “Pen Play” exemplar in your Calligraphy in a Box kit.

If you would like more explicit directions on making a similar card, including pen size, colors of pencils I used, and how I designed this card, I will post a detailed description of the project on the “Members” site.

This image shows how the design from the front of the card wraps around to the back.

At last, something new on my page!  It’s been a long dry spell, but I’m back in the swing of things now.  To be truthful, the world of fine art has been consuming my time the last couple of months:  I had a show in October, with all the matting, framing and such, and I just hung a show with a friend of mine for the months of December and January.  I don’t have another showing of my artworks planned until May of 2010, so now I’ll have a winter to concentrate more on calligraphy.

It snowed here last night – we have about four inches on the ground, and it is so beautiful.  Later today I’ll take the camera out and once again try to record the wonder of winter, but for now, I’ll stay indoors, writing and working on a small project, which I want to share with you.

I’ll be making small glass-covered ornaments for my friends to hang on their Christmas trees during the season, and then maybe in their homes for the rest of the year.  It’s a simple project, but the end results are lovely.

All you need for this project:  small pieces of picture glass (mine will probably measure about 1 1/2″ square); heavy colored paper (I’ll be using dark reds, greens, and blues); gouache in white, silver or gold; a flat pen with a small nib; some thin ribbon; super glue; and copper foil or silver foil tape (this usually comes in 1/4″ or 3/8″ widths).

You’ll also need scissors or a knife to cut your paper; a pencil to trace around each piece of glass; glass cleaner; and a bone folder or similar tool to burnish down your foil tape.

How to do it:

First cut your glass pieces, or have someone else cut them if you don’t know how.

Trace around each piece on the paper you have selected, but don’t cut the paper yet.  Keep the glass pieces in the same order that you traced them onto the paper, or you’ll have a very interesting time indeed when everything is cut out, and you’re trying to match the paper pieces to the glass.

With your pen and the gouache you have chosen, letter a single word or short phrase on each area of your paper.  You might need to rule a baseline for your words, which you will erase later.

When the lettering is dry, erase your baselines and cut out each piece of lettered paper and match it with it’s glass cover.

Cut a piece of ribbon for each ornament to serve as a hanger, position it on the edge of the glass where you desire, and glue each end to the glass with a small dot of super glue.  Let the glue dry.

Sandwich each piece of lettered paper with it’s glass cover.  If it’s easier for you, you might want to glue the corners of the paper to the glass where the joins will be covered later by the foil.

Cut small pieces of foil tape a bit larger than each edge of your ornament, and working with one piece at a time, starting at your hanger, wrap the tape from the edge of the glass, over the top of the ornament, and around to the back.  Trim and burnish each piece of foil before continuing around your ornament.  When you’re finished, your glass and paper will be firmly attached, ready to give your recipients joy for many years.  If you used copper foil, the edges of your ornaments will develop a beautiful patina over time.

You may also choose not to include a hanging loop on your ornament.  If you choose that option, you might want to include a tiny easel to display each piece as a miniature work of art.

I started making these pieces many years ago with postage stamps and hand-painted or drawn backgrounds.  My original concept was to use them as pins, so my first pieces have pin backs.  Of course, they can still be displayed on easels when they are not being worn.

Every year I get several requests for these mini works of art, and usually the person comissioning them gives me the particular postage stamp they want featured.  Then it’s up to me to create the rest of the package, to delight the giftee.  It’s really fun for me to go into someone’s home and see one of my miniatures displayed!

Our guild generally takes the summer off, and regular meetings commence in September after school starts and all the hustle and bustle settles down, so we consider September to be the start of a new year for WindWriters.

Our guild is committed to the study of letterforms as a basic focus for all members.  Often we see guilds caught up in the periphery of calligraphy: focusing more on bookarts, paperarts and  calligraphy-as-art, which seems to be focused right now on distortion and illegibility.  While all these things are good, and we enjoy them, we decided several years ago to make letterform the number one priority for our guild.

We have concentrated our efforts on the study and use of Uncial for the past six months, and have had workshops and study meetings, culminating in final projects using Uncial.

At our September meeting we voted to concentrate on Italic in it’s many forms and variations for the next six months, and as you know we participated in two workshops to jump-start our calligraphy year.  Both Gina and Martin focused on Italic in the workshops they presented to us, at our request.  I think this has given us a head start on work for the first part of our year.

Several members expressed a desire to have part of each meeting devoted to practice, or working on projects using our chosen letterform, and I’m all for that!  It’s pretty easy to let a meeting either turn to conversation or run on out of all proportion to the importance of the subjects at hand.

Over the years we’ve tried to keep our meetings as informal as possible.  We don’t have officers or dues and that’s fine with everyone so far, but we are willing to structure our meetings around the practice of calligraphy.  We’ll see how it goes.  Having a time structure might help us stay on track.

