This week I started tracking all the steps I am taking on a project I am working on as an Easter gift.  A lot of times a small project can be completed start to finish in one session, but a more complicated project can take several sessions to complete.

The piece I started is a rather complicated one, in that it needs to be broken down into stages.  I’m hoping to show that even a beginning calligrapher can accomplish a difficult project by breaking it down into manageable steps.

The project involves a watercolor background, a stylized cross in silver leaf, the words “He is Risen” written boldly, and a smaller passage of text on the body of the piece.  In the case of this piece, the idea came first and was complete in my mind, so instead of designing it on paper and then starting on the finished work, I decided to begin by executing the watercolor background.  This was done on a sheet of 9 x 12 Arches cold-press watercolor paper.  I started by laying a wash of Ultramarine Blue from the top of the paper to about 2/3 of the way down.  Then I turned the paper upside down and ran a wash down from the ‘top’ into the blue wash.  I used a combination of Aureolin Yellow and Quinacridone Rose for this second wash, letting it run down the paper and blend freely with the blue wash.  One of the wonderful things about watercolor is the way each color reacts to every other color.  Knowing that yellows (especially Aureolin) push other colors out of their way, I was able to use this trait to my advantage.  The colors blended in a very exciting way, and all that was left for me to do at this point was to watch the paint dry!

…to be continued.

(I will post the complete set of photos on the Member’s Site when the project is complete, along with detailed descriptions of each step of the process, but I wanted to talk on the blog about how to accomplish a difficult project in general.  Stay tuned!)

Easter is fast approaching, and while I’m working on a larger project to share with you, I thought it might be a good idea to put out a simpler project as well, one that packs a lot of punch for it’s size and ease of accomplishment.

A  single-word project with a large decorated first letter and some simple flourishes straight from your pen-play exemplar has the potential to provide a lot of impact.

Don’t be afraid of the apparent complexity of this project.  Even if you’re just learning calligraphy, if you take it step by step, and have developed a working knowledge of the Italic hand, you should be able to have a lot of fun with this.  Here’s an image from my file to give you an idea of what you will be doing.  Your letter might not turn out exactly like mine (maybe you’ll even like it better)!  That’s part of the fun of calligraphy.

I chose the word ‘Believe’ to write in Italic with a Cadel ‘B’.  A Cadel (or Cadeaux) is simply a large built-up letter in the same style or a similar style as the main body of the text.  This is a designed letter, and no two will be the same.  That’s the fun of this project.

To design a Cadel letter, start with the main stem of the letter, then add decorative strokes on either side of the main stem, which echo but do not perfectly duplicate the first stroke.  I used two strokes with a zig-zag pattern in the center.  Then, because I thought the stem of the letter was still too thin to support what I had planned for the bowl of the ‘B’, I added a third stroke on the left that echoed the first stroke I made.

For the top bowl of the ‘B’, I made a two-stroke curved arc at a bit of distance from the stem of the letter, which I planned to join to the main stem with a thin line later.  I made the bottom bowl of the letter with three strokes, and broke two of them in the middle for interest.  Using three strokes on the bottom bowl instead of two insured that the bottom of the letter would have more visual weight.

Now for even more fun!  I extended the line of the top of the stem to hook up with the top-bowl strokes, and since there was some space along this line I added a decorative motif there.  This gave me an added opportunity to do some decorative pen play at the top of the stem, so I had a bit of fun there, too!

A couple of lines on either side of the stem of the letter were added, along with some simple flourished endings to these strokes.  Now it was just a matter of filling some voids in the letter with more figures and small finishing strokes.

The key to all this is remembering to maintain the same pen angle throughout as the pen angle of the lettering you will use in the body of the word.  All this design work for this piece was done on the Westwind Pad.  I made several designs (actually many designs, since this sort of thing is addictive) and then chose one for the final piece.

The Cadel I chose to use seemed to call for Black Letter, but since I wanted the word to be easily readable, I decided to modify my Italic a bit.  I simply pointed the tops and tails of the letters, giving them a bit of Black Letter flavor.  I drew the Cadel on a small piece of pale blue text paper, added the body of the word, and then a flourish at the end to balance the word, since I wanted to make a card that would fit a #10 envelope.

When the ink was dry, I used Prismacolor pencils to decorate the Cadel , the bowls of the “e’s”, and the tiny triangle shapes I used in the flourish to the right of the word.

I tore the resulting piece of paper to a size of  3 1/2″ x 9 1/8″, and photographed it, so I could make copies on my printer, as I was very pleased with this project, and wanted to be able to make numerous cards of this design.  I then mounted my finished piece  on  cardstock to make a card which I folded with a bone folder.  I added my stamp to the back of the card, and it was ready to put in my portfolio.

Since my design is now saved on the computer, I am free to use it on a card or other project simply by printing out as many copies as I need.  I generally like to print my designs on Arches Text Wove paper, and tear them out to be mounted on other stock, but they can also be printed directly on white cardstock, which makes the process a bit simpler.

I hope you have a lot of fun with this project, and I would love to see some of you’re finished pieces.  I’m hoping to start a forum on the Calligraphy in a Box Member’s site, where I can publish members’ projects for all to enjoy.

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.

You may think that this project is too complicated for someone who is just learning calligraphy, but you will only be writing a few words or a single word on each piece.  The ‘wow’ factor comes from the presentation.

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!

Here’s an image of a piece I did as a Christmas gift for a man who’s an avid mountain climber, as well as an antique lover.  As you can see, instead of calligraphy I used three old postage stamps, and painted a background of mountains to connect the three stamp images.  Instead of making a hanging piece, I included a small easel with the gift, so he can display his miniature work of art year round.  The piece measures approximately 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″.