Whispers of inspiration...

Just came across a great blog honor yourself written by Terri of Bonesigh arts… actually I think I found her shop first, but no matter. Love her artwork, love her words, love her whole outlook…

it was when she first dared

to see her truth

that the winds howled.

after a time,

it strengthened her

and she spoke her truth

and the earth shook.

and when finally

 she believed her truth

the stars rejoiced,

the universe opened,

and even her bones

sang her song:

I matter!

~ Terri St. Cloud

Considering how much I love colour on black, I do precious little of it. I have a whole workshop worked out for playing with colour & lettering on black paper, but still i rarely play myself. 

A few from my sketch book… all brush letters… just playin' with colours….

Seeing Terri's site has also given another reminder that i need to get on & do more work with my own words… the image i 'borrowed' reminded of me of this i wrote at new year. 

She heard the faintest whispers between the old moon and the new

she felt the breath of winter graze her naked skin

and sometime in the night the old year became the new...

I promised myself then, to put together a series of works involving my moon photographs & words… to pull them together into something totally different to work I have done to date. I keep visiting the idea in my mind & turning it over. I haven't put pen to paper but the idea has evolved considerably as i think of different aspects. Perhaps it's time. There comes a point when thinking has to give way to doing…. 

And as I was turning this over earlier, Fiona shared this: 

"A lot of good things don't get made because of too much thinking" 

Agnes Martin

I had to smile… quite often, just resolving an idea in my mind is enough… but, all these little signs are pointing in the same direction! It is time… and maybe "the stars will rejoice" as Terri wrote!

2nd 'Cotton' Wedding Anniversary Canvas

As the second wedding anniversary is traditionally seen as 'cotton', a canvas is an appropriate present…. especially when it includes a reading from your wedding & takes inspiration from the bridal bouquet! It's not meant to be an exact representation… just something that captures the sense of it… the fresh greens, the feeling of spring in the air...

Before the 1930's, just the milestones were marked; only 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th & 70th had gift suggestions. But as in most areas of life, commercialisation led to a full list names for every year of marriage…. in 1939 the American National Jeweller Retail Association published a full list. The list has been revised over the years & different countries have slightly different versions, and of course some countries have long-standing traditions for certain anniversaries.

In the 'Holy Roman Empire' of the Middle Ages, husbands would crown their wives with a wreath of silver leaves on their 25th anniversary & with gold leaves on their 50th. The tradition of a silver & gold wreaths continued in many places, with the gradual addition of more land-mark anniversaries. Traditions have changed too… at one point the Diamond Wedding was the 75th, but since Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee after 60 years on the throne, diamonds became associated with the 60th wedding anniversary in the UK.

The list I have had for ages gives the 1st wedding anniversary as paper & the 2nd as cotton, which is great for me as a calligrapher… I can offer a gift made from both! But there are various versions…. the UK & US have many dates the same but a few differences, and a 'modern' version seems to have been developed alongside the 'traditional'. Take a look over here> Wedding Anniversary Gift Lists. (the 15th is crystal on all other versions i've found) I'm not sure about the modern one at all…. gold jewellery, cars, optical goods…. hmmm, the retailers are obviously still involved in compiling that…. a kiss on the cheek would be bonus from Mr Scribbles, lol.

The canvas was 'whiter' than the photo, more like the close-up above, but i can't seem to get rid of the yellowy tones. I didn't even attempt to portray different flowers, even if I had the skills I wouldn't want too many different details vying for attention… it's the words that matter here,

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,



Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;


Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;



Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Despite the formal style of wording, I wanted this to look fresh and modern, so quite informal, brush lettering spills down the canvas…. echoing the brighter green buds of the bouquet nestled amongst the mass of white flowers. It really makes a thoughtful & romantic anniversary gift doesn't it?

I'd love to hear about your most romantic gift… or the least, lol! I can't think that I've received anything outstanding either way... sigh...

Writing on Nepalese Mountain Paper

In the last post, Mahsheed used Nepalese Mountain paper to create wonderful collages. It is lightweight, which makes it great for layering & moulding to a shape. For all it's lightness, mountain paper is also robust…. it's made from the bark fibres of the lokta plant, which grows above 3000 feet in the Himalayan foothills. The crop is totally renewable and the plants re-grow & are ready to harvest again in about 4 years.