Just to start the year right, after the meeting I was asked to demonstrate a technique that Martin taught us for transfering  work to dark paper.  It was fun to have a bit of calligraphy to do, and everyone seemed pleased with the demo.  I used Annette’s name, written in Italic with dark blue ink on dark green paper.  The result was dramatic to say the least.  Since ink is transparent, the green of the paper influenced the color of the ink, making everything seem very coordinated.  The effect would have been very different if I had chosen a light colored gouache, for instance.  It was gratifying for me to see everyone talking about the limitless possibilities of one simple technique.

Next time:  Possible Workshops for our Year

Our guild recently had the opportunity to take a two-day workshop with Canadian calligrapher Martin Jackson, and nine of us had the pleasure of working with Martin for two full and exciting days.

When we first approached Martin about coming to Ellensburg for a weekend, he gave us several options to choose from among the classes he teaches.  The group’s first choice was “More Beautiful Letters” followed closely by “Layout and Design”.  When Martin suggested that we might be able to have both classes in the same workshop, life became just about perfect!

Last Friday, Martin drove from Vancouver to Ellensburg, and met Linda and me at Ellensburg Floral, where eleven of my paintings were showing, for our First Friday Artwalk.  I had to stay with my show from 5:00 to 7:00, so we visited for a bit, then Linda and Martin left to walk around town to see some other shows.  After the artwalk, we met at a local restaurant for a cozy supper and more conversation.  Then it was off home to get ready for an early start the next day.

Day One: More Beautiful Letters

By 9:00 Saturday morning we were all assembled at Annette’s house, set up and ready to learn.  Since our guild is concentrating on Italic this year, Martin focused on enlivening and beautifying this particular letterform.  We concentrated on just four different elements to add to our calligraphy to enhance the beauty of the letters; then it was practice, practice, and practice some more, under Martin’s watchful eye.  We had several breaks to have a cup of tea or coffee, walk about Annette’s beautiful gardens, and we shared a wonderful potluck lunch.

By the end of the afternoon it was apparent we had all learned a lot, and we would be ready to apply what we had learned on day one, to the layout and design class the next day.

Day Two: Layout and Design

Back at Annette’s house the next day, bright and early and ready to learn!  This part of the workshop was my favorite.  I do a lot of design work in my own calligraphy business, and this creative part of calligraphy is dear to my heart.  After all, what’s the point of creating all those beautiful letters only to surrender them to a mundane or trite design?

It was fun to see Martin’s process for creating a successful design for a piece of calligraphy, and it was especially gratifying for me to learn that his process and mine are very similar, from the initial concept, through the thumbnail sketches and style considerations, to the layouts with letters in what would be the finished forms, all the way to a final layout and ultimately a finished piece of work.

Choices, choices, choices – each one leading just a little closer to a final design – each one becoming more refined – nothing cast in stone at any stage until finally all that’s left to do is get out the good paper and the gouache and create the finished piece, which is by this time is an old and familiar friend!  No fear!

By 4:00, it was time to pack up as Martin needed to get on the road home.  Many hugs all around, and a sweet end to a weekend of cameraderie and learning with one of our favorite people in the whole world.  We’re already planning on having Martin back next year to continue the journey!

Martin is a full-time calligrapher, making his whole living from his beautiful letters.  To view Martin’s work and the classes he teaches, go to http://www.martinjacksoncalligraphy.com/index.html.

Operation ‘Studio Scrapeout’ had been postponed for a couple of weeks while I went on a matting and framing binge (remember all the unfinished paintings cluttering up the calligraphy studio?).  And to make matters even worse, I foolishly agreed to do a show of my paintings in October, and October is upon us!

I gave up and took the last four paintings to the framer, and with any luck they will be ready for me when I’m ready to hang the show – tomorrow.

With that done, I went back to the calligraphy studio and tackled the drafting table.  Things were getting better.  Everything on the table that wasn’t a work in progress or a needed tool was put in a portfolio, on a shelf, or in the flat file.  I think I’m getting the hang of this organization thing.

As an added bonus, I found several calligraphy pieces that I had either been looking for, or had forgotten I had done.  Those are the ones that went into the portfolio, filling it out nicely.

All of a sudden, the huge expanse of empty space on the drafting table made everything seem worthwhile.  I was filled with a sense of calm and inner peace, and spent a pleasurable hour organizing all the tools on the tabouret and sorting piles of nibs into the  box of divided drawers that I had found at a yard sale.  Finally, it was being put to use, and I can now truthfully say that I can find all my nibs instantly.

There is now one work in progress on the drafting table, and one page of notes for the next project on the drafting table.  It’s now a pleasure to go into the studio and sit down in peace to work.  There are still little pockets of resistance to organize, but the worst is over.

The cats can get to the sunny windowsill without knocking anything over on the flat file, music fills the air, and working is again a pleasure.

The nightmare is over!