Calligraphy Birthday Rubber Stamp

Ooh... how could i forget to tell you... the Birthday stamp I told you about a while ago is now available from Crafty Individuals

It began like this... with just light guidelines

 to keep me straight & in proportion

It grew to this.... building up the texture as I went... squinting through half closed eyes at times to judge how heavy or light the lettering should be & where... introducing contrast in size & weight & letterform, whilst trying to keep an overall unity

and finished up like this... just a bit of cleaning up to do. I used ruling pens & Mitchell nibs. You can see the finished result here

In hindsight, it could have done with an extra line of heavier text to match the border at the bottom, but hey... I reckon it works just fine!

Winter Blues, Misty Greys & Pencil Lettering

Nothing depressing about these winter blues! Clear skies reflected in snow... heaven & earth unified casting a beautiful blue glow over everything... I couldn't help but give thanks as i walked, breathing cold, crisp air...

Perfect inspiration for my exploration of 'winter textures'... once again I smudged acrylic straight onto the paper, Saunders Waterford Not... a totally different surface to the repair paper, just look at the texture...

I loved the intensity of this blue, so only paled down some of it in this one... icy air and earth and water revealed themselves on the paper.... Even the mist closing in seen through the branches seemed to have a blue cast to it...

 The white space plays just as an important part as the marks on the paper...

At this point the words weren't formed... just the feeling of elements fused together... a frozen moment in the vastness....

winter... land, sea, sky and air breathe as one, exhaling a misty sigh...

Pencil lettering... built-up capitals using a 6H pencil gave a 'barely there' quality to parts of the letters, combined with 3H &  small areas of 2B... so the words recede & come forward like parts of the landscape in the mist...

Earth Rests...

I love the textures & patterns that the recent snow threw up. It may have been harder for many to get about, but nature grabbed the opportunity to dress up for the season in the finest lace & delicate fabrics, glistening in the pale light.

I was supposed to be teaching a workshop for North East Scribes, a calligraphy group based in Darlington, earlier this month... unfortunately it was cancelled due to the weather. My plan had been to work with textures inspired by nature, and as the weather changed, so did my ideas. Over the last couple of weeks I've been playing around with "winter textures".

Many winter scenes are mainly shades of white & grey, with just a hint of colour.... so that's what i've been using...

I'm not trying to 'copy' nature... just to echo the feel... the sense of the landscape & textures. I can sit and create endless variations on this theme! This is one I will probably work up to a larger piece (this is approx 12x17cm) & build on the words....

Earth rests, just waiting for spring...

I blended black & white acrylic directly onto repair paper (a lightweight, laid paper used for book conservation). The laid lines add to the texture, and it's lovely to write on. I used a ruling pen & walnut ink for the lettering, then smudged some very dilute ink amongst the acrylic.

Actually, earth does not "just" sit around waiting for spring, even though it may seem to us as if everything in on 'hold' for a while. The maple seeds above are still maturing, ready to be cast adrift... others already on the ground are shedding their outer 'wings' readying themselves, to put out their first delicate strands of roots, preparing to seek their nourishment from the earth mother, others are already in her womb, growing & preparing to sprout into the light... as do our own souls. 

No, nothing is static... in nature or in our lives. Even when we feel as if nothing is happening, that we are not moving forward, unseen energies are moving behind the scenes, deep within us.... preparing, maturing, shedding layers, readying our Self for the next stage of growth, the next step towards the light. Rather than nothing happening, things are opening. 

The Celebration Tree Grove...

... is a lovely place to wander.... with links to posts by a diverse collection bloggers. There's science & spirituality, poetry & preservation, art & arboreal.... all with trees being the common denominator... why not take a walk through the forests with Jason at Xenogere who guides us on the journey in this months Festival Of the Trees. Enjoy!