Art, Lettering & Life

Wedding Certificate

2011-11-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

This was such a nice project to work on. First of all, Jennifer from Joie de Vivre is such a sweetheart to work with. And secondly, the story of the couple that I did the certificate for warms my heart. Apparently, Ed is 90 and Angie is in her 70's. They had both lost their spouses after being caregivers for about 10 years. Ed signed up for online dating and Angie's kids signed her up. That's how they found each other and fell in love. There are pencil lines for each of their wedding guests to sign the certificate.The script here is pointed pen and the body copy is italic.

Sonoma Logo Design

2011-10-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to show you a logo design I did for a new online magazine. I've been working with the lovely founder, Erica, and have seen the site develop into something quite wonderful. Sonoma Christian Home is up and running. There are some great articles, photos and recipes. Now it's time for me to design her business card. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

The Fabulous Animal Rescue Project

2011-10-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

A friend just introduced me to a great blog! The Fabulous Animal Rescue Project is a global artistic effort to inspire people to reach out and help animals by raising funds for no kill animal rescue groups, sanctuaries, and shelters. With donated images of some incredible artist's animal art, they sell handmade greeting cards, buttons, magnets, and pocket mirrors. 80% of every sale is donated to the chosen charity of the month. The painting above, of bunnies from Bunny Luv Rabbit Rescue, is one of two that I donated for the cause. I'm really excited to be part of F.A.R.P.!

Me and Deb

2011-09-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

I surprised my friend Debbie with this watercolor painting of the two of us for her birthday. Knowing Deb embraces how we age and is comfortable with some gray hair and lines, I did the portrait to reflect our age (mostly : ) If I had had my way, we would have no wrinkles and probably look at least five years younger!

When Debbie and I first met, it was as if we had known each other our whole lives. We started asking each other the usual questions, you know, where did you grow up, go to school, jobs, groups, etc. We discovered that we were born at the same hospital, the same year, just one day apart, and, her last name started with a G and mine with an H. In those days (yes, the olden days) mom's and babies weren't sent home right away, babies were in the nursery side by side alphabetically. Aha, that's how we knew each other!

Babaloo

2011-08-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share my very first digital font with you! It launched on myfonts.com on August 12th. I originally hand lettered the alphabet with a stick and sumi ink then scanned it into Fontographer and created the resulting digital font. This encourages me to come up with more complex and interesting fonts in the future!

Polymer Play

2011-05-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

I took another class at Create art retreat in Costa Mesa recently. It was called Brooch the Subject and was taught by the very talented Laurie Mika . I had never worked with polymer clay before this three hour class. Laurie showed us these two construction ideas for our small pieces. She gave us so many creative techniques to use...rubber stamps for texture, acrylic paints applied with our fingers, attaching various doodads. It was so much fun and Laurie was a great teacher.

I was telling Cody, my creative 15 year old friend, about the class and we decided we would get together for a polymer play date. I made the one on the ball chain and Cody made the cup. Didn't she do a great piece?

Journal Style

2011-05-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

This past week, I treated myself to a few art classes at Create, an art retreat in Costa Mesa, California. Saturday's class was Sketching and Watercolor, Journal Style with the fabulous Jane La Fazio . I first found Jane through her blog and fell in love with her art. I was so excited to take a class from her. What a talented artist and totally delightful person! Because of how rarely I draw, I tend to struggle with it and then consequently I don't like doing it. Jane created a relaxing environment which made the experience so enjoyable and stress free. She encouraged us to illustrate the props she brought to class by really carefully looking at them. We first drew in pencil, then outlined our image in waterproof black marker (Pitt pens by Faber Castell). Then, using a water brush by Niji, we filled in our illustrations with watercolor. The water brush is a synthetic brush tip and the hollow plastic handle of the brush contains the water you need to use in your painting. It took me a while to get used to the water brush. Okay, I confess, I cheated and also used my traditional paint brush. I found that easier when I wanted to pick up excess water or color from my painting.

In the second half of the class, we were to draw 3 items that related to our day in class. From the props, I chose a ceramic tile and a bird. Then since I had been vacillating between the tradition brush and the water brush, I chose those for my third image to help define my day. Jane nudged us to pick up our pace, which is part of the key in capturing images while journaling. I found the speed really helped to keep my work fresh. This was a very fun class!

Silver Charm Necklace

2011-05-08T15:14:00.001-07:00

On occasion I make necklaces and bracelets to sell. I saw ball chains being used to make jewelry at a craft show and got hooked on that approach. I think they look like silver beads and they're much easier to open and close than a regular clasp. The last time I made jewelry was November of 2010 for a trunk show I put on with a couple of friends. I just completed this one at the request of a customer who has purchased my jewelry before. Each piece I make is unique, which is a fun challenge for me as well as being nice for the customer to know they've got a piece that's one of a kind.

