Dreamland

Inspiration.

Thank you for all the emails lately -- lots of questions about handwriting and so many pats on the back.  That is definitely what keeps my motor running!

Kathleen asked about specific practice tips.  I'm working on it.  I know there is interest out there and as soon as I can give more thought to it, I will.  (My goal is to share some general tips here on my blog, and work on more specific techniques via an online class.  It's just that the online class is always "in the future.")

In the meantime, I am a big fan of inspiration.  Seeing the beautiful work of other artists always motivates me.  Here are some sources I recommend:

Scrapbooking Life's Little Moments by Rebecca Sower

Life Artist by Ali Edwards

I don't keep scrapbook idea books for long; these two have permanent spots on my shelf.

In and Out of the Garden by Sara Midda

The Calligraphy Source Book compiled by Miriam Stribley

Summer by Susan Branch

I also do a lot of collecting of tidbits from magazines, and keep everything in my idea file.  And I keep a bin of my own old identity work (see above) -- occasionally, I even inspire myself!
 

Spacing Tricks.

Diane asked me to share a little bit about spacing.  And when I started to think about it, I wondered:  is a good sense of spacing something I learned or something I was born with?  Some people just know what colors go together...and some are just naturally good at skiing...is this one of those things?

But then I also remembered that I love teaching, and I love sharing what I've already figured out.  There must be a way to help you cultivate a sense of spacing!

To start, I think it's more a matter of seeing than doing.  If you want to improve how you space your handwriting, you're one step in the right direction; you must have already seen writing that is pleasingly spaced.  Your next step is to gather some examples to study:  greeting cards, scrapbook pages, even typewritten projects can help you train your eye to see great spacing.

When you're ready to start practicing, try a list.  First think about the spacing between lines.  I am a big fan of not measuring, but until you get the hang of it, you can measure the lines so that your list is spaced well from top-to-bottom.  You can measure lightly with pencil and erase it, or use a light table with a measured grid underneath.

Then think about the spacing between individual words.  This is where the examples you've gathered will come in handy.  And, of course, my favorite tip:  keep practicing.

Sometimes breaking apart what you want to say into little compartments is helpful.  It allows you to work with a very small canvas, and if you make a mistake, you haven't ruined your whole project.

 
Scraplifting is also a great way to get experience with spacing.  I made this layout about 3 years ago, based on one I saw with a left-justified quote, and by writing only one word per line, the spacing was easy.

I'm now pondering on spacing of individual letters within words.  When I have a plan, I'll let you know!

Developing your style, part two.

Read part one here.

In the early days of Dreamland, I handlettered each master copy in Italic calligraphy.  I assumed this is what my customers would want for their weddings:  it's elegant, simple, obviously crafted by hand.  This is the early 1990's, remember.  There weren't a lot of choices, or trends to guide me.

Enter Anne.  I prepared a rough draft of Anne's invitation in my plain old handwriting, to make sure we had everything just right before lettering it for real.  Anne said:  This is it.  This is what I want.  Let's use the rough draft!

(When I look at this invitation now, I am filled with gratitude to Anne for figuring it out for me.  But I also cringe just a teeny bit.  It was a rough draft, after all!)

I continued creating invitations in the customer's choice of fresh, whimsical handwriting or traditional, elegant calligraphy, until my husband gave me a gorgeous vintage fountain pen.  A brand new world was revealed to me with that pen.

Day to day, I do what needs doing, I don't usually reflect on my 17 years in business.  I am enjoying the process...and hope you don't mind if I drag it out a few more days.

In the meantime, my current giveaway ends tomorrow.  And I've got a giveaway going on at mommycoddle today as well. 

Developing your style, part one.

My handwriting, circa 1984:

You could say my love of handwriting began in 4th grade, with Mrs. Larson.  I was, well, a little bit chatty.  The consequence for talking too much in class was writing out your spelling words 50 times each.  I had that punishment, well, um, pretty much every week.  And being a crafty girl, it didn't take me long to get bored writing the words in list format.  So I drew pictures and filled them in with words instead of colors.  I like to think that's when it all began, lemons from lemonade.

Fast forward to college, where I somehow managed to test into an advanced French class.  One day and I was already way over my head.  Meanwhile, my good friend Chris was taking a class called Crafts.  I felt a bit guilty paying private school tuition for a class called Crafts, but on some level realized it was a perfect fit (or at least a considerably better fit than advanced French).  We learned copper enameling, weaving, ceramics, and spent two weeks on Italic calligraphy.  Chris and I both continued practicing our lettering during college.  I tried different styles when writing quotes to hang on the door to my dorm room:

Fast forward again to my first job, as an elementary teacher.  My bulletin boards featured quotes from Rilke and Gibran, my lesson plan book was color coded.  The art of actually teaching...not so much. 

