Weekly Square #23

I’m missing a couple of my 6x6” weekly journal squares; I’ll circle back and finish those this week (I hope!).

This is last week’s square. I was inspired by the Sharpie marker experiment (see the previous blog entry), and in particular one of the pieces of fabric I colored.

I was also inspired by an online class I’m taking, “Calligra-Fun” (thanks Fannie and Sue, for mentioning this class on your blogs). I’ve been trying for a very long time to learn calligraphy, and I just can’t get it. Every book on calligraphy I have starts out by explaining how you hold the pen “at a 45 degree angle,” but none of them seem to feel the need to explain this. Does this mean the nib is at a 45 degree angle to the paper? Or that the nib is turned to either the left or the right at a 45 degree angle? I’ve tried both ways, but I can’t seem to get the thick and thin lines to come out right.

Calligra-Fun uses brush markers to create thick and thin lines, so there’s no 45 degree angle confusion involved. It's not really calligraphy so much as lettering. It's hard to tell in the picture that there really ARE thick and thin lines, since I added some highlights and outlining.

Clearly, I have a lot more work to do on my lettering, but this is a start, and I’ve already improved dramatically with just a little practice.

Other influences for last week’s square: the relentless heat, and my feeling of enervation that has kept me from creating anything. The blooms are surviving in our flower beds, though, and my creativity is starting to bloom again, as well.

On a completely different note, I met my sweetie for lunch today. On the way home, I noticed a handmade bread store, so I popped in. I sampled the Butterscotch Pecan bread, and, after practically swooning, bought a loaf. Heavenly!