Yin Yang

2011-04-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

A friend of mind, Raphael Natale, was attending a networking group and asked me to do a mask for him using his words that represent his behavior modification model. (He does great work, check it out!). I bought a white plastic mask and was originally going to color the black side and then letter directly onto the mask. When I realized the mask surface was all curves I was concerned the lettering may not come out well. I decided to use torn bits of japanese papers to define the white and black sides of the mask. I then did the lettering by hand and scanned it. I printed the black lettering on white, then did a reverse in photoshop to make the white letters on the black background. I then tore the words out of the sheet and decoupaged them onto the mask. It was a bigger project then I had expected but I had such fun doing it! Raphael loved it and will continue to use it for his seminars.

Floral Gift

2011-03-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

On January 19th my Aunt Eva celebrated her 70th birthday. She had invited her children and their children as well as me and my brother to join her for a garden party. I would love to have gone since I absolutely adore her, but she lives in Sydney and it just wasn't feasible for me to go. She's an amazing woman with an adventurous spirit. With teaching as her career, she has volunteered with the Peace Corps many times. Her last round was on Vanuatu for a year and a half.

Knowing that she loves to garden, I made this piece for her. I hope it makes it to Australia safely and I hope to make it there one day soon myself!

Love is in the Air

2011-02-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, Sugar Paper has created a very sweet line of cards just for the occasion. I'm happy to have my calligraphy incorporated into some of their great designs! Check them out on Sugar Paper's blog.

New York

2011-02-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

The girls at Sugar Paper showed me the lettering sample "Thinking of You"as inspiration. Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. created the card above.

Here's my twist on that style with "New York". It's a brand new lettering style for me. Because the lettering is actually drawn and built up rather than simply lettered with one pen nib, it's much more time consuming. Shown here is a proposed design for a moving announcement.

You can also see my lettering of New York here.

A Wedding for Two

2011-01-02T12:57:00.001-08:00

I recently had the privilege of working on an event with some of the most talented people in the event business! Lisa Vorce of Oh, How Charming contacted me to do menus for an elopement she was designing. The photography is by Aaron Delesie and is absolutely gorgeous, that coupled with Mindy Rice's floral design the location, Figueroa Mountain Farmhouse , Barker Decor and Susan's announcement from Papel Paper and Press ...beautiful. Here's the link to Style Me Pretty, one of the sites featuring this lovely event. There, you will see a gallery of photos that will take your breath away!

Poetry of Handwriting

2010-11-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

I recently took a class from Laurie Doctor called the Poetry of Handwriting. While I thought it was going to be about learning calligraphy, it was really more about getting into a rhythm and flow and not worrying so much about the aesthetics of the writing. I can appreciate the idea of being in the flow but to not be concerned with the look of the lettering is very hard! Laurie recited beautiful poetry throughout class while we practiced mixing many shades of neutrals in watercolor and writing freely as she had demonstrated. We each created an accordian book using the arches text wove paper that we had first painted with sumi ink then our washes of neutrals. The book was meant to be a journal of the process, a record of our formulas for our washes, snippets of letter shapes that we want to record and build on. The first photo above is the outside of my book and the second shows the inside where the pocket holds little samples.

Our next project was to section off parts of the black text wove and do a variety of lettering shapes and again, using neutrals,watercolor, gouache, colored pencils. Okay, I cheated, I used some white and gold gouache to liven it up a bit! Then, according to the measurements Laurie provided, we cut up the piece and folded it, making it into a holder for our accordian book. Above is the full piece I did. Once I had cut it up and folded it, I didn't like the way it looked and wished I hadn't cut it. I decided to sew it back together using bookbinding thread, with the pieces placed differently than how I had originally done it. The colors in the photo below are true to the actual piece. In the end, I think this was my favorite part of the class.

New Logo Design

2010-10-30T15:10:00.001-07:00

I just finished this playful logo design for Terri. Terri makes some of the neatest jewelry, amongst other craft goodies. She added her own flair to the banner by deepening the blue and adding polka dots!

Why Water?

2010-10-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Water is so essential to our lives and the planet and I know I completely take it for granted. I turn on my faucet, and there it is. Tomorrow is Blog Action Day and the subject this year is water. You can join in or simply read more about it here.

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us who are subject to preventable disease and even death because of something that many of us take for granted.

Access to clean water is not just a human rights issue. It’s an environmental issue. An animal welfare issue. A sustainability issue. Water is a global issue, and it affects all of us.

Trunk Show

2010-10-13T16:51:00.001-07:00

This is an invitation I did for a trunk show I'm doing with a couple of friends in November. The flourishes in the corners are swashes from the Bickham typeface, Trunk Show is hand lettered, as well as the envelopes, and the rest is typeset.

I'm planning to make some little accordian books with quotes, some holiday greetings and some messages of love. You can see a sample here . I'm also going to make some jewelry which I've got a few samples of below.

This first one and the bracelet below are using jumbo ball chains which I think are so fun. On this necklace all the charms are sterling silver except for the center heart which is pewter.

