Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

A recent job was addressing these gorgeous Papyrus Easter cards in white calligraphy on silver envelopes. So lovely!

With the Tip of a Pen

Jake Weidmann is featured in this video, Forging the future with the tip of a pen.
Jake is a young man who has already made it to the top tier of the pointed pen world. He is one of only eleven living people with the honorific of "Master Penman" (Which includes both men and women.) I met Jake in Nashville at the Iampeth convention a few years ago. He lettered my name, as master penman tend to do at these conventions (carrying through with an old tradition among penmen) and my favorite memory from the Iampeth* convention was when Jake posed for a photo with me while holding my name card.
At that convention, Jake gave a demonstration of his offhand flourishing. The non-penman reading this may not know what that is. Have you ever seen the flourishy pen-drawn birds from the late 19th and early 20th centuries? They are offhand flourishes. Jake has mastered the ability to do those as well as any of the penmen from a century ago. The video above shows a few and shows him working on an illustration. It is very inspiring.
Here is a link to a demonstration of Offhand flourishing by John DeCollibus, another master penman.

This photo is my name with offhand flourishing by Michael Sull - yet another master penman. I know or have met most of the other master penmen living today, and have been fortunate to have been able to take classes from several of them.
*Iampeth - International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting.


By Jan Hurst

A Photoshop tutorial

I just read a good Photoshop tutorial on making repeated patterns on Gloria Hansen's blog. Here's the link so you can read it too if you like. I enjoy making digital collages. If I ever find time to do more, I will have a new trick up my sleeve after reading the article.

Here are a few samples of what I mean by digital collage, which is basically layering many images, altering them and creating a new work. I won first place in the new computer art category at the Kentucky State fair last year with "Lonely Serenade", which has images of a statue, a window, a branch and the very atmospheric-looking abalone shell.

Tulip psalm: Geraniums and Butterflies:

Butterfly Rose:Taking Time:

Fluttering By:

I'm glad times are changing. Digital art is now gaining acceptance. When I first started doing these, people didn't understand. At a show a few years ago, a local florist almost bought "Fluttering By", but didn't when she learned it was digital. I think today she would buy it.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is an image comprised of a photo I took in front of a tiny shop in a small town in Ireland and a text layer of an Irish Blessing.



by Jan Hurst

Rookwood Bunnies

Aren't these cute little Rookwood Bunnies adorable? I saw these on Facebook today. I wanted to 'pin' them to Pinterest, but you can't pin from Facebook, so the way around that madness is to post here about them. I have no affiliation with Rookwood other than I always wondered if the tiles around the many fireplaces in my grandparents' home may have been Rookwood pottery. Easter is coming. These bunnies look so cute in their little basket. They make me smile. I hope you enjoy them too.



By the way, you can visit with me on Facebook. You can also see my Pinterest boards.



By Jan Hurst

Reflecting

Reflecting on this Bible verse today, Proverbs 27:19. (Please click on image to view larger.) (Feel free to "Pin It"!)