Meanwhile, I met the man I eventually married.  I contemplated what I would really do with my talents.  I started a mail order garden journal business, I sold greeting cards to A Fine Romance, I designed calendars. 

Peter proposed and I suggested we wait to get married until I had this career-thing figured out.  He replied, "Why don't we get married right away, and then you'll have all kinds of time to figure it out?"

It was 1991.  Invitation styles were extremely limited.  I designed ours (or, rather, designed at least a dozen different options).  A friend came to our wedding and asked me to design their invitation for the following spring.  A friend at their wedding asked me to design for a fall wedding.  I slowly realized this business could encompass all those things  I enjoyed and was good at -- lettering, illustration, quotes, sometimes even sewing or beads or seeds (and even all of those at once!).  Dreamland was born.

Five ways to improve your handwriting, take two.

Reposted from January, with edits:

1. Practice

Basic, I know, but oh so true.  When I look at my own wedding invitation from 1991 versus those I lettered in 1998 (the year I designed stationery for 108 weddings), the difference is startling.  If you want to have better handwriting, you've got to write every day.  Every. Single. Day.

2. Write more letters

I love a letter from Mel in Japan or a postcard from Kelly staying in Las Vegas.  I save all the thank you notes from my custom clients.  Write your own letter worth keeping.

3.One card x twelve months

In an effort to stay in touch with my far-away father, I sent him one card each month for a year.  (And let me edit here to add that my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's not long after that year.  Going through his things after he passed away, I found that he had saved several of my notes.  It was worth every minute.)  Seems a simple thing.  Buy cards, make cards, use what you already have...just be sure to include a personal note.

4. Embellish an envelope

Doodles, color, glitter...make a mail carrier's day! 

5. Take my class at Paper Source

I have taught a class in handlettering for Paper Source and was hoping to have an online version ready in time for that back-to-school feeling.  (Maybe a Valentine feeling is more my speed.)  Let me know if you have any specific questions about handwriting and I'll try to answer them over the next two weeks.

Straight lines -- sorta.

There is a chapter title in one of the Ramona books that ends "...Sorta."  I really can't even type this word without hearing Stockard Channing's voice.  Hands down one of the best narrators ever.  We have worn out our own set of Ramona tapes and now get them from the library (even though my kids have heard each book at least a couple of dozen times, probably more).  Beverly Cleary is timeless.

Back to straight lines.  How do I get straight lines when I write?  Three ways, really, depending on what outcome I'm after.

Most of the time I just eyeball it.  This comes from years and years of practice.  Handwriting certainly lends itself to a little serendipity, a little up/a little down, so for most creative work I don't even bother measuring. 

On the other hand, I really like the address stamps I write for lettergirl to be straight.  I use a ruler and a non-repro blue pencil.  The blue pencil won't show when I photocopy it or when I scan it (using the grayscale/dropout blue mode).  It's so easy it almost feels sneaky.

When I am doing a one-of-a-kind commission, I like to measure the whole thing out with black ink.  Then I use a light table with the guidelines underneath what I'm writing on.  Generally, if an artwork is original, I don't like to have any pencil lines to erase (and potentially smear my lettering).  This is also a great way to practice writing straight without having lines on your paper. 

This week's giveaway ends Sunday night.  And if you have any lettering questions for me to answer next week, just let me know.  Have a great weekend!

Handwriting Tip No. 1: Pens.

The question I am asked most frequently is:  what kind of pens do you use?

Of course, I have many.  The trick is to find the one that's 1) comfortable for you and 2) easy to procure. My day-in-day-out favorite is Uniball Vision Exact.  It's super smooth and writes teeny.  It has a fine line, which is what I'm after most of the time.  And I can buy them at Target.  Easy peasy.

My most special pen was a gift from my husband quite a few years ago:  a vintage Waterman fountain pen with a mod tortoiseshell barrel.  It borders on psychedelic.  This is the pen I use for my Vintage style lettering.

For colored inks, I love Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic with a traditional pen & nib set (preferably a copperplate nib).

 

Traditional Italic calligraphy requires a particular nib (and at least a little training).  I used to use Osmiroid pens and nibs from England until they disappeared about 8 years ago (sniff, sniff).  I have yet to find anything that meets my two previous requirements....

Do you have any specific lettering questions I can answer in the next few weeks?