I did this necklace with a much smaller ball chain that's been doubled. Some of the pieces are sterling silver, a couple are marquesite, one brass, and I'm not sure what the center heart is made from.

And this is one of my charm bracelets which is a combination of materials.

Ring Pillow

2010-10-09T21:15:00.001-07:00

Here's a new twist on a ring pillow and leave it to creative Jo Gartin of Love Luck and Angels to come up with this idea. I used acrylic paint and a brush to letter on this rough piece of wood. The rings will be tied to this eight inch wide slice of wood with ribbon.

Painted Tag

2010-09-22T13:50:00.001-07:00

I was getting ready to send a birthday card to my friend Stan and I really wanted to try something different for the addressing. I know Stan usually will save the envelopes I address, so I thought, maybe if I use a tag on the envelope he could have just something nice with his name on it, rather than yet another envelope. I just grabbed some gouache and applied it to the tag with a paper towel. Yes, that's right, I use very intricate techniques : ) I mounted the tag on the envelope then did the address on one line in gold with a pointed pen mimicking the style I used to do his name, which was done with a brush. Now we'll see if a tag with fibers attached will make it through the U.S. mail...I hope so or Stan will be receiving an e-card from me!

Martha Stewart Weddings

2010-09-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

I just picked up the Fall issue of Martha Stewart
Weddings to check out my work that was published.
They published a photo of a seating card and
envelope in my calligraphy. The stationery designs
shown here are by Sugar Paper I've got a picture of
the cover on the right. It's always veryexciting to be published!

Accordian Book

2010-09-06T21:23:00.001-07:00

I just got back from a visit with my brother and sister-in-law at their home in Santa Barbara. Ah, it's so beautiful there! I made this little two sided accordian book to give Wendy for her birthday. She is a fellow animal lover and I knew she would enjoy these two quotes. This first photo is one of the covers that corresponds with the quote in black ink below.

Here's the cover on the reverse side of the book. Because the quote below is more humorous, I chose the polka dots for the cover, used the colored ink (which coordinates with the cover on the other side) and this whimsical variation of pointed pen calligraphy.

60's Lettering and Typecon

2010-08-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe how much time has gone by since my last post! I've been working on some nice jobs but the calligraphy hasn't been all that different from what I've posted in the past. Well, this style is definitely different and it's a first for me. The invitation has a Beatles/ Yellow Submarine theme so I found the typeface that was used online (it's called Doobie - how perfect is that!) , and worked out how to hand letter it. It was hard at first but then became kind of fun to do. Thankfully it wasn't a big job because these babies took some time!

I also took some time off to attend Typecon- a typography conference held each year by SOTA (The Society of Typographic Aficionados). It was five days of fascinating lectures on all different type related topics. I also took a workshop with a great type and logo designer Leslie Cabarga . I had an opportunity to mingle with some incredible designers and artists including Jill Bell and
Teri Kahan. I want to design typefaces/fonts to sell and now I'm all fired up to move forward!

Chalkboard Garden Markers

2010-07-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

I was asked by Chelsea to write on these cute metal rimmed signs for her garden. Although they are chalkboards, I used acrylic paint on them with a calligraphy pen since Chelsea wanted the signs to be permanent. Makes me want to start my own garden!

Bunny Luv

2010-06-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Almost a year ago I had donated a custom pet portrait to be auctioned off at a fundraiser. The fundraiser was for Bunny Luv, the rabbit rescue where I got my two rabbits and the place where I board them and buy all their supplies (including their favorite treat, oat groats, otherwise known as bunny crack!). The portrait was purchased by Sepida, who, with employees and volunteers does a great job of running the rescue. "The Flopmans", Sepida's nickname for her quartet, are Fiona, Titus, Rocky and Charlie. I finally completed and delivered the 26 x 24 painting (my largest piece to date) this past weekend. It took me a long time to sit down and do it because of a constant abundance of work (thankfully!) and some concern that I wouldn't get it right. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and Sepida even got a little misty over it! By the way, the three gray and white bunnies are the brothers of my rabbit Maddie.

Nature Journal

2010-06-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well, my final journal entry for the journal group project I've been involved with for about a year and a half. We've been swapping journals, doing art in each other's journals. It's been a great experience and finally got me doing art more frequently!
These pages are in a journal with nature as it's theme. I did the paintings from photographs that I had taken last July on my fantastic vacation in Alaska.

Mythological Journal Page

2010-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

My latest work, for one of the artist's in my round robin journal group, was chosen to fit her theme of Legends & Myths. She wanted a good story and is partial to winged creatures. Pegasus seemed like the perfect choice. For the calligraphy I used walnut ink in her handmade book along with colored pencils and gold gouache. This was a fun theme and I really enjoyed doing the uncial lettering which I haven't done in quite some time.

