It’s been a wonderfully busy fall. With the current batch of engraving finished and the garden put to bed, I’ve been able to get back into the studio. First, my week at Cheerio was once again absolutely. John Stevens is both master artist and superb teacher.
From broad edged to pointed brush and some things in between. No pressure for completed masterpieces, just letters. We made lockups and played with the brush as a design tool. The steel nib has it’s place, but the freedom of the brush is a joy to experience. The text is by Oscar Wilde:
Tread gently for she is near under the snow. Speak gently, she can hear the daisies grow.
Quite sad and without his usual snarkiness.
The assignment to the left was to create one word with the pointed brush. Then to place some smaller text below it. It was hard to choose a word that didn’t have any specific meaning – but Sheldon’s Bazinga seemed to fit the bill and why not pair it with a bit of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky.
Even though the size is varied, this was all done with the same brush – a Kalish No. 3 Red Sable.
The brush a design tool is amazing. Even if you eventually used a different writing instrument, what other allows you this flexibility of size, shape, and weight with just one tool.
