Love Letters

Postcard Friendship Fridays part deux...

Here is this week's Friday postcard, done for a weekly project hosted by Marie at Vintage Postcards... (click on the image to see it in a larger format, please... it looks much better up close and personal!)...

And even though my postcard isn't vintage, these lovely folks have graciously welcomed me into the fold as a lover of postcard art... very cool.

(This is version No. 1, see version No. 2 below)

Perhaps a bit dark for this beautiful time of year, and it's not intentional, it's just the color palette I am most often drawn to, just not usually with so much black.  

The postcard started out white, and I did some hastily drawn letters that later I didn't like... so I tried to put a layer of pastels over the letters, which turned out okay... but being inexperienced with pastels, I put a layer of acrylic gel over it, to protect the pastels, and turned it into a smeared mess... so the next logical thing to do is to cover the muck with black gesso, right?!?  

OK, well, it's all I could come up with... so here's the final image... there's torn paper from a french book, torn paper I've done some calligraphy practice on, torn tissue paper, a tyvek square, and a paper heart glued onto the card... in the black gesso is some beautiful gold ink, which does not show up very well on this scan. 

 Anyway, good Friday greetings to you all... and now... :D

 GO MAKE SOMETHING!!!

Addendum to original post:

After a reader told me very bluntly, that this postcard looked like someone rubbed coal all over it, I had to agree, sort of... it was pretty dark to start with, and I wasn't especially happy with it myself... 

so, here is Friendship Friday postcard part deux.deux...

It's still quite dark, but I think it's a bit more interesting, and I am happier with it... can you spot the differences? :D

Postcard Friendship Fridays

After reading my post about the Postcrossing Postcard project, I met Marie at Vintage Postcards.  Marie hosts a "Postcard Friendship Friday", so I thought I'd enter the postcard below...

(I apologize that the image isn't better, I'm having trouble getting my old scanner to talk to my new MacBook)...

This postcard is for a friend of mine from the Flourishing workshop I attended last weekend... I promised to write to each of the folks I met, and I intend to keep my promise, even if it takes me months!  

Postcrossing Postcard

I've been participating in a postcard swap, through the website Postcrossing, and my latest little ditty is in honor of one of hockey's all time greats, Gordie Howe... 

to celebrate the Detroit Red Wings, who just closed the deal and beat the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime at the "Joe".  Can you name the original six NHL teams?  I'll give you two hints... Detroit and Chicago are two of the six... what a great series...

Go Wings!!! 

Masterpiece Flourishing Workshop

This was a very special weekend, spent with like-minded calligraphers, under the tutelage of Michael Sull, the Master Penman... I really wasn't sure what to expect, and it was clear I was out of my league, but I learned a great deal and had a wonderful time.  Michael Sull could not be a kinder, more gentle man, who is an expert at his craft; and like any expert, makes his work look really simple to execute. 

I met wonderful, warm people from all over the country, and from Ontario, Canada; and saw some of the most incredible work I've ever seen... really... really talented people at this weekend convergence of calligraphers.  Pat from Chicago, who is an incredible illustrator and letterer; Armando from San Francisco, who's letters and flourishes were SO lovely (what a nice man, and so encouraging!); Heather from Ontario (unbelievable, incredible work); Ann from Nebraska who is one of the warmest people I've ever met, and is a professional musician; Delphene from Hartland, MI, who quietly pens little gems and is completely unassuming and humble; Kristy who came from Kalamazoo and whose twinkling enthusiasm is delightful; Ann and Pat from Midland... ladies, like me, who were quite new to this whole flourishing business and who were really fun to get to know; Vicki from Royal Oak, MI, who, like Delphene quietly makes beautiful, lovely letters and is so kind; and Harvest, who hosted and organized the event, and who's work is most amazingly beautiful... and of course, Michael, who I'd only heard the nicest things about... well, it's all true!  What a nice man and a wonderful, thoughtful teacher...

I was privileged to be among these folks... I had a wonderful time and learned a great deal... as always about letters, about making art, & about myself.  I came home a different person, even if the change is only noticeable to me, it's there, surely.  

This is an off-hand flourish Michael did for the class on a whim... amazing.

