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Messages - dancingfish

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: using finetec for many envelopes
« on: December 04, 2016, 03:26:05 PM »
I have done the same as Estefa and found it works very well.  I store mine in a mini jam jar, and because I found that the mica settles quickly, I keep a stir bar in the jar and put it on my magnetic stirrer while I'm using it.  Keeps the sparkle all nicely mixed up  :)

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Changing mode of expression
« on: October 05, 2016, 02:34:30 AM »
And on a slightly more interesting and exciting point: I have enjoined Mr Yoke to create a new oblique holder for me.  I understand that this is terribly presumptious of a beginner, and that a $10 eBay holder would likely be more appropriate, but... well, it was a moment of weakness, self-indulgence if you will. A few more weeks to go!

Congrats on ordering a Yoke holder!  Nothing wrong with that!!  I have some of his holders and I *love* them.  I find them beautifully made, and *very* comfortable.


3
I have a carrot gold leaf and resin holder from Curious Artisan, and I love it.
...
 One caution is that the resin holders tend to be a bit fragile, and I had it arrive broken.  But Lenny was great about sending out a replacement immediately.  I would be very careful not to drop it, but I would imagine this goes for other maker's resin holders too.

I hope you don't mind, but as a penmaker who uses a lot of resin, I'd like to defend my products (and those of other penmakers) and say that, no, this doesn't necessarily go for other maker's resin holders. 
...
If anyone is ever unsure of what a penholder is made from, don't feel shy about asking the penmaker - most will be happy to explain the benefits of the products they use - believe me, I could talk for hours on the differences between different types of resin....but I'll spare you all any more  ::)  ;D

I don't mind at all Melanie; thank you for the education!  I really appreciate learning more about the materials, and their pros and cons, because it helps me as a buyer.  I do love my gold leaf holder, as it's beautiful, but I think I'll avoid polyester resin holders in the future, and it's good to know that the other resins are more durable.   :)

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I have a carrot gold leaf and resin holder from Curious Artisan, and I love it.  I do have other holders (including several Yokes and Unique Obliques), which I also like quite a lot, but I've been using this one tons lately.  I'm very happy with it.  One caution is that the resin holders tend to be a bit fragile, and I had it arrive broken.  But Lenny was great about sending out a replacement immediately.  I would be very careful not to drop it, but I would imagine this goes for other maker's resin holders too.

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Letter opener, of which I have a small collection. Of the two at my desk, this is my favorite--made by my grandfather in France in WWI.

That's fantastic!

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Tools & Supplies / Re: To inkjet or not to inkjet...
« on: July 14, 2016, 03:35:04 PM »
And if you order and use a stamp, you'll be able to use embossing powders, which will also make the writing sit up even more nicely, if you like.   ;D


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Flourish Forum News / Re: Please read regarding emails!
« on: June 10, 2016, 02:34:12 PM »
Just went out and my car battery is dead... third time ... in the less than a year since we bought it brand new.

Seriously ... does someone know a spell I can say, séance I can do, *something* to turn this around. (I've already smudged the house - you'd be superstitious, too if you were me.) I'm a pretty positive person but I'm ready to crawl in a hole.  :'(

Hi Erica,

I had that happen to me with the car battery, and found out that there wasn't anything wrong with the batteries (and yes, I'd bought replacements at first!), but the alternator had gone faulty.  So maybe you can have that checked.

See!  It really isn't you  :)  Sometimes when it rains, it pours, and it's frustrating, but eventually the sun shines again.  I hope your sun comes out soon!


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Broad Edge Pen Calligraphy / Re: Bernardino Cataneo
« on: June 09, 2016, 02:18:04 PM »
Hey There,

I am teaching the hand of Bennardino Cataneo at the lettering arts conference in North Carolina in a few weeks. I think there may be one or two places left in the class. This hand is truly one of the most magnificent Italian hands, and for me, far finer than Arrighi, Palatino's or Tagliente. Conference details can be found here:

Hi Gemma,

I hope you will consider teaching this hand when you come to teach with the Portland Society of Calligraphy in January 2018!

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<snip>... And something stronger to insure preservation, as the aspic aspect is suspect.

Not taking sides, certainly...   ::)   But I really enjoyed that phrase!!

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General How To's & Projects / Re: lettering on macarons
« on: April 29, 2016, 02:43:55 AM »
Wow, those are so awesome!!  Both gorgeous and yummy looking...   ;D  I love macarons...especially salted caramel..

Super impressed with how you pulled it off, too!  Not your everyday calligraphy challenge.

11

When I turned professional many years ago, I made a point of studying and learning all the lettering styles, so that I wouldn't be caught out, if an unfamiliar style was chosen by a client. This self-training has served me well.

I don't pretend that I have memorised every stroke of every letter in every style, but I do have most of the familiar ones in hand, and if I am caught out with a style which I use infrequently, I have exemplars which I have written out, and I can easily refer to them if necessary.


But Ken, you are one of those otherworldly calligraphers!   :)

I am curious, though..  Do you practice before calligraphing a piece using a hand that you may not have used in a while?  Or do you find that the fundamentals for both pointed pen and broad pen are so well internalized that you can just refer to an exemplar to refresh details as you go?




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I started out with pointed pen in November, with engrossers' script, and then suspended that while I focused on Spencerian for the last three months (starting with Harvest's class).  I'm going to be continuing with that for a while until I feel my skills have stabilized, and then go back to work on engrossers.  I'm also interested in Italian hand (ala Heather Held), and I have several broad hand scripts that I want to dust off.  I see folks on Instagram who seem to have no trouble doing something in a different hand each day (e.g. Tasha de Guzman), presumably once the skills in each hand have been developed.  I'm not really asking about *learning* multiple new scripts, but more about how to keep up (and improve) skills in various hands once you have achieved some competence.

I know some of you focus on just one script, but for those who regularly do different scripts/styles, how do you keep them from getting rusty?  Do you revisit them regularly, or just practice when you have a need (or want) to do something in that hand?


13
Tools & Supplies / Re: My light pad broke today...
« on: March 31, 2016, 01:56:10 AM »
I bought the (Daylight) Wafer as well, from Amazon a year ago.  Currently $91.25 with prime shipping.  Still working beautifully, and I really like it.  Adjustable brightness.  Is not battery powered; I figured I could get a different one if I needed to have one on the go.  I can detach the power adapter from the pad.

I would recommend it.

14
Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Iampeth 2016
« on: March 12, 2016, 11:27:59 AM »
I'm in!  I managed to register using the spotty and slow internet here where I'm vacationing in Anilao, Philippines!  It's past midnight here, and I'm going back to bed now.   :D

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Good points.  I actually found that copperplate did not much influence my handwriting, because it is drawn, rather than written, and has all those pen lifts.  Spencerian is a written, not drawn, hand, and a handwriting system, so it is intended to flow, and I think is more natural to influence one's handwriting, as it has had an effect on mine.

I also found that years ago when I was studying a lot of foundational and italic, that those had a definite influence on my handwriting when printing, especially the italic, as it was closest to my normal printing.  On the other hand, study of uncial had no effect at all, that I could tell.

Andrew, I would think you would enjoy learning Spencerian, at least the business hand.  And you can choose to "decorate" it as much or as little as you like!  I'm not giving up copperplate/engrosser's entirely (it's just on hiatus at the moment), but I am really having fun with Spencerian.

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