Posts Tagged ‘Beautiful Creations’

Old Caran d’Ache pencils

Posted July 1, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities | 6 comments »

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.

| More

Calligraphy & tea: An interview with The Archer

Posted June 17, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | 3 comments »

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.

| More

Calligraphy in Montreal: Fibres, poils, cailloux

Posted June 15, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

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.

| More

Vintage lithographs

Posted June 3, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Cabinet of Curiosities | Add your comment »

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…

| More

Cole’s cursive

Posted April 7, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | 1 comment »

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).

| More

More fields

Posted March 3, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | Add your comment »

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:

Continue reading »

| More

Color and line: The art of Christian Skagen

Posted February 24, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | 1 comment »

Karen recently struck up a conversation with Norwegian artist Christian Skagen, who shared some of the vibrant ink-and-hot-pressed-paper drawings he’s been making for a series entitled “Horizontal Fields.” Here, for example, is a drawing Christian made with a Sailor Sapporo EF, 300gsm Arches HP, and J. Herbin’s Rose Tendresse:

Here are close-ups of the three works that are framed at the top of this post (be sure to click the image to see a larger version and appreciate the full intricacy and texture of the lines):

Continue reading »

| More

Sophie’s sketches

Posted February 17, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | 1 comment »

Some great new stuff at our Flickr group! For example, this sketch by Sophie, who’s also posted some beautiful Handalas, modge-podge photo transfers, and a fun, off-kilter watercolor:

See more of Sophie’s work on her blog and at her Flickr page. Also not to be missed: Stephanie’s vibrant mandalas, and this lovely whisper of a drawing by Gentian.

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us!

| More

Ink and poetry: Les Encres de Monsieur Herbin

Posted January 4, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People | Add your comment »

Herbin display

Karen posted this on Rhodia Drive last week, and I thought our readers might enjoy it, too — a poem by author Tree Riesener about J. Herbin ink.

As always, we love seeing the artwork that our little community produces, and poems are no exception. So writers… keep it coming, no matter what inspires you!

Les Encres de Monsieur Herbin

Encre Authentique, “Lawyers’ Ink,” for orders of execution, though paper crumbles, glowing in the night for three hundred years, enduring black legalese, these letters.

Grise Nuage, grey clouds of 1943 for Irene Sendlerowa, savior of children from the Warsaw Ghetto, for her heart broken, but never broken, of little ease, these letters.

Bouquet d’Antan, please please don’t leave, words in sorrowful faded rose, desolation unremembered, only watching the rain, writing, sorrow without surcease, these letters.

Cafe des Iles, never say you love me, and if we meet, I’ll pretend I’ve forgotten your face. Faded brown written on leaves, let them blow away in the breeze, these letters.

Violette Pensee, I will bury your bottle in fragrant petals, write by the light of candles on turtles’ backs, pen delicate lyrics of love and loss, plus an occasional tease, these letters.

Eclat de Saphir, flashing blue scooped from the sun-glinted ocean, sign room service for two, “Etouffee d’ecrevisses, Pinot Grigio, Mousse au chocolat,” caprice, these letters.

Lierre Sauvage, shadowed green, forest tree, flow as I copy out Akhmatova, “The glass doorbell rings, don’t touch me,” thoughts Stalin’s shadows could not seize, these letters.

For more information about Tree Riesener, visit her blog or her website.

| More

The things they carried

Posted September 14, 2009 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 1 comment »

Clairefontaine group

Fall is back-to-school season for many of you, and I’m wondering: how many notebooks, sketchpads, fountain pens, and art supplies do you bring with you? Do you wait and buy new supplies at school, or are there certain essential items that follow you from home?

I moved at least twice a year from the age of 18, in college, till I was 28 or so, and there was always a core set of books I’d tote with me no matter where I went (Beckett, Musil, Woolf). But I never brought any writing supplies except a couple of Pilot V-Balls — I’m a pretty recent fountain pen convert — which gave me a nice excuse to visit a stationery store in whatever new neighborhood or city I was going to. I suspect that’d be different now (I was careful to pack one Habana and two Rhodias on vacation last month), though of course I’m now quite happy in my little Brooklyn house and have no plans to move.

What’s your routine?

| More
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »