Our friends at Jet Pen recently started carrying calligraphy nibs by Brause, another member of the Exaclair family. I’ve long admired the calligraphy that I see through blogging friends, so I used it as an excuse to pick up some books at Barnes & Noble (Margaret Shepherd’s Calligraphy Made Easy and Don Marsh’s First Steps guide) and give it a go for myself.
I’ve got some nibs and paper with me here in Westport, so hopefully I’ll find it as easy as Clem says it is!
Do you practice calligraphy?
Whoa, this is pretty incredible: the Telegraph has a new picture gallery of Brazilian-born carpenter Dalton Ghetti’s remarkable pencil sculptures. From a boot, a button, and a saw to an entire miniature alphabet, the sculptures themselves are mind blowing. Even more amazing, according to the accompanying text:
Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends.
Dalton, if you’re reading this — any chance we can be friends? I’ll ply you with Rhodia pencils, and send you all the notebooks you want…
Via BoingBoing.
I’ve long had an inordinate fondness for X-Acto knives. Partly that’s because I love the design of the cheapo one I’ve owned since high school, whose serrated blade tucks into a green plastic case and can be nipped off whenever it’s dull:
Partly it’s because of how well-suited the X-Acto is to its tasks. I don’t do anything particularly fancy with mine, but it’s still satisfying to own an instrument that can cut through heavy paper with such ease. I recently bought a more expensive one to cut a mat for a vintage lithograph I picked up in Austria and wanted to give to a friend.
The print, in case you’re interested, is a 19th-century reproduction of a 16th-century poem (whose first two lines seem to date back to the middle ages) called “Der Fischer,” or the fisherman. (Click through to see a larger version.)
After I matted and framed it, I had a lot of fun trying to track down the names of all of the fishes. I grew up in a land-locked state, and I’ll admit that “Gudgeon” is as foreign a word to me in English as “Grundel” is in German, but I did enjoy learning about the Huchen, or Danube salmon…
Alberto Lung’s phenomenal Manga-like artwork has popped up before on this blog and on Rhodia Drive. Here, then, is one of a small-but-growing library of his YouTube videos, where he plays with different materials and demonstrates his techniques.
In the video embedded above, Alberto does a few sketches with a glass pen, an Exacompta pad, and J. Herbin’s anniversary ink. Awesome to watch them evolve, no?
Every once in a while, I find something in my office that I can’t believe I still own… this time, it was a box of Caran d’Ache colored pencils from 1991, a commemorative set that was created in honor of the 700th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation. I can’t remember if it was a present from my father (who often traveled to Europe for conferences) or something I acquired on a trip to see my German relatives (I think we may have gone for Christmas that year).
I do remember thinking that these pencils were way too special for everyday use — I was 12 or 13 when I got them — so they’re in great condition now, though the case is a bit dinged and scratched. The wood, which I’m guessing is cedar, also smells amazing. The only thing I’m puzzled by is the painting on the front of the box, which depicts a medieval battle scene that in retrospect is perhaps a bit gruesome for product that’s sold to children?
Though it obviously didn’t phase me at the time.
Photo by EJ Azucena; styling by Kristine Grace L. Natividad and Donna Bae Malayang
Many of you know Clement Dionglay from her blog, Rants of the Archer. I caught up with her recently to ask a few questions about her background, life, and hobbies…
Tell us about yourself… where are you from, where do you live, and so on?
I’m Clement Dionglay, a.k.a The Archer, the person behind Rants of the Archer blog. I was born in the sleepy town of Alaminos, Laguna, a big province south of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. I am currently based in Los Baños, a small, closely-knit science community in the same province where I grew up; where I am currently engaged as a publications designer and electronic list keeper in an international organization. I am currently working on a degree through distance learning that I am scheduled to finish in a year. I’m a doting aunt to four girls aged 1 to 10, and an avid hoarder of a lot of stuff.
How did your passion for pens and paper develop?
My passion for pens and paper developed at a very early age. I was writing (and reading) long before I started schooling. My maternal grandmother was an elementary teacher, and had lots of paper I used to doodle on. I even had hand-me-down notebooks from my aunts and these were my first notebooks. My aunts supplied me with pencils and other stationery (scented erasers, colorful Sanrio stationery) and that I guess became the starting point of my longest love affair – that with pen and paper.
When did you start practicing the gorgeous calligraphy that we see on your blog?
I started doing calligraphy only very recently. I forced myself to learn the art after I received my first 2 bottles of J. Herbin ink out of the Bastille Day offer last year. I was about to write a review of the inks and I wanted to come up with a little extra aside from my regular handwriting, so I took out my Lamy Joy set and downloaded a lot of Chancery calligraphy guides from the internet. And I found out it wasn’t even difficult at all!