Here's an example of flourishing the whole class worked on, which is what Michael refers to as Masterpiece Flourishing, which is different that the example of off-hand flourishing shown above.  

First, we penciled the letters (peony is misspelled... oops)...

Then, we drew an outline of the size and shape of the entire image we wanted to make, and then started the flourishing, in pencil...  I apologize for how faint the image is!

 

Then, we put the filigree sort of flourishing on top of the lettering... again, I apologize for how faint this image is!

Here are some other examples of my off-hand flourishing practice work... 

So gratefully, quietly, I go about my day... enjoying my memories of the weekend with new friends, anxious to get back into my studio to make letters and flourishes... and I can only hope I, too, will flourish!  (I'll hopefully have a photo of the group to share, really soon).

Now, go make something!

These are photos from the Disintegration Collaboration Seth is hosting, over at The Altered Page.

True to form, I was in a hurry, and couldn't immediately think of anything "cool" to do with my pages of artwork I wanted to "disintegrate", so I stuffed everything into a mesh laundry bag... how imaginative!!! (I'm so proud of myself!)  So here is the bag after hanging outdoors for three months... or was it four months... oh, who cares... I at least participated, right?!?  (Thank you, by the way, Seth; for putting together such a cool project!)

Here are some of the papers after they were unveiled from the magical mesh bag... mind you, other, more inventive folks tied their papers up with twine or rafia... for some goofy reason, even though there was rafia hanging right in front of me, all I could come up with was the mesh bag... still smacking myself on my forehead for that sluggish, non-imaginative idea!

Moo showing you my bundle of disintegrated papers...

Wait!  What's this?!?  A kitten with a tied up bundle of disintegrated papers?!?  How did that happen?!?  Oh, that's right... I snuck a pack of tied up pages outside, about a month after hanging the mesh bag out; after I realized I, too, could tie pages up with rafia, and perhaps I would feel less shame about my lazy behavior!  

Now I have to get busy and put together some artwork with my disintegrated artwork... or should I say I have to get busy making disintegrated artwork with my disintegrated artwork... see why I end up stuffing paper into a mesh bag?!?  This sort of mental nuttiness could go on for hours if I'm not careful!  ;D  

I've got to go now and MAKE SOMETHING!!!

Pulp Fiction morphs into great book cover art!

Thomas Allen’s Book Art Photography

I like to daydream and think this is me at work... femme fatale, about twenty years ago (no, not the woman in the nightie, though I'm sure I looked just that good twenty years ago!... I'm referring to the nurse!)... be sure to check this artist's site out... the artwork he's created is really amazing!  

By the way, I found this artwork via an emailed newsletter I get from the folks at VSL, or Very Short List...   I get great little blurbs from these folks about things I might never see otherwise... be sure to check them out!

Paper Salad all gone... the kitchen is closed!

Hey there... to all of you who requested Paper Salad from me, thank you so much for your interest in my paper scraps.  I have pretty much put everyone's salads together... now I just need to get them into an envelope suitable for mailing, get the labels written, and get them in the mail.  Easier said than done for me, for some goofy reason!  But at least my desk is now clear of scraps and torn paper pieces... I am going to respectfully rescind my offer now, as I am pooped from making so many salads, so I'm going to close the kitchen.  I was very touched by the very lovely comments people left for me, requesting my paper scraps.   

Typically, I use those scraps in my collage work... I cut them into squares or punch out heart shapes or leaf shapes... I use larger pieces in rectangle shapes for sort of the "base" of the collage, and work out from there (especially when I'm making a greeting card)... 

 

I apologize that this photo is so washed out, at the bottom especially... but you can still see where I've used a rectangular piece of paper to "anchor" the collage to the piece behind it... and because the piece behind the collaged parts is already kind of busy, you can see I used fairly "plain" scraps of paper in the collage.  

You can also see how I use the punched out heart shapes to give the collage some interest... plus, I like hearts a lot, so I typically will put at least one heart in all of my collages.  Just a little show of love.  :D

Anyhow, here is a shot of the salads waiting to be put in envelopes to go in the mail... I just hope no one is disappointed with their salads!