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Topics - joi

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Workshops & Conference News / bmas Chicago workshop
« on: December 16, 2015, 10:31:40 PM »
i don't know why i feel weird about advertising myself...but ok here goes...

woo hoo!  David Grimes and I are super excited to announce another Foundations of Script Writing workshop, this one is in Chicago!  Saturday Feb 6, 2016, at Workshop Chicago, 935 W. Chestnut Street (River North).

here is the Eventbrite link with more information.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-foundation-in-script-writing-with-bmas-calligraphy-tickets-20046733319

yeep!

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oooooh yeah!!! I am wearing this every day yo!


*golden Isis pic courtesy of the awesome Linda Y.!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / 11 months later...
« on: November 29, 2014, 06:10:05 PM »

"...i gave myself one goal only, to be able to hand address our holiday cards for 2014.  so that gives me 12 months to learn and practice.  i practice every day for at least an hour...or as long as baby boy is napping.  no trying to turn this into a business.  no trying to earn money doing this.  no etsy shop.  i don’t want to turn it into a job, with deadlines and stress.  this is for my enjoyment...at least for now..."

that is a snippet from my Introduction post back on January 29 of this year.  i had started addressing my family holiday card envelopes last night and it hit me...omg, my goal...this was my goal, my end game.  and wow, i am sooo not at the end, but still at the beginning of an incredible journey...

i didn't know way back then that the sound of the nib on paper, the glisten of wet ink, and the smell of sumi would reignite a passion within me that had gone cold,

i didn't know that i would connect with so many people all over the world.  and i would soon call so many of them my friends and colleagues,

i didn't know that i would share discussions on ink, nibs, marriage, parenting, laughter and tears with those friends,

i didn't know that attending IAMPETH would be life changing,

i didn't know that my work would be featured in a calligraphy magazine,

i didn't know that the guy who made my first custom holder, Brian Smith, would become a dear friend,

i didn't know that business would come knocking at my door, 

i didn't know that i would be registering as an LLC,

i didn't know that joining instagram to document my progress would open up yet more of this world, and i would connect with even more people,

i didn't know that i would be asked to participate in so many wonderful projects, from styled shoots to on-site work,

i didn't know that i could geek out at a guild meeting for over 3 hours, chatting over oblique holders and metal flanges, and love it,

i didn't know that i would be beaming with sheer delight as i see so many friends flourish in their own lettering journeys,

i didn't know that i would become the one giving advice to so many,

i could never imagined any of this, and so much more...

and there is still so much that i don't know.  but what i do know is that if you put your heart, blood, sweat, tears, and love into something, ANYTHING is possible!!!  that is why i encourage so many people on IG, answer questions, and send supplies, because i want people to believe that they can do it!!!  it's not easy and takes a ton of practice, but if i can go from nothing to where i am now, 11 months later...anyone can, anything is possible if you set your mind to it!

as always, a glorious thank you to Erica, my idol and a wonderful source of inspiration, without her i would still be trying to figure out how to draw that damn E!
and thank you to all of you that have helped me get where i am today.  not only did i reach my goal, but i surpassed it beyond my wildest dreams!

much love to Erica, Nickki, Linda, Linda, Moya, Stefanie, Natascha, Amy, Joy, Schin, Janis, Elsa, Sienne, Mary Ellen, Gail, Leila, Jodean, so many to name...

every time i see a new member join, i have to smile at the wonderful little nook we have here, and i hope they enjoyed it and gain as much as i have from it.

xoxoxoxoxo!!!



