(Not Limited to) Louisville Wedding Calligraphy

Calligraphy has been both a vocation and an avocation intermittently for all of my adult life. As I moved with the times into the computer era, I also took my art to the computer. (See the digital collage albums as well as wedding and calligraphy albums on my website.) I set up a website and a few blogs over the years, but until now I had not set up a completely separate blog for my wedding calligraphy. I stayed up very late last night/this morning rectifying that situation to make it easier for people to find what they're looking for. It will also be easier for me to refer potential clients to the appropriate link now.

I live in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just a mile-long bridge drive from Louisville, KY. I can look across the Ohio River (near flood stage now) and see Louisville as I drive down Utica Pike. Though I live in the Louisville area, thanks to the internet, FedEx, UPS and the good old USPS, I deliver my handlettered invitation and menu designs and calligraphy envelopes across the country.

Though I may pepper this blog with posts about special weddings once in awhile, I am going to try to be more specific with posts to the new Wedding Calligraphy Blog.

Thanks for visiting and sharing my blog with your friends!

Jan

My new color palette?

The last three paintings I've done are in this same palette. I think I've finally found the color scheme for redecorating my living area.



Actually, this one started out to be a calligraphed piece. Unfortunately I had started lettering directly onto the canvas with Sumi ink in a Speedball pen. Looked pretty good. When it was dry I painted over it with white acrylic. Thus the gray-streaky area. I took it outside...today was beautiful with lots of sunshine...and sprayed it with fixative in an attempt to save the black dividing lines and the remaining section of lettering. Everything worked well until I painted over the last section of lettering. Yikes! More darned grayness. Because this lettering wasn't as dense, the gray was splotchy rather than striated. I added more aqua to the paint and was happy to still be able to see a hint of lettering coming through. Re-coated the dividing lines and added the small circles in two sizes. I think it's done, but I'll wait a while to varnish it.

Jace's First Birthday Party Invitation

Sandy and I have been working on the invitations for Jace's first birthday party. We've been having fun, and I think they turned out nicely. No calligraphy - simply no time for that - but I don't think they don't needed it. Jace was called 'Monkey" for the kicking he was so fond of performing prior to birth. It still suits him, and thus the party theme.


Here is the front with photo of Jace in his monkey hat, and a glimpse of the envelope with a happy little monkey stamped on it.



And here is the inside. We attached front to back with a tiny brad. There is a map to the party site on the back of the front page.



Now the work begins on cupcake picks and party decorations.

New Work Finis!

Though I tried to add lettering, this piece just didn't want any! Here is one way I tested the lettering on it: I lettered on tissue paper and taped it to the piece where I wanted it to go. A bit of imagination was still called for, but the end result is that I thought it would muddle the design. It told me, "No!"

To see the final iteration of the piece, visit my website's paintings/mixed media page, where you can also see other paintings in the same color family. Except for my signature and a final varnish coat, I'm calling it finished.

New Work in Progress

Here's the latest mixed media piece I'm working on. It's acrylics with collage and oil pastels, but I think I need to add some lettering. The raised gesso may prevent a good base for that. Still thinking about it.

Here's a slightly closer view.

Laurie Doctor Journaling Demo

I attended a demo by Laurie Doctor on her journaling methods yesterday at Preston Art Center in Louisville. I had too much to do, a crowded weekend and it followed a very busy work week - so I almost didn't go. I'm glad I did. Laurie is amazing. She recites poetry as second nature. Very moving. Very appropriate to the journaling demo. Antonio Machado, Pablo Neruda, Jorge Luis Borges, William Stafford. It was as if she'd written them herself, they were spoken with such inner knowledge. Her journals, which I'd pored over at an exhibit a couple of years ago, are wonderful works - personal yet everyman's at the same time. Her techniques pull you in, make you want to read every word, yet you feel as though they are personal and you should not pry. It was an overflow crowd - probably more than 20 people crowded around the tables...more chairs had to be brought in, and another table. Each art-loving attendee had a wonderful personal story and reason to be there. We ran way overtime, testament to how interesting the discussion and demo was.

I have no photos to share, but I urge you to look her up. I can share with you a bit of her philosophy. I wanted to call her "The Five Minute Doctor" because many times she urged that we dedicate five minutes a day to journaling. She said everyone could devote five minutes to themselves...to temenos (Greek - a sacred place, a sacred time.) She has some wonderful large journals...each page an exciting discovery. One thing she does is take her scrap pieces (always on 'good paper') and makes journals from many disparate works - adding to them once they are in the journals. Having these pre-worked pieces as pages takes away the 'blank page' preciousness. It also makes them very interesting to peruse. She has small notebooks which she calls her 'line a day' journals. She commits herself to just one line a day (of course if more lines come, that's okay too.) Just saying you will devote five minutes or promise to write one line every day breaks the scary big thing into un-scary pieces.

That said, I intended to begin anew today. I have painted papers ready for lettering, for some wonderful piece of work (right!) Instead, I babysat. (It's okay. My grandson is the light of my life, and renews me in unartistic ways.) I did write more than a line in my journal, and now many more in this, my online journal. I am so pumped up by the interlude yesterday with like-minded people. My crazy-busy work week was put into proper perspective by this artistic renewal. It was great to see a few calligraphy friends again, and to see Laurie again. I've taken her workshops more than once, and highly recommend both hers and her husband Steve Skaggs' workshops. I wish I could attend their workshop in Italy this summer. THAT would be fun! Any donors available? : )

Sketchbook Challenge #1...Highly Prized

This is my sketch for the challenge "Highly Prized". I was quite intimidated by the skill of Jill's baby illustration and didn't want to try to sketch Jace, but - what can you do? He is the most highly prized part of my life. I don't think I did him justice. His face isn't dirty. That's my attempt at shadows. He was about 3 months old in the photo I sketched from. He is a rip-roaring ten months old now, and has started walking! And talking! (He said "Bye Bye", and often says "mama" and "dada". He hasn't attempted "Jamma" or "Pappy". Yet.)