Art for Animals

2010-05-09T19:41:00.001-07:00

My friend Renee Troy has gathered a group of artists together to contribute to a book that will be up for auction. The money raised from the book will benefit A Place to Bark , a no kill foster and adoption rescue dedicated to the welfare of animals. The organization was founded in 2001 by mixed media artist Bernie Berlin. Being a passionate animal advocate, I'm thrilled to be part of this worthy fundraiser.

The Seasons

2010-05-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

Four new journal pages completed for my journal round robin group. The theme of this book is seasons. I love these quotes!

Gold Beveled Invitation

2010-05-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

This invitation set is a combination of my calligraphy style and Sugar Paper's special flair for paper and beautiful letterpress printing.

You can really see the from this photo of the reception card how heavy weight and beautifully the gold beveled card is done.

This is my first illustrated hand lettered map. Several calligraphers are doing these so I did my own style of lettering to keep it unique.

And here's a view of the whole invitation package together with just a peak at the envelope lining.

Calligraphic Genealogy Book

2010-04-18T00:06:00.001-07:00

This is a very special package I delivered to my client this past Friday morning. I was commissioned to create a genealogy, all hand lettered and bound into a leather book for her husband's 90th birthday. His ancestry goes back to the Mayflower! I had two months to complete the book and I was a nervous wreck not having ever created a bound book nor a project that held such significance for a client.

These are just some of the 18 pages from the book.

About the cover of the book. The book binder was reluctant to foil stamp the cover, concerned the texture of the leather would impair the foil. He debossed the design which I later filled in with gold gouache because the debossing was not prominent enough for the cover.

And finally, the last page. After completing the calligraphy, it was off to the book binder. The binder was to stitch the two signatures I made and bind them in a distressed leather book, then foil stamp the cover image I made with calligraphy and type. When I arrived to pick up the genealogy, I was appalled to find that the binder had made a mistake. She had glued the pages of the two signatures together so that when the book was opened to the middle, the pages stuck straight up! I had explained many times during this process that this book was to be displayed on a beautiful book stand and kept open to various pages. The current binding was unacceptable. I was completely stunned and didn't know how I was going to deliver the book to my client the following day. The binder told me to simply "reprint" the three pages that would be damaged when they redid the binding. Reprint?? She didn't realize the entire book was hand lettered! I redid the pages and returned the following morning to oversee the binding. I rushed home to age the pages and calligraph the title page. Can you say "stress"! In the end, the binding was not perfect, but the client was so pleased with the book and that is the bottom line.

CD Cover

2010-04-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

This CD is hot off the press! My brother Jeff Holtzman did the graphic design and I did the lettering for the title. I did an album cover for a jazz artist years ago (when album's existed!), but this is my first CD cover. The music's pretty nice too.

Lettering on Wood

2010-03-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

Using the techniques I learned recently in Julie Haymaker Thompson's class, I created this piece to give Cody for her 14th birthday. Not being very experienced at using a wood burning tool, I realized after I sketched out her name and transferred it to the wood that I had designed letters that were all curves - uh oh! It was a bit of a challenge, but I got the hang of it. The only thing I wish I had done was make the letters thicker so there would have been more room for color and pattern. But, Cody thought it was cool so that made me happy!

Sharing the Renee Award

2010-03-30T09:41:00.001-07:00

Time to share this special award with some of the people that continually inspire me and make me smile through their art and their heart...

Pen McKinley-Rodgers
Manon Doyle
Jane Farr
Erica McPhee
Xandra Zamora
Gina Lee Kim
Renee Troy
Silke Powers
Julie Haymaker Thomas

You can learn about the origins of this award here.

Renee Award

2010-03-28T17:58:00.001-07:00

Today my friend Ces gave me the Renee award which is such an honor. The award was created by two women with abundant talent and huge hearts, Ces and Bella ,for their very special friend Renee. It's particularly meaningful since Renee touched so many people and gave so much of herself. Happy Birthday Renee. Thank you Ces!

Enchanting Class

2010-03-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Seattle and have to show you what I did in Julie Haymaker Thompson's class called Enchanting. Julie is an incredible mixed media artist who uses her whimsical style for a wide variety of art pieces that she creates. She's only been teaching for a year and a half and she is so good at it! I don't take many art classes and tend to be artistically reserved (okay,maybe tied up would be more accurate!), but with Julie's warmth, kindness, and her positive, encouraging style, I had a blast! Everyone in the class used Julie's image as our starting point so we could dive right into all the techniques she taught without having to also work out our own illustration. The class was in Chehalis, Washington, about an hour and a half from Seattle, at Terri Brush's beautiful home. She couldn't have been nicer and made the day perfect with the delicious treat bags, snacks and lunch that she served. Oh, the limoncello cheesecake! And, Terri too, is a wonderful artist.

Another part of my trip was to see my brother Jeff, who lives in Seattle. I stayed with him and his friend Jill. The weather was cool but sunny and beautiful so we had the opportunity to take their adorable chihuahua Jimmy for a couple of walks around Green Lake.

