Category: something else

… from earlier this year. I had posted a snippet of it at the time.

… just for my daughter, who thought the dates were wrong on my blog. They aren’t. It’s just been so long since I posted anything …

I’m enjoying playing with these alcohol inks and stencils that Martha Lever has been showing on her blog. Click on the image for full-size view.

Made for the most stylish birthday girl I know.

Here’s something I’ve finished this morning. Since it won’t be presented for a couple of weeks, I’m only showing a sliver of it, and redacting identifying parts.

So I got it completed — on the second time time around, never mind what I did wrong on the first time around — but the names under the signature line ran a little long. No problem, I thought. I can just extend the signature lines. Then I realized that the extension ran into the space for the gold seal. This is the third time around.

Such are the minor idiocies of working under the influence of a major head cold. I’m assuming it’s a cold. After all, I had a flu shot this year, so it can’t be the flu. Right?

… my blog, that is. After years on Blogger — checking the archives, I see that it’s been a little over 5 years — I’ve moved this calligraphy blog to my calligraphy website. It may be a few days before I get the sidebar back in order, but the posts are all here. The old site was here but it now redirects to this blog, and you should be able to see all the old posts here.

Yep, I discovered this morning that my website (callibeth.com — don’t bother to try it today) was hacked a week ago. It’s been cleaned up, but I’m still waiting for Google to clear it for browsing. What a drag. I had a strong password, but evidently it wasn’t strong enough.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch … Am I using that phrase because we’re moving to Montana? I hope not. The kitchen is all packed up (we even packed the plastic tableware by mistake), most of our clothes, all the sheet music and nearly all the books are packed away. I was holding out the books for a paper that was due (and therefore finished) today, among them:

Spring Lines, edited by Ewan Clayton
A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, by Christopher de Hamel
The Ideal Book, by William Morris
Words as Images: Contemporary Work from the Society of Scribes and Illuminators
Time: Past, Present and Future, the 5th Calligraphy Exhibition of the Alpha Club (Japan)
The Book As Art, by Krystyna Wasserman (NMWA) plus Johanna Drucker & Audrey Niffenegger
More Than Fine Writing: The Life and Calligraphy of Irene Wellington, by Heather Child et al
American Book Design and William Morris, by Susan Otis Thompson
Zen Brushwork: Focusing the Mind with Calligraphy and Painting, by Tanchu Terayama
Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide, by Johanna Drucker & Emily McVarish
Letterwork, by Brody Neuenschwander
Words of Risk: The Art of Thomas Ingmire, by Michael Gullick

This wonderful article, Shop Class as Soulcraft, has been expanded into a book of the same name that is on my short list of books to read.

In this article at The New Atlantis, Matthew B. Crawford compares today’s trend toward design that hides how it was made (automobiles which have “another hood under the hood”) with the full-disclosure philosophy of bygone Sears catalogues which used to include blown-up parts diagrams and schematics.

He suggests that we resurrect the ideal of manual competence, and describes the goodness of concrete work which is integrated, diagnostic, individualistic and fulfilling. There’s a lot more; read the article. I’m going to read the book.

This discussion has some parallels with what I’ve been thinking about the past couple of weeks: the fate of specialized manual tools in today’s world. I’ve been cleaning out my studio in preparation for a move. Over the past 24 years that we’ve been in this house, I’ve amassed duplicates of many of my tools. I’ve got a box started for Goodwill, but what is the use of sending a lettering guide (I have 2 extra) to Goodwill? How many customers will recognize this little piece of plastic as a valuable tool for calligraphers?

Thanks to Dave Allen for mentioning this on the Book Arts-L.

… that is right up my alley (or is that abbey)!