Color Me Groovy - Houston Calligraphy

This style came about because in art (not life) I LOVE mixing a little bit of chaos with beauty.  The result is often so so cool & groovy.  On these I placed a rose gold/copper under the Bella Grafia calligraphy script that of course I calligraphed by hand.  (Anything else would be uncivilized :))  

I've done something similar to this before, but with modern calligraphy and a bold "relaxed" title name.  "Modern calligraphy" is not my go-to...I'm a bit of a purist, but once you understand traditional calligraphy, "modern calligraphy" is a cake-walk.  I digress....  Here's the result!  Have a groovy day!

I don't address envelopes too much anymore, but these were for my favorite client, Lola :).  Obviously, certain numerals have been omitted for privacy.

#IPimpMyPen

Copperplate Houston Wedding Calligraphy

So this project was for a Houston bride that wanted something a little toned down from my norm.  I can do toned down.... We went with copperplate in gold ink on eggplant paper.  Copperplate is definitely that hand that separates the wheat from the chaff.  You can't really hide behind fancy capitals and flourishes when a client wants copperplate without many flourishes.  Similar with wine, I have had an evolution with calligraphy.  With regard to pointed pen, I started out with traditional copperplate, became enticed by Spencerian with all of its sexy flourishes and semi-angular serifs and then looked back at copperplate as if it was the "old boyfriend that was so 5 years ago".  However, I now know that copperplate should be respected for what it is.  My first dynamic calligraphy teacher referred to it as "the mother".  And that is exactly what it is.  It is beautiful in its simplicity and you can't hide with it.  If you are good, copperplate will show that.  If you are not, copperplate will show that.  In all honesty, when I have a day where I jump between 4-5 hands because I'm working on 4-5 jobs at the same time that require different hands, copperplate is the one that demands respect and I must acknowledge that in my warm-up.  Always the constant student :).  Cheers!

Addresses have been obscured for privacy.

Thank you note - Houston Calligraphy

So yes, clearly I had become ridiculously behind on my thank you notes.  When I was at the penman's conference (yes, we have those), I met a gentleman that was kind enough to promise to mail me engraving burs that I had yet to try. Within a few weeks of being home, they arrived.  My work schedule was insane to say the least and I sent an email to convey thanks just so that I didn't seem like a complete savage.  However, I take my stationery very seriously and committed to send a proper thank you note when the work schedule slowed down a bit.  Here it 'tis.  

Played around with the lighting a bit to make it show up better on camera.  However, iridescent jade is clearly one of those colors that looks better in person than it photographs.  Who knew? :)  Here we go!  Cheers!

Don't you do calligraphy in the dark? - Houston Calligrapher

I have been very fortunate to maintain a full calendar with jobs.  As anyone will tell you, that is a blessing but every blue moon it is a curse.  When your calendar is booked you usually don't have wiggle room for 'unforeseen circumstances'....such as power outages.  Today, my electricity went out due to the storms that we have been experiencing here in Houston.  At the same time, I was working on a job that needed to be completed today as there are jobs booked directly behind it on the calendar.  That meant that I needed to work in the dark.  Thank goodness for my trusty battery operated laser.

I am happy to say that I did finish today and it also made for a cool picture on my phone.   #MakeItWork. Cheers!

Agate Stones - New York City Calligraphy

So I'm always up for writing on anything that is not paper.  Agate stones are so great as they calligraph like butter, are gorgeous and are available in so many colors.  Love this.  We did this project in a modern hand as it seemed to just fit.  These will be available on the website and the Etsy shop. Cheers!

Seattle Calligrapher - Tattoo Design

Sometimes when I am asked to calligraph something, I'll write it out, return it to my client and months will pass & I've almost forgotten about it as there are many projects in between.  However, yesterday on my restful Sunday I received a cool email from one of my wonderfully, memorable clients.  She requested that I write out a saying in a connected hand with shading for a tattoo back in January.  After a few options, this was her choice.  This Sunday she had it inked.  Very cool!

New Orleans Wedding Calligraphy

When we got married, we decided to do a "destination wedding".  I love them as they tend to be much less stress and it's even better if the locale is gorgeous.  This New Orleans couple is getting married in Paris and requested my services for their envelope addressing, which I completed last week. The first pic is in white ink (one of my favs), but the project was actually in black ink (the following pictures).  We did this in the Business Casual style as they wanted something simple and cool.  I love it! #neworleanscalligraphy #neworleanscalligrapher

New York City Wedding Calligraphy - Calligraphic Birds

It's been a while since I've posted a project.  It's been a little crazy around here to say the least, but I love what I do so there are no complaints here.  I had a client that is getting married in NY request samples of what I could do with birds.  Yes, birds.  This is one of the samples that I provided.  I just finished her project and I will say that it was pretty cool.  Yay for something new! Yet another example of a client asking for something that pushes me outside of my box and I'm glad that she did.  These are now available as a style option for wedding calligraphy.  Cheers!

New York City Calligraphy

CNN (via IBN Live) recently posted an article about how a calligrapher recreated well-known logos.  One thing that I love about this article is how it highlights how many logos that we see everyday were actually created by hand as opposed to a computer program.  Click the image for the entire article.

Courtesy of CNN: http://www.ibnlive.com/news/buzz/calligraphy-artist-recreates-famous-logos-with-amazing-precision-977846.html