Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

May the season bring each of us renewed life, and eyes more attuned to the beauty around us. May we care more generously for those around us.

And in the coming year may we enjoy new adventures, deep friendships, and greater joy. Life is good!

We shall see the sky sparkling

Pastel and gouache on paper. My favorite Checov quote.

Still Life with Clemintines

Here is the first charcoal piece my niece has ever done! We had fun setting up the still life with Christmas clementines from a friend. Stormy skies outside, baking Christmas goodies in the oven... a wonderful day.

Good job, Chiara!

DREAM Act

Today the US Senate voted against passage of the DREAM Act. This legislation would have given the children of immigrant parents who are here without legal documents a pathway to become citizens. I am disappointed and ashamed of their vote against these young people who have done nothing wrong, and want only the chance to be productive citizens. I have many young friends this legislation would have affected. They know no other homeland. Most have never left the US since coming here with their parents as babies or young children. Ricardo sees his parents working day and night for him and his siblings, and wants only the chance to study and work to repay them for their sacrifices. The DREAM act would have given him that chance. Bette is afraid to go anywhere after school because she fears she will be arrested and sent to a land she has never visited since she was two years old. Sarah wants to be a nurse. Salvador wants to study engineering. What are these people supposed to do with their lives now?

This piece is for them, and for the many "Dreamers" who led hunger strikes for the passage of this legislation. "Per aspera ad astra: Through adversity to the stars" I know there will be justice for them and for us all one day, it just takes more of us working for it, and a lot of perseverance. We are, after all aiming for the stars, for heaven on earth.

View from Red Rock Road

Here's a little watercolor sketch. The landscape here is so varied, and the colors change dramatically every minute. It is inspiring!

Tree of Life Vows

Luke and Elizabeth are wonderful artists. Their vows show their poetic mastery of language as well as their loving commitment to each other.

Babies Don't Keep

This is the perfect poem for a young mother. I make prints of it with different hairstyles on the mom, and paint each print in watercolors.

Just email me if you would like to purchase an 8x10 print.

Poem by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

"Always I love you"

This little piece is to memorialize a mother's favorite words to her child.

"Peace on Earth" Holiday Card

This Holiday card is now available for purchace on my website. Click here to go to my store.

"Welcome All Wonders" Christmas Card

This Christmas card is now available for purchase on my website in the "store"

The quotation is from Richard Crashaw. Inside is blank.

"Welcome all wonders in one sight

Eternity shut in a span

Summer in winter

Day in night

Heaven in earth

And God in man.

Great little one whose

All-embracing birth

Lifts earth to heaven

Stoops heaven to earth."

Map For "We've Moved" Announcement

This map was a fun project. The client wanted a unique way to let everyone know of her move. She sent out printed copies as the announcement the original, much larger piece is framed and hanging in her new home.

Watercolor and sumi ink on paper.
The names on these images are fictional.

Prayer for a Marriage

This poem by Steve Scafidi has such wonderful imagery, that it was really fun to do. I used watercolors, gouache, pastels and Edwards foil.

Pollen Path of Peace and Blessing

I did this piece for my brother. A favorite thing about being a professional calligrapher for me is this, that people bring me words that have deep meaning for them, and I get to discover the words through their eyes. Some of my favorite quotations have come to me through my clients.
Happy Birthday, Paul!

This is quoting Spider Woman on page 27, in the book by Margaret Schevill Link, The Pollen Path

White on Black

Wedding invitation envelopes. Written with a Gillotte #303 (which are no longer dependable by the way... out of ten I had only one I could get to write) with Dr. Martin's Bleed-proof White.

(ficticious name and address)

Your voice, my friend

This is one of my favorite Tagore quotations.

Sumi ink, brush and Brause and Speedball nibs.

Done for Wilma and the Missoula Calligraphers' Guild.

I miss you all!

Emerging-1

Pentel brush and sumi ink. Word written and scanned in separately. I layered it onto the drawing and erased the overlap areas.