We also went to a life drawing session at the University of Washington on Sunday. Jeff is a brilliant illustrator! For me, not having done life drawing for 30 years...well, that's another story.

Brass Hinged Book

2010-03-08T15:08:00.001-08:00

Joan Hawks, a sweet friend, calligrapher and bookmaker was teaching a class on making this 5x5 brass hinged book. I had never really learned any book construction before going to her class last year. Thread is used to tie around the brass rods which leaves, in this case 12 dangling pieces which Joan taught us to bead. Some of the beads were handmade with paper. I finally finished it!

I love this quote. I'm such a romantic!

And finally, here's the back of my little book. The end!

Sunshine Award

2010-03-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

WOW! Pam Johnson Brickell just gave me this award for creativity and positivity in blogging! Pam does absolutely amazing paintings and wonderful lettering in her nature journaling. Thanks so much Pam for the award and for always being so supportive!

Now I get to pass the award on to twelve people. Very tough to choose, but here we go. The people below always inspire me.

Ces
Jane Farr
Julie Haymaker Thompson
Gina Lee Kim
Tammie Lee
Martha Lever
Angela Negro
Silke Powers
Paulette Racanelli
Renee Troy
Lori Vliegen
and finally, brand new to blogging, a great writer with a quirky perspective,
Mark Anderson

Now is Enough

2010-02-28T09:25:00.001-08:00

A new painting to give to Renee for her birthday. Renee is a wonderful artist and an even more wonderful friend! This is the first time I've added any dimensional pieces and that's definitely due to Renee's influence. The calligraphy here looks really metallic from the camera flash, but on the actual piece it's much quieter. Happy Birthday dear friend!

A Calligraphy Credit!

2010-02-24T13:42:00.001-08:00

This is one of several different pieces of lettering I did for the baby shower for Chelsea at Sugar Paper. Chelsea just let me know my calligraphy for the shower is shown on a lovely blog by Nole in Washington, DC called Oh So Beautiful Paper. I didn't see the printed pieces, so it was really fun to see them in the shower setting as well as mentioned on a blog!

Baby Shower Invitation

2010-02-20T11:33:00.001-08:00

I was asked by Ilyssa over at Brenda Himmel Stationery to do an invitation for sweet Misty who works there doing graphic design. I was delighted! The guidelines included, no pink, no pastels, no cutesy. Uh oh, how do I make it look like baby without the cute??? Well, I do like a challenge, so here is what I ended up with. I typeset and printed the info for the tags, the return address, and the address on the front of the envelope. I then hand cut all the tags and labels for addresses. I then used stamp pad ink on a sponge to color all the edges. Punched wholes and added eyelets to the tags. Mounted scrapbook paper to card stock, cut the striped paper for the pocket and glued it to the base. Then added handcut flowers to the base as well. I tied fiber to each tag. I cut out pieces of canvas and rubber stamped "baby" on them and attached it to the fiber on the invitation tag with a tiny safety pin. The final touch was a ribbon around the pocket. Phew! After a day and a half of work, twenty-two invites were in the mail!

Here's a view of the whole background that the invitation sits on. The flowers that I glued onto the base paper I cut out of an envelope lining that I had leftover. The striped kraft paper pocket is from a Whole Foods hot bag!

A little surprise tag tucked behind the invitation with the registry information.

I had decided to do a few different background patterns so that not all the invitations were exactly the same. It was fun to play with the variety and still make the design work.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T10:27:00.000-08:00

Wishing you lots of love!

Soul Painting

2010-02-10T10:00:00.001-08:00

I've really been enjoying these handful of paintings on canvas that I've been doing. This is the first one I've done for myself. It's also the largest piece I've done at 20 x 24. A friend told me about Charles Pearce who is absolutely amazing. This is definitely inspired by his work.

Although I had intended to keep this for myself, I am now donating it to an auction to raise funds for the Society for Calligraphy. Hopefully someone will buy it and I'll get started on my next painting. Maybe that one I'll keep!

Art Hearts for Haiti

2010-01-29T22:27:00.000-08:00

I just created and submitted this art to the amazing artist and kind hearted Laure Ferlita . Laure has asked for submissions from the artist blogging community to raise funds to help the people of Haiti. I know Laure has received about seventy-five so far. I can't wait to see what everyone else has done and how much will be raised. Thank you Laure!

Design for Donation

2010-01-16T21:48:00.001-08:00

I know the earthquake in Haiti has been on everybody's mind and our hearts ache for them. I made a donation as so many people have, then received an email from Cafe Press. They are asking for designs that can be used to help raise money through products on their site. The entire profit from anything sold for Haiti relief goes directly to UNICEF where they will make great use of the funds to help the children of this disaster. I don't know if they'll use my design, but it sure would be wonderful if it could help.

Calligraphic Painting

2010-01-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

This is the last of the paintings I did for holiday gifts. This one went to my friend Lisa. I used a beautiful poem that my friend Manon used on her blog. I was a bit nervous giving it to Lisa because she is an avid art collector and I wasn't sure I could create a piece that suited her taste. She liked it!!

Painting and Poem

2009-12-30T18:04:00.000-08:00

I did this for my friend
Judy and used one of her
favorite poems by Emily
Dickinson. The prominent
calligraphy is the most
known verse of the poem
but I also incorporated
verses two and three.
I used gouache, acrylics,
brushes, sponges and
calligraphy pens.

Holiday Gifts

2009-12-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

This was my gift to Susan. She and I met thirty-four years ago on our college tennis team and have been great friends ever since.

2009-12-29T13:59:00.001-08:00

I did this for my favorite 13 year old, Cody. She is the daughter of my very good friend Susan. Cody is an amazingly creative, bright, sweet girl and I adore her!

Holiday Calligraphy!

2009-12-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've done my own card for several years now. I'm usually so busy with work this time of year that I don't make the time to do one. I was determined to make one this year! It's a letter pressed card. Now, if I could just get someone else to address them for me! Best wishes to you for a wonderful holiday and happy, healthy new year!

Holiday Envelopes

2009-12-20T13:20:00.001-08:00

This year I had fun using a couple of different envelopes. I love the polka dot, and the white on that deep red is a favorite of mine.

Where I Live Journal Pages

2009-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Work has been non-stop which is wonderful. I finally sneaked in the time to do some journal pages for the journal group I'm in. This journal's theme is Where I live.

A Long Shot

2009-12-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is probably really silly but...there's an amazing interior designer that I've seen on Oprah, Nate Berkus. He can take a space and make the most of it. I've been working as a full time freelance calligrapher for over twenty years and I've never had a room just for my work, never a studio. I work in a teeny tiny space meant to be a small dining room that is 8'x7'. My work has spilled over into every room of my apartment. Anyway, on the Oprah website you can email photos of your place and explain why you need Nate. So I figured what the heck, what have I got to lose. Here's a piece of art I sent hoping to draw a little attention. I know it's a long shot, but wish me luck because I could really use a home makeover!!

Press

2009-11-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

In C Magazine, my calligraphic monogram was featured on the "What's Hot" page! I designed and lettered it, and it was beautifully letterpressed by Sugar Paper.

Calligraphy Monogram

2009-11-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

My talented friend Xandra has a brand new fabulous item on her Etsy. She's creating hand lettered custom snowflake monograms and they're beautiful! Check it out.

Holiday Card and Gift Tag

2009-11-18T13:39:00.001-08:00

A new card design by Sugar Paper with my calligraphy incorporated.

Store Front Calligraphy

2009-11-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

I was so thrilled to see my calligraphy on the front window of Sugar Paper, one of my biggest clients! I've been doing calligraphy for many years and I still get a kick out of seeing my work in different applications. They blew it up from letters that were about 1/4 inch in height.

Shipping Tag

2009-11-10T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here's the tag I used to mail the Angels painting.

Shooting Star

2009-11-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here's the second painting for another art exchange. Basically the same colors as my last painting (I have got to get more acrylic paints!). With this one I added a little bit of texture with matte medium and some handmade paper bits. Above is the address tag for the outside of the package. This is so much fun!

Angels Painting

2009-11-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

My first time painting on canvas! I was invited to participate in an art exchange by my good friend and fabulous mixed media artist Renee Troy. Renee also inspired me to have a go at using a canvas. Of course, I had no idea what I was doing, but I took out my limited collection of acrylic paints and went for it. I tried doing a layering technique that I had seen Jackie Sullivan do in a demo she did for the Society for Calligraphy. I did multiple layers using matte medium or a fixative spray in between, then finished it off with the final quote in calligraphy. So much fun!

Blog Award Honor

2009-11-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

I've just been honored by Elizabeth Golden, whose wonderful blog is The Last Door Down the Hall . I'm so delighted that people enjoy my blog. I've met some many incredible people and seen such amazing artwork. I would like to share this award with some of those people of whom I am in such awe and who continually inspire me!

Ces
Bella
Jane Farr
Jane Royal
Lori
Manon
Renee
Silke
Tammie

Halloween Play

2009-10-30T10:36:00.001-07:00

I've got tons of work waiting for me but couldn't resist doing something quick for Halloween!

Some silly envelope addressing

Fall colors in Santa Monica...what?

Mocha clearing for take off

Maddie planning to stowaway!

Floating Journal

2009-10-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

This topic was a tricky one. The closest I could come to the sensation of floating was my experience with hypnosis. Many years ago after a year long program, I became a certified clinical hypnotherapist. It was really interesting. Hypnosis is the tool and the underlying work as a therapist is really psychology. It was a great experience with a lot of personal growth and the opportunity to meet many fascinating people. Anyway, I was enticed back into calligraphy with an abundance of work and a love of the art.

