A Flourished Tale

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"Once" pencil sketch

I have had an idea in my mind for quite some time. Today was the first step in making this happen.

My Kerrlligraphy business, so far, entails doing custom lettering as well as teaching. But I have been thinking of an offshoot of all this. I want to start offering the writing of personalized fairytales with calligraphic lettering and art. Have you had a dream come true? Maybe the birth of your first child? Maybe your fairytale is the story of how the two of you met for the first time? I want to tell your tale!

This is the pencil sketch I worked on this afternoon to use in the blog I will start. Will it be my header? Will it be on my business card? I'm not real sure how it will be used, but I just knew I had to do it.

(And, truth be told, I am "killing two birds with one stone." Well, it just sort of happened that way. I am entering a piece in the Carolina Lettering Arts Society art show here in Raleigh in April with the theme "The Fanciful Letter." Thought I had quite a few fancifuls in this little piece. So now I can use it both in the show and in my business!)

Now, the next step is to make this pencil sketch into a colorful watercolor piece!

Cross your fingers!

Peacock Cake

I know this is not calligraphy, but...when you see something so gorgeous, you just have to have a shout out!

I went to the Bridal Show last night in the Civic Center, and this one "took the cake!" It is from Edible Art here in Raleigh. I think it is a magnificent work of art. The attendant said it took the woman a week to make it!

Layout Principles

Last night I held a Help Session here at my house.

The Triangle Calligraphers' Guild (TCG) is hosting the Carolina Lettering Arts Society (CLAS) annual general meeting here in April. Part of that weekend workshop will be a display of lettering pieces done by members of the TCG. The theme for these designs is The Fanciful Letter.

Beginners to experts will be a part of this calligraphic endeavor, and it is proving to be a very exciting collaborative.

So, you say, what do these Help Sessions entail? Well, you come to the get-together bringing your body, your brain, your talent, and maybe even something written down on paper! I have my idea in my head, but so far I have nothing on paper. 3 out of 5 of the gals who showed up last night actually had rough drafts of what they wanted to work on.

We all sat around the fire, went around the room, and shared our thoughts on what looked great, what might be suggestions for improvement, and just all around sharing what we love to share...our love for the lettering arts.

What you see above is a sheet I worked up while getting ready for the Session. I sat down with a stack of calligraphic books and read their chapters on layout. As I foraged through all of the instructions, I tried to summarize them and put them in an easy-to-digest, fun fashion.

Come learn with us! We're a good group!

Deb's Heart

Let me take a moment here to brag on my student. Today was her last day in my Italic Brush Lettering Class, and at the end of the session I wanted us both to do a finished piece. We had fifteen minutes. She finished hers. I did not!

She is very creative and has a lot of depth to her emotions, so she puts them both into her art, into her lettering, and probably into everything she does in life.

I just wanted to share her talent with you all.

Come learn with us!

Peace

While teaching yesterday, I did this little piece. I was demonstrating how to shadow as well as outline. The quirky little "frame" was inspired by watching an art journaling video on youtube. The woman framed all of her little vignettes in not-so-straight lines and then squiggles. I liked it!

Link - Brush Lettering

Taught and practiced Brush Lettering today with Marvy Le Plume brush markers. "Link" is the name of my newest grandson, soon to be here.

This brush lettering style is so much fun, easy, and can be used in so many ways - cards, banners, bookmarks, initials for luggage tags, JOURNALING etc.

Come learn with me!

Finished Workshop Piece

Here is my finished workshop piece. We were given this phrase to letter in the style that we had just learned. And we were to figure out where we wanted the gold. Since gold leaf is expensive, you do not want to use too much. At least while you are learning! So I decided to use the negative space around the "and" sign.

Peter Thornton Workshop

This past weekend I attended a workshop instructed by Peter Thornton, a Master Calligrapher, formerly from Lichfield, England. He is a Fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society based in London, England. He has taught all over the world, including Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Europe.

The Triangle Calligraphers' Guild was fortunate to have him here in our midst, so we took full advantage of his generosity and talents!

The photo above shows my little workstation during the workshop. In it you will see two gilded little squares, two gessoed squares (before gilding), a gilded "P," my notes, and some tools used for gilding. If you will notice, you can see that there is a vacancy in the sheet of gold left by the P.

Come join our guild! We've lots to learn and to share!

More pics to follow!

Washington Ave

I have been working on an address for a client who then wants to make a stamp out of it. I've never had a stamp made from my lettering, so I am super excited about that. Hope it turns out! This is only a sneak peak.