Chrsitmas Calligraphy Commisions at the studio of Inspired by Script

It’s been a flourish of activity at the studio these past couple of weeks. I so much prefer working to commission that supplying shops who seem to take months to pay their bills despite constant reminders and their promise to pay.
I love dealing face to face with clients looking for something truly unique and individual.

My first commission was a 60th Birthday card. The sentiments were simple, yet personal. It was made in the recipients favourite colours pink and purple.

Next was a concertina Book on Love by Kahlil Gibran,

in creams and gold’s.

And some Christmas cards. These were a mixture of Hand Lettering and font, an ideal compliment to each other. I was particularly enamoured by the 3 page fold and was really please with the overall effect.

It’s some time since I did this style and so often we, as calligraphers get stuck in a rut and use just a very few of our ‘stock’ favourites. I must do more of these letters I love them!
Click on the photo to enlarge to see a closer view.

Lastly, there were some party invitations to make for a company in Harrogate. Now I’m particularly nervous about these as a) I didn’t deal with the client direct, but through a 3rd party and b) the Client has no idea about my work and what we modern day calligraphers ‘do’.

I’m always worried about doing anything too contemporary unless the client fully understands Lettering as an Art Form rather than just neat letters on a page. Hopefully, they will be pleased with the result.

When Magic Happens!

It’s sometimes hard to believe, but I have been a calligrapher for over 20 years now. Where does the time go? You would think that after all that time that there would be no great surprises, nothing new to explore and things would get very mundane… not so!
Every now and then a piece of work will just happen, just work out the first time and surprise even the more experienced creative spirit.

I did this piece as I was trying to learn the words off by heart and I gathered that by writing it out I would commit it to memory, like so many of the quotations that are stored in my memory bank over the years.
I gave very little thought to the piece as I was creating it. Because it was about having no fear of the dark I decided to lay down a watercolour wash and then write the words in black and white to represent the full and dark aspects of the moon. No great thinking there then. However, it was only when I came to photograph the piece and notice it at an angle on the drawing board from a distance that I thought a piece of Transtrace © had been laid over the white letters. Can you see the stripe of what looks like semi-transparent paper over the letters?



I went to move it to find out that it wasn’t there at all but an optical illusion! Here is a photo of the piece side ways on to prove I'm not kidding. Being partially sighted, my eyes play many tricks on me, so I'm sort of used to this... but I think it's clear that this could have fooled anyone....

And if you want more proff

heres an even closer version...

Now that’s magic!

Mysterious Britain

A friend of mine's husband and some friends have just finished launching their new site Mysterious Britain. It's about Myths, Legends and the Paranormal. There's lots of useful information and links, so, if you are interested pop on by to http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/ and say hello!

Creative Bookbinding - Concertina Book Commission

Off all the commissions I get from my website, I find there’s nothing more satisfying than making a Concertina Book, especially when the people who has commissioned it gives me free reign.

Concertina books are easy, some call them Accordion Books. They are quite simply folded strips of paper into an even number of pages with a front and back cover.

Sometimes they have a ribbon running out of the back which is then used to secure the book closed, adding to the anticipation of the recipient when opened.


The poem itself had 6 verses and I decided that I would put 2 verses on each double spread. The writing was completed first and then the background was decorated with chalk pastel, scraped off the chalk with a scalpel and then rubbed in gently for a cloudy effect. This close up shows it in more detail. I cut stars into the concertina itself , along with a heart.

I then decided to make a case for the book to protect it while in transit. The recipient in question is off to Canada so hopefully it will travel well and come out virtually unscathed. The wonderful thing about concertina Books is that they can stand alone and be used as ornaments on a shelf. It will be a reminder that her family is not very far away.

I've included the following photo as it shows the true colours of the cover so much better

However, every job is not without it's problems.... and can you believe that this clasp and fastening took longer to work out and 'do' that Practically the whole book! lol. Ahhhh such things are sent to try us.

The star split pin reflects the stars cut outs inside.

My final idea for the closure was to thread ribbon through 2 brags when the book is inside the beads can be then pushed up to form a tight closure. I'm sure I could have come up with a simpler fastening.... but hey... that wouldn't be so much of a challenge would it?

Easy and Effective Backgrounds for Calligraphers and Artists alike

I am inspired by Autumn. The leaves gently turning from the lush green of the Summer to the variety of greens, gold’s, yellows and reds. Surely Autumn is one of the most colourful seasons of the year.I have blogged about this before, but whenever the muse seems far away I paint backgrounds, it gets the creative juices flowing and stimulates creativity.

I have a repertoire of paint techniques that need no skill, are very effective and make excellent backgrounds useful for both my calligraphy or as use in my bookbinding. I don’t have to think and the pieces virtually dictate themselves. I’m not an artist, I’m a creator so if I can do it anyone can.

I mainly use Acrylic or Watercolour Paint for my background, but this time I decided to use pigment inks which were in powder form and diluted with water to see how they would react.

The first idea is simple and one which I use often.

HERE'S HOW TO DO IT:

You will need Paint, watercolour paper or something substantial that will take a lot of water, decent large round brush (Size 10) and some cling film.

1. Mix your paint to a loose consistency.
2. Throw the colours on in a hap hazard way.
3. Crumple some cling film, open out and lay on the wash

4. leave to dry
5. remove cling film

6. and voila! Instant background!

WARNING: This technique is addictive

so prepare lots of pre-cut paper before hand!

I decided to try this technique with metallic Acrylic Paints… WOW!

And this one's on black paper! Stunning!

Then I used resists. I tried PVA

Liquid Wax

And Pebeo Masking Gum. This is so much more preferable that W7N Masking Fluid as it doesn’t tend to take the paper with it when removed.

Ahhhh happy bunny!