 These two on the cerise are written in a liquid Chinese stick ink (bought from a Chinese supermarket) using a Chinese calligraphy brush. A metal nib works well enough on this paper; the surface is actually very crisp although the paper feels soft, if that makes sense!

I want to be an outrageous old woman who never gets called old lady.

I want to get leaner & meaner & sharp edged 

and earth coloured until I fade away from pure joy.

~ Julie Kookin ~

I copied the quote from someone else years ago & searched for it's origins a while back. The words had been used in a film, & I think the character was Julie Kookin…(I may be wrong on this as information was conflicting) and were taken from "Country Women- A handbook for the new farmer, by Jeanne Tetrault & Sherry Thomas". Annoyingly I never wrote down the source for any of this, and now I can't even find a reference to the quote anywhere, so if anyone knows anything, please share!

I have tracked down the 'Country Women' book though...

… and look, it even has calligraphy on the cover. It seems to be a practical book with stories & poetry too, & judging by this review, it looks like one worth purchasing.

"The line art work is graceful, poetry is inspiring, the diaries reassure me that I am not alone in my failures or frustrations, and the practical information is well worded, empowering women into thinking 'yes, I can do this'. I refered time and time again to the companion planting section, wood cookstove section, wood splitting section... in fact, I referred so often to so many parts of the book that they are now committed to memory, along with my favorite poems. The book is somewhat dated in some ways, yet absolutely timeless in others."

forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet

& the winds long to play with your hair

~ Kahlil Gibran ~

These were written with gouache… and with a brush again. I do like the effect of black brush lettering on the coloured mountain paper, especially where the paint is running out… and it feels gorgeous as I write. I can see a series of these coming up when I order some more paper. 

Brush Lettering on Mulberry... free to a good home!

Following on from that brush stroke that felt so good in the last post, I tried some lettering with a Chinese brush onto Khadi Mulberry. I set off with the "I do not sleep", intending to create a neater sample page with various tools & mediums, but after writing the next small line I was enjoying myself & just carried on writing!

You can see the transparency of the paper from the ruler & sheet of absorbent paper underneath. The lettering is all done with the same brush... varying from laying it on it's side to using the very tip.

 On the whole, I can write pretty straight without guide lines, but right at the end I lifted up on the right of the page. I do it so often it's maddening.... especially as I'm aware that I do it & watch for it, yet it still happens unless I mark that last line in. I actually positioned the paper straight underneath to act as a guide line but still.... Thinking about it now, I'm wondering if it happens when I don't move the piece of work up as I work down the page, so rather than viewing straight on, I'm looking at my writing at a slight angle, so I "see" that I'm going straight even when I'm not. *sigh* I've been doing this on & off for years & it's only writing about it now that it seems so obvious... I'll check my writing position next time!

Even so, it is possible to rescue a piece that suffers from a drifting bottom line. Adding some form of decoration to fill the space & balance it out often saves a re-write. The heavy line would have been sufficient, but there were a couple of  mistakes I wanted to cover, so added the splash. It was a bit heavy & missed the mistake altogether, so I lifted some of the ink out with tissue... then added a few more watery splashes, lifting some out to echo the look of the first one....

I like the effect... even though some letters aren't legible, the sense of the words is there. It also conveys a sense of the words.... of spirit slipping from one world to another, here but not here...

In the previous 2 & the next pic, the tissue is hung at a window... lovely textures from front & back... floating....

Would anyone like this?

If I had somewhere to hang it, it's one I'd keep... but it does need to hang somewhere. Perhaps pinned to a board or pegged from a string line...  or maybe another strip of paper or fabric stitched across the top to give enough strength to attach to a branch or pole of some sort.... or collage it into another piece of work... add a layer of your own creativity.... could look good with a layer of something else floating behind... ??

If you want it just leave a comment....& share what you might do with it. If more than one person puts their hand up, we'll have a draw next week :-)

Brush Textures

black & grey...

a favourite combination...

whether dramatic or subtle...

little details...

pure texture...

 sumi ink & dirty water...

heaven...

Brush Textures

There's something satisfying about just playing 

with textures & layout without using words...

white on black always looks dramatic.... 

a little silver powder is dropped into wet paint on the top one...

 a single chinese or japanese calligraphy brush gives a variety 

of stroke widths depending how you use it..

as well as being visually pleasing, they also serve as inspiration 

for layouts to use with words at some future date...