Wedding Escort Cards

These escort cards were written on Crane's paper (my favorite) in gouache with a Gilotte 303 nib.

the tables were names of cities the couple had visited.

Congratulations, Haley and Shawn!

Butterflies in Ivy

This couple loves butterflies, so I added them into the ivy canopy on their Quaker Wedding Certificate. They are painted in watercolor, with a light wash of irridescent acrylic on the wings.

Congratulations, Elisabeth and Chandler!

But Now I See-3

Working away on this series.... more interested in getting ideas on paper than anything else. Even though I have a lot of work right now, I sneak this time into my day first hour in the morning.

Wedding Certificate Signing

I really enjoy seeing the wedding photos of my clients. Here, Megan, beautifully decorated with henna, signs while Sandip looks on. Photos by Blonnie Brooks

Typography

I like this quick video on typography. A visual lesson/ definition of the art form.

I am taking a really fun workshop from Betty Locke, a wonderful internationally known calligrapher from Canada. In "The Artistry of the Edged Brush" she is teaching us how to create calligraphic flowers with simple strokes. It is a great way to improve skills with the chisel edged brush. She is a fabulous teacher, cheerful, knowledgeable, and beautifully artistic.

Julian Waters, Calligrapher, Capital Edition Classic -

This is an interesting interview with Julian Waters, one of Calligraphy's very greats. His mother Sheila Waters, a very very great, is in it a little too.

Profile of calligrapher Julian Waters from the Emmy Award-winning news magazine show Capital Edition, which aired Sunday mornings on WUSA-TV in Washington. September 24, 1989. Written, produced and narrated by Jamie McIntyre. Photography and editing by Tim Deluca

Loosed of Limits

Walt Whitman quote, done with pastels and gouache.

But now I see-2

But now I see

Un dia a la vez/ One day at a time

For Patrick

This is a song I sing when I go into the prison here. It is the guys' favorite. Everyone knows it in Spanish and in English. And they bring down the house (almost) when we all sing it together. Ahhh... music!

"One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking of you. Just give me the strength to do every day what I have to do. Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus, tomorrow may never be mine. Lord help me today, please show me the way one day at a time"

song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson, first recorded in 1974

Signed Wedding Certificate

Wedding Certificate
Originally uploaded by ginsnob

Here is an example of one of my certificates all signed. The youngest ones signed with a hand print. So perfect!

Congratulations, Christy and Chris!

It takes a long time...

This hand is written with a metallic pointed nib. The calligraphic 'thicks' and 'thins' of the strokes are made by adding and releasing pressure. You can hear this pressure and release being used as the pen moves across the paper. The name and address are ficticious.

Same Sex Wedding Certificate

I love working for couples on these wedding documents. It gives me a chance to hold their hopes and dreams in my mind while I write their chosen words and paint their colors and symbols. What an honor to have even this small part in their joy.

Congratulations, Nancy and Elaine!

Quaker Marriage Certificate

This Quaker Marriage Certificate was designed for a couple who wanted the blue bonnet flowers of Texas as their decoration.

Congratulations, Sarah and Mark!

Copperplate Writing

Copperplate Pointed Pen writing goes very slowly.
I have been working on this order for several days, happy to be doing such a classic style. Sometimes I forget which century I am sitting in as I watch the ink flow out onto the white paper. (The readable names and addresses are ficticious to protect privacy.)
Congratulations to my clients Maggie and Jake!

Calligraphic Handwriting on Envelopes

These envelopes were written with a monolinear tool, more quickly than with the chisel edge. The flourishes were easier and freer than with the chisel too. I mixed the paint to match a kind of 'eggplant' color, and had the pleasure of working on Crane's paper. I loved how they turned out.

Client: Elizabeth Hummert, Boise Designer

Writing

My son Dylan filmed me writing late one night. Here is a quick view of cursive 'Italic' written with sumi ink on Folio paper with a Speedball C-1 nib. I only use the Speedball nibs in this size and in C-0. They provide a smoother ink flow than do the resevoirs of the Brause or Tape or Mitchell nibs in a large size.