Friday, February 22, 2013

margaret - guest artist

so here is the second person who inspired me to keep the blog going. margaret shepherd. she's been authoring calligraphy books for 40+ years. she has a blog where she posts a new alphabet 6 days a week (and a project on the 7th day).

i'm guessing she is using some of the alphabets from her books. but, she better start working on 300 new alphabets because this year will fly by and she'll be hooked on this *every day* commitment. clearly, any one who hoards Fermi stamps, will be compelled to continue her one-a-day routine.

my first message from margaret was an email asking me if i would be interested in spinning an idea off of one of her favorite stamps. *of course i would* was the response...i was curious as all get-out which stamp it would be. so this is what she sent....the Fermi stamp. it is there on the left of the envelope...i just moved it from the note, to cover up her return address.

i will come back and talk about her gold *shepherd* name. for now, tip your head as far as you can, to the right and read the one on the top -- you will see that *shepherd* says... *margaret* when viewed from the other direction. she had it easy, she has the same number of letters in both names. i had the challenge of fitting *jean* into *wilson* -  but, i am happy with the results...which will be posted another day.

tomorrow will be the beginning of a series of ideas based on this stamp. it did appear on an envelope to jackie...does anyone remember it?

here is a link to margaret's blog....
http://margaretshepherd.blogspot.com/

i like the way she puts a cross bar on her Ms

check below, if you missed it, there was a bonus post yesterday.

7 comments:

  1. That is so fascinating what she did with her name. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out. Looking forward to seeing what you did with your name.
    Thank you for telling us about her blog. There goes more time in my day. I have at least one of her books in my collection of books.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i received this comment in an email and wanted to share it:

    "How lovely when I clicked on your blog to see Margaret Shepherd’s name. Hers was one of the first books I bought thirty years ago when my calligraphy life started, and I think subsequently I bought every one."

    yes, alyce...these blogs can be a slippery slope....i have given up facebook because i think i get more out of the blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My ears are burning. When I saw my envelope-addressing job, so utilitarian, on your blog I couldn't help thinking "I wish I'd made it niftier." Same with my books; there always should have been more explanation and a final draft to make the lettering a little less shaggy. I LOVE your envelopes, not just the blindingly clever first insight but the relaxed rendering.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sometimes you see something so lovely that it makes you want to tear home to your studio and start playing. This is definitely one of those things!

    ReplyDelete
  5. and lucky you....same number of letters in first and last name...

    ReplyDelete
  6. i like margaret's description of my sloppy scribbling....as *relaxed rendering*... i would call that a *blindingly clever* comment, but that would be cheeky to plagiarize your comments into my comment, eh?

    i am a big fan of any utilitarian envelope that has nice penmanship. your italic/script is lovely. i like that it is slant-free. i much prefer an upright italic...

    ReplyDelete
  7. 5:52 and i have your name done nancy...:-)

    ReplyDelete