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Show & Tell / sharing some wedding work
« on: September 13, 2014, 09:20:23 AM »
Hello Flourish Friends!
For those that are not on IG, I wanted to share some pics from an AMAZING wedding job I did yesterday.  I was on-site at the stationary store while several fab young ladies assembled programs, menus, tassels, etc for a wedding TODAY!  time crunch for sure, but what fun it was to share the day with them.  I lettered:
-escort cards: blush pink stock with rose gold, gorgeous!  tiny writing for sure, with the guest name and table number.
-head table place cards: gorgeous ivory stock, die cut, with gold edge paint.  the paper was very toothy but I got it to work.
-signature drink signs: more gorgeous ivory stock, die cut, with gold edge paint.  a mix of scripts in gold and rose gold ink, with some straight accent lines.  these were my favorite, I think they look fabulous.  I did 7 of these.
-dessert table signs: very cute pink stock with gold edging.  this was the smoothest paper to work on.
the last pic is the Menu Fan.  each one of those had ribbons and twine hand tied.  the young ladies with me at the studio that day were tying those all day!  i had nothing to do with these, just wanted to show them as part of the entire suite of blush, gold, and rose gold.

So in total, for an entire day of on site work, I did 14 dessert signs, 7 cocktail signs, 55 head table cards, 40 table number cards, and about 10 additional escort cards.  I did about 140 escort cards at home prior to yesterday.

It was a long day but super fun and I was honored to be a part of it.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that a little pieces of me will be at this wedding today...what a fun thought!

The specifics:
-dr. ph martins copperplate gold
-rose gold = copperplate gold mixed with a few drops of w&n opera rose gouache
-holder = my trusty obliques from Brian Smith.  i have to say that my hand NEVER got tired or sore or cramped.  BIG PROPS to brian for making wonderful tools for us to practice our craft!
-nib = i ended up using 2 different nibs since each paper was different.  Spencerian No. 1 and a good ol' Hiro 41 saved the day, it's smoothness is a life saver.

Hope you enjoy the pics.  After an entire day of rain yesterday, the sky is blue and the sun is shining...a good day for a wedding for sure!



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Tools & Supplies / adventures in masking fluid
« on: July 31, 2014, 09:56:06 AM »
a few people were discussing masking fluid on the Summer Exchange thread...so i'm starting a new thread here...
i have been playing around with masking fluid for a couple of days and getting the hang of it...definitely takes practice...which nib works best, how long to let it dry, how hard to rub it off...etc.

i bought some Grumbacher Miskit Liquid Frisket at my local Dick Blick retail store.  i selected this brand because it was the cheapest!  i also saw some by Winsor & Newton, and there is another brand called Pebeo that is supposed to be good.

basically, you letter with the masking fluid (it's basically liquid latex with dye so you can see it), wait for it to dry, usually a few minutes, then paint over it.  i have tried watercolor/gouache, fine tec gold (epic fail), and fountain pen ink.  i like the effect.  i am still testing out which nibs work best...and i'm getting some not so smooth lines.  Mary Ellen's summer exchange cards using masking fluid were awesome (i didn't get one i just saw a pic).

below is what i was playing with yesterday...just happened to have blue gouache out so that's what i went with...

one tip...i found that the gouache kinda pooled inside letters with closed ovals, like a's, o's, e's, etc...so i went back with my paint brush and gently wiped some of the ink out so it was not so much darker than the rest.  the second pic with the pink gouache shows how the gouache pools inside the oval letters.


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Coffee & Nib-bles / anyone want a Unique Oblique holder?
« on: July 11, 2014, 11:59:06 AM »
Hey Peeps!
with permission from Erica to post this here, I am very excited to announce that over on my Instagram feed, I am hosting a giveaway!!!  The prize is an oblique holder from Brian Smith of Unique Obliques! 
If you are not on Instagram, join...I joined to document my calligraphy practice progress and it literally has opened my world up to amazing artists all over the world...

Hope to see you there and good luck!!!

xo,
joi

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Tools & Supplies / suggested brush for FineTec gold palette
« on: June 30, 2014, 02:35:51 PM »
hi all - my dr. ph. martin's is almost used up and the FineTec gold palette is in my PIA shopping cart!  i don't own any brushes, except for the plastic ones that come with the Crayola watercolor set (tee hee!).  any suggestions for what type/brand of brush to use to paint the nib with i would appreciate!  thanks much!

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Supply drive for the Philippines
« on: June 18, 2014, 12:39:57 PM »
hello all - inspired by Mr. Christopher Yoke and all you supply hoarders here, I am starting a supplies drive for all the lovely calligraphers that would love some of our cast offs.  If it's not something that you want to trade for in The Trading Post (thanks Schin!) then message me and i will give you my address.  I'm thinking i will give it about a month or 2 to collect items: nibs, holders, inks, washi tape, pencils, rulers, whatever it is, i'm sure somebody will put it to good use!

thanks all!!!

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Ken Fraser's last post with a double stroke T is beautiful...so i'm inspired to try some more double stroke majuscules.  i asked The Google and he didn't have an answer.  anyone have a exemplar with double strokes they would like to share?
thanks!
joi

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Show & Tell / my attempt at Modern Calligraphy
« on: June 05, 2014, 07:49:28 PM »
so i have only learned Copperplate thus far.  and i like it.  i like the way it looks.  i like the "rules":  the guidelines, the slant, the ratio of ascender and descender heights to the x-height.  and honestly, sometimes i can't read some Modern calligraphy...sorry!  but today i did a congratulations card for a very sweet friends daughter that just graduated high school.  so i thought i would give it a shot with Modern.  OMG it was so hard!  to forget most of the rules...heck to even draw without guidelines, not a single one!  and to create that "bounce"...i probably wrote it out at least 10 times before thinking that this one look decent enough to mail out.
so i might give Modern a try again...even though i am still practicing Copperplate. 

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Show & Tell / rent check envelope
« on: May 30, 2014, 07:11:18 PM »
anything you put in the post box deserves a pretty envelope, right?  and my landlord does love them!
this is a Hiro 41 nib and Unique Obliques holder, with walnut ink.  i got used to not having the Hiro 41 nib around, but I am happy that they are back, it's such a smooth writing nib!
those S's are terrible...i had no clue what i was going to do and clearly it didn't work out ;)
Happy Friday everyone!!!

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Show & Tell / brause 76 nib practice
« on: May 23, 2014, 09:59:54 AM »
Show and Tell for practice pages, correct?
busted out a Brause 76 nib for some quick practice this morning and i forgot how much i luuuurve the swells this nib makes.  it makes me write really slow, concentrating on each element because i feel there is little room for error using this nib, and there are lots of them on this page!  still working on squaring off tops and bottoms and with this nib it really makes a difference.

i post on IG all the time, i'm in IG addict, but i'm going to try and post more things here on the Forum as well.

happy friday everyone!

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Tools & Supplies / magnifier lamp
« on: April 08, 2014, 11:05:42 PM »
does anyone use a magnifier lamp?  i'm thinking i want to get one so i can really really see what i am doing, but am wondering if this puts strain on your eyes or if it becomes kinda like a crutch.
or maybe i just need some sleep... :-\

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Kind Critique / change of address envelopes
« on: March 25, 2014, 04:30:48 PM »
so for practice i decided to send out hand lettered change of address cards, to some of my nearest and dearest, instead of a mass email.  the good thing is that this is GREAT envelope practice!  and even better is that i can experiment with line spacing, letter size, and different letter forms, because this is for me and not a client.  and also run into problems like really long addresses or ascenders and descenders that run into each other...argh!  and i'm using up a stack of envelopes that i don't care for...too textured for my taste.  here are the ones i did today during my son's nap time and my daughter was watching James and the Giant peach...its spring break week and only tuesday!!!
none of them is perfect or consistent...but any critique is welcome!
thanks for looking!

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Tools & Supplies / winsor & newton white gouache...
« on: March 24, 2014, 10:34:13 AM »
zinc white or permanent white?  does anyone have a preference and/or is one better for pointed pen than the other?

thanks much!

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