Floating Journal

2009-10-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

350 Mixed Media Piece

2009-10-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is the piece I bought yesterday at Zinnia and I love it. It was created by Joe Carrion .

350 Art

2009-10-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Zinnia , a fantastic store in Pasadena with lots of tempting goodies for a variety of mixed media projects, hosted a gallery show for today's international environmental event. They gave out 350 5x5 wood blocks to participating artists. I would love to have been a contributor but was too late in discovering the project. Each piece sold for 350 pesos (about $26.) and a portion of the sales went to the organization. Here are a couple of photos of the amazing wall of art.

350.org

2009-10-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today is the International day of climate action. People are speaking out all over the world in different ways. Take a minute to check it out if you can here and at 350.org

A to Z Flower Book

2009-10-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here's the book all put together with the cover and a bit of ribbon on the binder ring. For the cover I used a piece of scrapbook paper.

Flower Book Spread

2009-10-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here's my little book all fanned out. The pages are held together with a binder ring.

Flower Book Unassembled

2009-10-11T18:15:00.001-07:00

The Society for Calligraphy had their 35th anniversary party today and I wanted to make something for the silent auction. So, I started this little 3x3 book idea I had at 8pm last night. Talk about procrastination! Anyway, I stopped at 3:30am and got up early and finished it at 9:30 this morning for the 11am party. I guess $75 was too high so nobody bid on it : ( I'm going to give a monetary donation to the society and keep my little book!

Friendship

2009-10-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

The Deborah Award was created and bestowed on me by my friend Ces , brilliant artist, writer, thinker, friend, human. It warms my heart and is a great honor to receive. I am passing it on to my deserving and very good friends, Renee and Xandra. As well as being amazing artists, they both embody courage, faith and hope and I love them.

Lisa and Misha

2009-10-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

I did this painting for my good friend Lisa. Lisa and her family adopted Misha when she was a young dog. Often dogs that are pets of homeless people become hyper vigilant about protecting their master. This was the case with Misha which made her unpredictable and a biter. Trainers told Lisa to put Misha down, that she would never be a good family pet. Lisa was dedicated to rehabilitating Misha and providing a good home for her. Through patience, love and determination, from Lisa and Misha, she was able to relax into being the beautiful, sweet dog that she was always meant to be.

New Journal Page 2

2009-09-29T17:01:00.001-07:00

Here's the right page of the journal. I kept trying to think of funny outrageous things but out came serious thoughts as well.

New Journal Page

2009-09-29T16:44:00.001-07:00

I just finished this page for a member of the journal round robin group I'm in. Debbie's a very inspiring artist and coming up with something to fit her "Outrageous" theme really made me s-t-r-e-t-c-h. I didn't realize how much I think inside the box until this challenge came along!
(By the way, all but 2 of the letters here are suspended on metal springs : )

Sticks and Brushes

2009-09-25T14:57:00.001-07:00

In an effort to come up with new menu ideas, I used a stick to quickly letter the first example, then a brush for
the second one.

Flourishes

2009-09-20T18:59:00.001-07:00

I had fun playing
with the flourishes
on this card to create
one cohesive shape.
I chose a highly
textured paper making
it that much harder
to do!

Sugar Paper Holiday Mailer

2009-09-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was asked to do this style of writing for the Sugar Paper holiday mailing this year. I've not really done a layout like this with the flourishes extending off the card. The "kindly deliver to" was pressed in white on the face of the envelope with the addressee below.I love the way it came out in letterpress!

Animal Journal Page

2009-09-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

The finished journal page with a title and quote added.

Mocha & Maddie

2009-09-07T15:24:00.001-07:00

Here's a painting I just did of my two rabbits on the couch. It's the beginning of an entry in another artist's journal. I will be adding some lettering, but first I have to think of something to write!

Wedding Vows

2009-09-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

I just today completed this job for a client. He is giving it to his wife for their anniversary. The lemon watercolor addition to the piece represents the lemon groves in Ravello, Italy.

The textured paper the client wanted presented a slight challenge with the calligraphy. Thankfully he chose a style I call antique italic, which has rough edges and some broken lines, so it worked out fine for the look I was trying to achieve.

Once again, I had a great time doing the painting!

Watercolor Lemon Branch

2009-09-01T15:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a close-up of the little watercolor painting at the top of the vows. It's less than 2 inches square! The couple visited Ravello, Italy which is nestled among lemon groves.

Plant Journal

2009-08-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is the journal page I created using the gestural calligraphy to which I was recently introduced. The journal's theme is plants so this was perfect for my Lotusland pictures!

Gestural Writing

2009-08-29T19:53:00.001-07:00

I recently took a class on gestural writing from the wonderful and talented Yves Leterme. This style of writing has a different flow and energy than what I usually do. It's hard but fun and I'm going to keep practicing!

