Art Blog - Calligraphy: A Scribe's Notes

Artists Books on Display at Odyssey, July 2010, Boston. One of the highlights of any lettering conference or gathering is the hand made books on display. Each unique in their content, construction, palette, and scale; books draw us in to a secret place, where the turn of a page is a magic revelation. Annie Cicalie's book within a book entitled "Focus" is rich with layers upon layers of color and form. Books within books, it was displayed to be handled, which is a quite a treat since most books are keep under glass. "Focus" was displayed, standing almost as if it were a sculpture whose entire surface could be viewed at once.… Continue reading… 6 comments

The internet is quiet today and it is still warm in New England but today is dry and breezy. I am attending Odyssey, a Lettering Arts Conference at Stonehill College in Easton, MA. All the calligraphers are busy learning something wonderful in their multitudes of classes while I docent the Participants,Faculty and Nice Rendition Exhibit. … Continue reading… 6 comments

A spontaneous discussion among the members of Masscribes* at their 20th Anniversary Celebration, in 2007, brought forth a nearly unanimous thought. Hardly a new or revolutionary idea, in fact it was just the opposite. We all wanted to spend more time and effort refining our letterforms. We had all been the route of learning a dozen hands, flourishing, illustrating, painting, gilding, carving and owning every calligraphic tool and gizmo on the market. It was fun, exploratory, expanding, but it didn't do anything for our letters. As a young graphic designer in the dark ages before computers, I produced everything by hand. Concepts were rendered in marker, all type had to be drawn, especially headlines… Continue reading… 2 comments

I get some pretty unusual and interesting calligraphy jobs. This one in particular is the numbering of 200 limited edition books. The 750 pounds of text blocks were shipped to a paper marbler for the fly leaves and edge marbling and that's where I come in. Chena River Marblers is a couple, Dan and Regina St.John in Amherst MA that has been producing some of the finest marbled papers and fabrics, for decades. The first two books were numbered by someone who was no longer available, so the publisher asked Regina and Dan if they knew anyone who could do the job. How handy, I'm in the next town. This book is the third in a series of five. The first two books were numbered in black Copperplate and they wanted the rest of the books to follow suit… Continue reading… 5 comments