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And even more daily alphabets

Web design and teaching have taken over my free time recently, but I still get in at least an alphabet a day. What do with them all? It’s actually rather surprising how long it takes to get through a pad of paper.

Feb 18 daily alphabet
February 18 alphabet with a ZIG Clean Color Real Brush (how do they come up with these names?).
Feb 19 daily alphabet
February 19 daily alphabet, with the same brush pen as the February 18 alphabet
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Homemade awls – student grade

Awls for class
Awls for class

I had a good time this weekend making awls for my students from a bag of sponge brushes and a paper of doll needles. The red duck tape should find it easy to find them in the studio šŸ™‚

Here’s what I did, step by step:

  1. Drill a hole in the end of each brush handle.
  2. With cutting pliers (snips?), cut off the eye end of the doll needle to a good length.
  3. Insert the needle in the drilled hole together with Loctite glue.
  4. Cut and apply a circle of duck tape to the needle end of the awl, piercing the tape with the needle. Clip curves and smooth allowance around the handle — I pulled and attached every other clipped bit and then went back and attached the remaining ones to minimize bulk.
  5. Wrapped the handle with duck tape to secure the circle of duck tape at the end of the handle and make a nice surface to hold onto to.

Steps 4 and 5 aren’t necessary, but the duck tape adds a nice finishing touch, I think.

I was going to remove the foam brush heads from each one, but then I decided hey! it canĀ be a double-duty tool. When the foam brush is spent, you can either unscrew it and have a straight-up awl, or you can replace the brush head. Rather ingenious, if I say it myself.

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Annual exchange book in progress

2016-02-03-exchange-book-in-progressI didn’t want to post this until other seven members of our annual artist book exchange book got see theirs in person. I think nearly everyone has hers, so here’s an in-progress shot of the edition (or is that a series? — they’re all manuscript books, individually lettered) in progress. Making theseĀ books satisfied the magpie in me — plenty of shine in the gouache and book cloth.

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Artist books – my collection

I had fun organizing all the artist books I own ā€” at least, all of the ones I can find at the moment that aren’t out on loan, and only one of any editions I’ve made. And I included a few trade bindings of interest. Most of them fit into these three precious boxes.

A box of larger artist books made by me or by those I've exchanged with.
A box of larger artist books made by me or by those I’ve exchanged with.
Two boxes of small artist books made by me or by those I've exchanged with.
Two boxes of small artist books made by me or by those I’ve exchanged with. And a few trade bindings.
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More daily alphabets – Pentel Color Brushes, ZIG Millennium 005 marker, Sakura Calligrapher 20 marker

23 January daily alphabet - water-filled black Pentel Color Brush
23 January daily alphabet – water-filled black Pentel Color Brush
24 January daily alphabet - water-filled Pentel Color Brush, ZIG Millennium 005 marker, and blue Pentel Color Brush
24 January daily alphabet – water-filled Pentel Color Brush, ZIG Millennium 005 marker, and blue Pentel Color Brush
24 January daily alphabet - Sakura Calligrapher 20 marker
24 January daily alphabet – Sakura Calligrapher 20 marker
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Off-weight lettering

2016-01-22-playing-with-off-weight-letteringLast week a friend pointed out a Facebook post by John Stevens: some “wrong weighted”
lettering, as he calls it, that she was working to emulate. I can’t find an example on his website, but if you’re on Facebook you might be able to see it here. I think it requires some time and enough kinetic familiarity to get a good rhythm going so that the strokes have more life than mine do. In the Facebook post, John calls itĀ the “syncopated rhythm of Ben Shahn mixed with broad pen calligraphy.” In earlier posts hereĀ and here, you can see some of my attempts at the Ben Shahn lettering he references.Ā Later, I used that lettering in a book commission of poetry by Madeleine Gomez:

Poem by Madeleine Gomez
2003 poem by Madeleine Gomez, written out 2013 by Beth Lee

 

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White inks at Jetpens

2016-01-20 white inks at JetPensWhile my go-to tools are metal calligraphy nibs (Mitchell, Brause, Tape) and gouache, sometimes a gold metallic gel pen can be a real pleasure .. and, sometimes more important, a portable one.

One time I ordered about 8 different gold metallic gel pens from Jetpens and had a field day testing them. Jetpens carries a whole bunch of writing tools and papers which are mostly geared toward the illustrators, manga artists, and crafters.Ā They also provide comparative information about some of their tools and materials. Their guide to bottled white inksĀ arrived inĀ today’s email inbox. They compare opacity, reactivity, viscosity, water resistance, and nib compatibility.

Notably missing from the lineup for me:

  • Pro Whiteā€“ a favorite of mine for broad-pen work, it can be mixed with gouache for a little color.
  • Dr. Martin’s Bleed Proof WhiteĀ ā€“ similar to Pro White, it also mixes with gouache.
  • FW Artists InkĀ ā€“ a little clunky for pen work, but its dropper-in-the-cap packaging makes it convenient to use.
  • Ziller InkĀ ā€“ North Wind WhiteĀ ā€“ Great for pointed pen work. Mixes only with other Ziller inks.