Lotusland

2009-08-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lotusland is an amazing 37 acre botanical gardens located in Santa Barbara, California. There are 26 different gardens there! It was incredible to see such rare and exotic plants.

Rook Script

2009-08-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

I just received this photo from my client Lucy. She wanted to show me how the envelopes I had calligraphed for her and her fiance Matt looked with the vintage postage they chose to use. They selected stamps that relate in some way specifically to each invitee. Great idea and I love the way they look with the Rook style calligraphy.

Calligraphy

2009-08-08T15:55:00.001-07:00

Here's more letter play!

Alaska Lettering

2009-08-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

I just had to play around with writing Alaska!

Alaska

2009-08-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

Usually I just post artwork or calligraphy, but I couldn't resist sharing some pictures from my recent trip to Alaska. It was so beautiful! And, after all, my blog is titled Art, Lettering and Life! So this was my life last week.
On our way to Skagway, there were many waterfalls we could see from the ship.

2009-08-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

Looking back to where we came from in Skagway from Glacier Point.

2009-08-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

After a motor boat trip from Skagway to Glacier Point, a bus ride and a short hike, we arrived to where our canoe awaited. We hopped in (carefully!) then paddled to the Davidson glacier which you can see in the distance.

2009-08-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

Approaching Glacier Bay via Icy Strait I was awestruck by the vastness and the beauty.

2009-08-06T10:56:00.001-07:00

Another
gorgeous
view of
Glacier Bay.

Baby Announcement

2009-07-23T22:40:00.001-07:00

This is a new birth announcement designed by Sugar Paper incorporating my calligraphy. I really think their design aesthetic is lovely.

Note from the Heart

2009-07-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

I just completed these journal pages for the round robin journal group I'm in. The theme of this journal is Notes from the heart of a woman. I had a hard time getting started but once I got into it I enjoyed it. I continually grapple with trying to be less reserved in my art. I like that I played with stronger color and pattern. I can't wait to see what happens when I really let go!

Violet

2009-06-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

I think this is my first commission in watercolor! I was hired to do this as a baby gift. I'm having a great time painting and so wish I could devote more time to it strictly for pleasure. Ah well, I will continue my efforts
to better balance my work and play time.

Blossom

2009-06-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a new journal page in a book with the theme of transformation. I really enjoy doing watercolor! This inspired me not only to think about myself as related to change and growth, but now I want to take a watercolor class.

Playful

2009-06-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

Just playing around with some fun lettering on an anniversary card for my dear friend.

Dream

2009-06-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

I saw this cabinet door put out for trash pick-up and thought it had potential for some kind of art project. When I turned it horizontally, it reminded me of a head board for a bed. My friend Lisa came up with the line "Dream your dreams come true", which I loved. I did a calculated layout for my dreams, then fairly spontaneously did the lettering for the quote. Very fun!

Dream Piece close-up

2009-06-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Things That Fly

2009-05-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished these two journal pages for the round robin journal group. This is for my friend Renee's book and the theme of her journal is "Things That Fly". This was a challenge because I really wanted to do something unexpected. I used The Wizard of Oz for inspiration. I remember loving how the movie went from sepia to vibrant color. I rarely draw or paint, so I really had
fun with this!

Art, Lettering & Life

Wedding Certificate

Sonoma Logo Design

The Fabulous Animal Rescue Project

Me and Deb

Babaloo

Polymer Play

Journal Style

Silver Charm Necklace

Yin Yang

Floral Gift

Love is in the Air

New York

A Wedding for Two

Poetry of Handwriting

New Logo Design

Why Water?

Trunk Show

Ring Pillow

Painted Tag

Martha Stewart Weddings

Accordian Book

60's Lettering and Typecon

Chalkboard Garden Markers

Bunny Luv

Nature Journal

Mythological Journal Page

Art for Animals

The Seasons

Gold Beveled Invitation

Calligraphic Genealogy Book

CD Cover

Lettering on Wood

Sharing the Renee Award

Renee Award

Enchanting Class

Brass Hinged Book

Sunshine Award

Now is Enough

A Calligraphy Credit!

Baby Shower Invitation

Happy Valentine's Day

Soul Painting

Art Hearts for Haiti

Design for Donation

Calligraphic Painting

Painting and Poem

Holiday Gifts

Holiday Calligraphy!

Holiday Envelopes

Where I Live Journal Pages

A Long Shot

Press

Calligraphy Monogram

Holiday Card and Gift Tag

Store Front Calligraphy

Shipping Tag

Shooting Star

Angels Painting

Blog Award Honor

Halloween Play

Floating Journal

Floating Journal

350 Mixed Media Piece

350 Art

350.org

A to Z Flower Book

Flower Book Spread

Flower Book Unassembled

Friendship

Lisa and Misha

New Journal Page 2

New Journal Page

Sticks and Brushes

Menu

Flourishes

Sugar Paper Holiday Mailer

Animal Journal Page

Mocha & Maddie

Wedding Vows