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This is a little calligraphy play done at the Steven Skaggs workshop I attended earlier this month. It's tough to describe what the workshop was like... it was less about calligraphy and more about connecting emotionally with making our own marks... marks that might or might not be beautiful lettering. It was definitely a stretch for me on many levels, and I'm hopeful I'll be able to use what I learned to grow as an artist and a human.
I'm not a very "politically active" person... I'm not even physically active enough for my own good... but this video is so well done, I had to share it. It's lengthy, but I urge you to look at it, especially if you have children of your own, or if you ever hope to have children. The debate about Global Warming or Global Climate Change is just so incredibly stupid, I had to share this with you. Please share it with your friends, too...
And then, get in the habit of recycling if you don't already...
think about what you put in your garbage bin... think that plastic ziplock bag will ever breakdown in a landfill? How about that styrofoam cup or the plastic cup from this morning's iced coffee at Starbucks? That shit will out live all of us! And don't even get me started on plastic shopping bags! If you don't already, maybe you could start carrying one of those canvas bags you have lying around in your closets with you, and take one everywhere you go (I know you've got at least one... if you're anything like me, you have at least 10 of them!)... put one in every car you own... right up there on the seat next to you, so you remember to use it! Better yet, put one on the handlebars of that bike in your garage, and use the bike and the canvas tote the next time you need just a couple things from the grocery store (providing the grocery store is less than five miles from your house!)
There is so much we can do as individuals, it just takes some thought and some time, but think of the payoff!!! Now I need to get my act together and write down the names and addresses of the people who represent me at the state and national level, so it's easy for me to fire off a handwritten letter... one that will get their attention... maybe in one of my cool and unusual recycled magazine page envelopes like these...
Most of these envelopes are made from heavy magazine or catalog pages... plus there's one made from a map, one made from tyvek paper with calligraphy doodling on it, & one made from wrapping paper. You name it, if it's heavy enough to make into a decent envelope, it's fair game at my house. Kids LOVE making these, too... okay, the six year old in me LOVES making these! I don't know why I like making envelopes so much, but it's really fun. I make lots up in advance so I have them on hand when I need one, and people seem to really like getting them in the mail. At the very least, if the envelope is outrageous enough, perhaps my letter will make its way to my representative's desk and actually get read.
Anyway, that's enough blabbing about recycling and global warming and my goofy envelopes for one day. Take care of yourselves and go recycle, reuse, or reduce something!!! :D
I have been in a major funk for the past at least two weeks, and I'm not sure I'm seeing much in the way of real improvement. I don't think I'm clinically depressed, but maybe I am, and just don't want to see it. Some of my mood has to do with the calligraphy workshop I attended at the beginning of June. While it was a really different and stimulating workshop, I came away from it feeling like a complete fraud. I hated every single letter I put to paper... I didn't feel like I really "got" what I was supposed to "get" from some of the exercises... sort of like I just couldn't connect with my emotions in that setting, and then I certainly couldn't connect what few emotions I could identify with the marks my pen and brush were able to make. Does any of that make sense to you?!?
I guess I was just very, very disappointed with my work. It's not easy to work beyond our comfort level, I realize that. And certainly, trying to do work that is new and different, in a public workshop with an instructor you've just met; work that is really personal and potentially revealing, can be quite intimidating. We were definitely asked to go places in our psyche that were a little bit frightening, and I guess I wasn't as comfortable with that as I thought I'd be. So add to my emotional discomfort, the fact that I just could not write a beautiful letter to save my life, that entire weekend; and I guess it's understandable if I've been feeling really disillusioned and a bit confused.
Sheila Waters writes in her book, Foundations of Calligraphy,
"Every student reaches a plateau where progress is not discernible. It is very easy to become depressed after an inspiring workshop. Knowledge tends to come in spurts, especially after enlightened reading, a class, or workshop, so that awareness jumps way ahead of skill, which proceeds at its own steady pace. When the gap is wide, and skill development seems to lag a long way behind, the student may get discouraged and give up. Realize that, on the contrary, this period is one of great potential advancement because the knowledge of how to progress is there, even though your present skill level cannot yet achieve it."
Those words have been very, very helpful to me, as they perfectly illustrate the place I'm in, in regards to my calligraphy/art. So, in an effort to move beyond my current skill level in calligraphy, I'm taking private lessons with a wonderful lady from our guild, named Dale Frankel. She lives close by and she's someone I've always felt comfortable with. I summoned the courage to ask if she'd take me on as a private student, and she agreed. This requires that I actually sit down, take the time to line paper with the appropriate guildelines, and write in a hand I'm not very comfortable with, and actually do the disciplined practice work I know I need to do. (That is opposed to just thinking about doing the practice work, something I'm really, really good at!).
I've also been reading books on working with acrylic paints and making interesting backgrounds. I guess I know in my head the kind of work I want to make, and now I'm laying the groundwork, so that I'll be able to produce that work.
I was in such a funk that I took last week off from work, very last minute... thankfully I have a wonderful boss and I had the vacation time to take! I essentially sequestered myself... I didn't answer the phone, didn't check emails, tried not to get in the car to go anywhere I didn't have to go, and basically did what I needed to do to take care of myself. These two pieces, at the top and bottom of this post, are little snippets of some of the background "play" I've been doing, with some "calligraphic scribble" (and I do mean scribble) added for interest.
Hope you are all doing well...
I attended a dynamite calligraphy workshop this past weekend with an incredible artist and teacher, named Steven Skaggs, from Louisville, KY. Once I've had a little time to play at the computer, I'll post some work from the class. Definitely a life changing experience... and how cool to be able to come away from a workshop and say that, right?!?
Take care and have a good night, K.
This is a card I made for a friend and sent out a few weeks ago. I'm kind of annoyed at myself for not scanning the back of the envelope, because that turned out pretty cool, if I may say so myself! I love the blues and greens, and if you look closely, there are letters in texture among the colors... it was done by laying down a layer of gesso on the Arches text wove paper, and then adding in ink and moving it around, before making letters in the still wet gesso, using a large, flat nib.
That same friend, Kim, at Queen of Arts blog site, has sent me some wonderful mail art that I wanted to share with you. And I apologize for taking so long to post all of this. I got sick on the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend, and am just now feeling well enough to make art/scan art/post anything! It's just an upper respiratory viral type infection, but rapidly became much more when my asthma kicked in, and I'm blaming my husband for the entire mess (he was "deathly ill" with the same thing the week before me). I haven't worked since May 21st... tomorrow will be my first day back, and while I'm sure it seems pretty suspect that I ended up with all that time off around the holiday, trust me, it's been no picnic!!! Really... honestly... I have proof... my daughter's sick now... the house is a mess... I have prescriptions to treat this on my kitchen counter... I'm still wheezing... locusts!!! (Blues Brother's reference... sorry, couldn't help myself!).
Thank you, Kim for the gorgeous artwork you made and sent to me... it was a real treat to get your lovely work and sentiments in my post box!
