inspiration monday

i have long believed that the best way to find inspiration is to spend some time with other artists....and this past saturday i had the honor of sharing some creative cursive with 13 extremely talented, sweet little birds in manhattan, new york!

we talked about our abc's......

and practiced, practiced, practiced.

 then we got out our favorite supplies and added our own personal touch......

and we even gathered lots of ideas and created some dreamy artwork!

but most of all, we spent the day as only artists can do.....by sharing some laughter, lots of encouragement, and a little bit of chocolate with each other.
thank you, precious little art birdies, for a fabulous day!
i loved meeting each one of you.....you truly rock the casbah,
and i wish i could tell you how much you taught me!

and to my beautiful kindred art buddy michele, who puts her loving heart and soul into providing inspiration for others through her little bird studio.....well, as the saying goes, you better put on your sunglasses 'cause your future is looking mighty bright, girlie!  you are so very appreciated, and i thank you SO much for inviting me to your fabulous studio!  xox

little bird in the big apple

i'm busy packing my supplies and trying to get organized

because i'm headed to little bird creations in new york city to 

teach my creative cursive workshop  this weekend!  woo hoo!!  

i've got lots of information all printed out.....

and tucked into folders for everyone.

and my art apron, name tag, and all the other "important stuff" is ready to be packed....
 guess which one goes into the suitcase first!  :))

hope you have a terrific weekend!
xox

inspiration monday

last week our lettering group hosted a workshop with irish master calligrapher denis brown.  it was such a privilege to watch this maestro demonstrate his skill......and i was so inspired, that at one point i felt tears start to well up in my eyes! 

{insert deep sigh and long pause.....}

but as easy as i always want it to be, it always comes back to the same message:  

practice, practice, practice.

so practice i shall.  but you know how it is......

once i get started, my mind starts to wander and i get inspired to do other things with that pen.

and before i know it,  i've completely jumped off the path.

um, or should i say, i've completely jumped off the cliff......

:))

you can treat yourself to a sampling of denis' exquisite letterforms here.....

{practice lettering and other "stuff" done with a 3.8 mm pilot parallel pen}

inspiration monday

i can't think of anything more inspiring than getting together with my art buddies and spending the entire day playing with letters.....and this past saturday we did just that!  we talked, ate a bit of chocolate, laughed, and learned a lot about graphite.   our instructor was eliza holliday.....and if you're a letter geek like me, then you probably know her work, and you're probably already drooling over the thought of her gorgeous, gorgeous letterforms!  

eliza taught us a lot about shading and blending......

and then she encouraged us to really play for a while.
{this started out as a capital letter A......i'm not really sure what it is now, but i think he's kind of cute.....in a strange-creature-on-two-wheels kinda way.}

this was the best saturday i've spent in a long, long time!  many hugs to eliza and my sweet special art buddies for a fabulous day of graphite play!  and thank you mr. yellow papermate sharpwriter #2 automatic pencil for providing so much inspiration!!

you can see eliza's beautiful hand-lettered graphite book here!

gwen weaver workshop

i had a GREAT time this past weekend in orlando with all of my lettering buddies at a pointed pen workshop taught by calligrapher gwen weaver.  i can best describe gwen's work using just one word:  FAB-U-LOUS!  here is a photo of her using one of her favorite esterbrook nibs as she gives us a demo...and there's my very cute friend martha looking on!

here is an example of the beautiful, delicate letterforms that gwen creates, using a nib with a point the size of a straight pin!

here's me and gwen after two wonderful days of lettering, laughter and fun!  after all these years, my heart still skips a beat when i see beautiful letterforms.  and, i just love being with others who feel the same way.  with the convenience of computer fonts, it would be easy to completely abandon the twenty years of blood, sweat and tears that i've put into this craft.  but as long as there are folks out there who share my love for the alphabet, calligraphy is alive and well!  thanks, gwen...please come back soon!

letters...and chocolate

i'm on my way to orlando this weekend with my good buddy martha...we'll be taking a lettering workshop taught by calligrapher gwen weaver.  ooooh, i can't wait...girl's weekend!!  and, there will be plenty of chocolate, potato chips, and good ol' fashioned fun...you can count on it.   i'll fill you in on the details when i get back...have a great weekend!