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I grew up in Raleigh at a time when the nuns taught at Our Lady Of Lourdes. They lived out back of the school and wore those imposing yet Holy Habits that commanded your adoration, attention, and, quite frankly, your fear. So, when they asked you to "sit up straight" with your "feet flat on the floor" and compose your letters properly according to the Palmer Method of Handwriting, you did just that! I believe it was at that impressionable age that I became infatuated with the formation of letters. When I was introduced to calligraphy in 1978, it was no wonder I fell in love with this beautiful art form. My first taste of the calligraphic world lasted no longer than one hour. The instructor turned a piece of chalk on its edge to form calligraphic works of art from A to Z on the chalkboard. That was that! But it was all I needed to fire the embers that had been sparked in elementary school. Watching the slow, rhythmical shaping of those letters was like listening to classical music. It was not until 1997 that I enrolled in my first formal calligraphy class. Boy, were my eyes opened! I knew I had a lifelong road of learning ahead of me. It's been 38 years since that white piece of chalk was laid on its side. I am still learning. Come learn with me!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Artist's Journal


I just returned home last night from a cruise. I had been wanting to try my hand at an Artist's Journal, so one of my focuses on this vacation (aside from just relaxing 24/7) was to do just that. I gave myself permission ahead of time to not be perfect, to let whatever came out, come out.
Since we were only allowed one bag per person, my art supplies were very limited! Here's what I took: one 7x10 spiral Canson Montval Field Watercolor Book, a tin of 12 Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolor crayons, Winsor & Newton's Cotman water colors Field Box (really, really tiny), some Marvy Markers, some Zig markers, some Faber-Castell Pitt pens, some Pilot Parallel Pens, and some brushes. I would have liked to have taken my big container of watercolors of all sorts, but there just was not room.
So, I kept it simple and sweet. I tried to do one page per day on the cruise. Above are just two of the pages, and they are of the same day.
I think I like this type of artistic expression! I would sit out on our deck in the mornings whilst sipping coffee and eating danishes with my pencil and sketchbook in hand. Later in the day, I would finish the page out with color and writing.
I hope that if you have not tried your hand yet at an Artist's Journal, my simple little effort at making one will spur you on!
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2 comments:

  1. MaryMarch 4, 2010 at 3:10 PM

    Love`em, Kerr. They look great! Keep them coming!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kerr PeltoMarch 5, 2010 at 8:04 PM

    Thank you, Mary. I sure do appreciate your following my blog and making such a sweet comment!

    ReplyDelete

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