What are your favorite pens at the moment? Your favorite notebooks and inks?
I love Sheaffer pens. I got several NoNonsense pens and I love them. They are dependable, durable writers. But my daily stable of pens also include Schneider Base pens and several Lamy Safaris. I love blue and brown inks — Bleu Pervenche reminds of somebody’s dress, Terre de Feu of somebody’s eyes. I keep a large Quo Vadis Habana as my journal, and despite its weight, it’s currently my favorite notebook.
Which pens have surprised you most over the years, either positively or negatively?
My pens are mostly student grade pens. I love them all because they function well, and I am able to use them fully. What surprised me the most is the set of two Manuscript calligraphy pens I got from a store selling used clothes and shoes. I got the set for P50 (a little over $1) and did not like them at first because they have crisp italic nibs. After I learned doing Chancery calligraphy, I found out that these pens do fantastic work! So much value for their price.
I understand from your blog that you’re an avid diarist. Do you have any particular writing routines — a certain place, time of day, etc.?
Yes, I love writing in my diary/journal. I have a strange preference of where to write: on my dining table! LOL! Seriously though, I write, do craft, paint and even sew on my dining table. I don’t remember how this strange practice started, but I love using the dining table, perhaps because it’s bigger than my study/work table. I love to write at night, when I’m done with most of my chores and the neighborhood gets some semblance of calm and quiet. I like to write in silence. I always have. Silence brings me so much: words, emotions, remembrances — even sound. Writing has become ceremonial for me. Almost ritualistic. I like to write after my night bath, with a mug of steaming hot tea next to me. While I’m a coffee drinker, I love sipping tea at night, and I like it steaming hot because I love the aroma of tea filling the room. My journal entries always begin with the day and the date. I also include the pen and ink I am using for the day’s entry. Sometimes I also listen to late night jazz while I write.
To learn more about Clem, please visit her blog.
To learn more about EJ Azucena of EDGE photography, check out his Facebook page.
From calligraphy artist Lorna Mulligan comes word of a new exhibit in Montreal’s Ame-Art gallery called Fibres, poils, cailloux. Featuring pieces by Mulligan and other members of the Les Calmars group, it’s on display through June 20.
For those of you who can’t make it to the show, we’re lucky enough to have pictures of two pieces that are on display (both are by Lorna). The first, Beaudelaire, started with small landscape segments done in J. Herbin’s Lie de Thé and Bleu Myosotis. After that, Lorna added the text from Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal in black ink with a pointed pen and brush.
The second piece includes an image transfer of an old map of Montreal that shows Lorna’s neighborhood beside the park. Beside this she created a moody background with a mix of earthy inks (Ambre de Birmanie, Lie de Thé, and Vert Olive). The words talk about different ways of walking: And so I must be going… sauntering, wandering, meandering, and so on.
See more of Lorna’s artwork on her website.
Vienna trades heavily on its associations with art and with the past, in ways that are charming, irritating, and probably inevitable given its history (and the size of its tourism industry).
Either way, there are a lot of stores that sell antique prints, and while many are astronomically expensive, there are also bargains to be had. In 2002, when I lived there, I picked up some marvelous 18th century lithographs of insects and butterflies. This time around, I bought these handsome buffalo:
Maps are more expensive, but unframed naturalia won’t typically set you back more than 20 Euros a pop, depending on their condition. The provenance of these pieces is unfortunate — it must be said — since they’re not proper prints at all but plates that were ripped out of old books during the 19th century. (They tore up medieval manuscripts, too; the thought just breaks my heart.) But that damage has already been done, and for those of us who can’t afford to spring for original artwork, they remain a unique and cost-effective way of covering the walls.
At any rate, you can find these all over Europe (antique bookstores tend to have the best prices), and in the U.S., too, though if you’re ever in Vienna, head to Meindl & Sulzmann at Kochgasse 32, in the 8th district…
Karen tipped me off to this lovely set of doodles from reader Cole Wardell, whose blog, The Orchard, features lots more gorgeous artwork and plenty of pen and paper musings.
I love the interplay between the formal script and the informal blotches of ink… meanwhile, be sure to check out the full-sized image here (or here, shot from a different angle).
We just got a couple new images from Christian Skagen’s “Horizontal Fields” series, which we blogged about last week (with my apologies for having flubbed the title; sorry — it’s “Horizontal Fields,” not “Horizontal Lines” as I first wrote).
Anyway, click through to see some pieces Christian made with J. Herbin Rose Tendresse and Bleu Azur and a Pelikan M250 EF:
