ccc - maggie

oops. this post is late today. i thought i had something lined up for the 29th of feb...

i liked the idea of doing the dragon's body, but was too lazy to actually research what those dragons look like. then, i thought of a better idea, which would be: make the street address into the people that are in the parade carrying the dragon. so, this is a homework assignment for the ccc members who want to knock my socks off and show me just how cool this could have been.

ccc valerie (zip code)

i started the top on on that very first day when i started the ccc series. and that was the day i  used no pencil lines, and the poor results inspired me to turn over a new leaf and be vigilant about penciling some lines. so, the bottom one is the beginning of my redo.

ccc - peggy

this one needs lots more color. but, i wanted the workshop attendees to see it before i add the color. i filled in the peggy using shapes from the boat. but, i did not try to be literal or even follow the shapes exactly. at least half the time, i do not try to follow things exactly...so, hopefully people will pick up on how easy it is to get your ideas from the stamps.

ccc - yvonn (p.s.)

oops. need to rescan. i did not notice that the scanner did that tippy thing.

i pondered putting the zip in red. still can't decide if that would have looked better.

ccc - shirley

this is pink galaxy marker, outlined with orange glaze pen. the pink looked pretty good, but the orange is muddy. the colored pencil is also muddy. i was expecting this one  to turn out better, but the materials did not go together. i'll do another one for shirley. she has such a good name for the loopty-loos. and these loopties could have been (should have been) loop-ty-er.

ccc - marcy

there might be an earlier envelope that looks like this because this envelope had the grid and the stamp and was in my stack of *fix and use someday.*
i was reviewing my list of ccc members and it jumped out at me that i have written *schneider* many many times (to kathy schneider) and then, i noticed that kathy and marcy share two letters in their first names.
i like the idea of the comment section. this writing is arts and crafts, which i will not be presenting at the workshop, but, i am considering the frank lloyd wright writing, since, he was so fond of wisconsin. decisions decisions.

mimi south dakota

i had zee-row expectations for this green sharpie to look good on the aqua envelope. now i am sad that i do not have 200 envelopes in this color. instead i have 200 envelopes in cobalt and i can't find anything i like on the cobalt. bah-humbug. is that only a seasonal complaint/ or can one *bah-humbug* at any time of the year?

her street is actually pretty long, so it will start over by the j which will improve the layout.

tomorrow starts a string of ccc envelopes. warning, some experimental clunkers will appear, but when i get to the workshop, i will show how to fix clunkers. maybe we can do a live web-inar of the workshop so that y'all can join us....what a good idea...now we just need a camera crew and an internet guru.

molly

i think i will be addressing a set of envelopes like this. i am testing the different ways to fill all the space. it is fun although a bit challenging. this is walnut ink on a nice william arthur envelope.
we will get back to the ccc envelopes very soon.

hb kathy

i'm pretty sure it is kathy's birthday today
happy birthday. i have been sending her envelopes that have such serious problems, they do not get to be on the blog. this one is going to go to milwaukee with me to the workshop and then i will mail it. i was testing to see if the green sharpies had any juice left. then i wrote over the top with a white gel pen.

oh-my-gosh
i have a really good idea...
keep watching

nice article on paper

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/timothy-barrett-papermaker.html?_r=2&ref=magazine

since most of the envelopes are on paper, the link to the article is not seriously off-topic. plus the man is from iowa and he is a kindred spirit in that he has a focal point to his life.

the picture of the mail art has nothing to do with the article. it is just a reminder to google *mail art* once in a while and see what kinds of fun things are out there.

collaboration - magnolia

one last envelope from the collaboration series that was left in line. i am sticking it in here because when i opened the one below, this morning, it bothered me. i might try to fix it and then delete the older version.

one of my favorites from kathy and one of my favorite stamps. i like how the letters are a little bit like ribbon but only slightly. note to self: steal these letters.

the idea behind address placement was using the crossbar of the E as a secret line and running something on either end at that level. then, adding the last line, the width of the stamp, directly under the stamp. again, everything is gridded out, but you don't really see the grid.

the subject matter of the stamp is all very condensed and packed in, so the airy lettering was a nice counterpoint and i added to that by keeping the placement of the address open and airy.

julia watercolor

i was talking to julia about watercolor and masking fluid. i found an old bottle and it is really thick, so, i could not make very fine lines. i have no idea how to put he address on here. i could only put the stamp down low. it did not look right up in the corner.
the address will be fine at the bottom, but, i have no idea what to use.
suggestions?
the watery background was done with gouache and too much water. i was too lazy to get out my watercolors.

stacey's dragon

i'm putting a few non-ccc envelopes in here and there because...i love writing new names, but, i also miss writing names that i have written a lot. i can't stress enough that it can be a very good thing to write one name a hundred different ways. it may seem impossible. but, trust me, if you do, you will come up with a lot of ideas. i am not musical, but, i suspect that the musicians will say they learn a lot by playing their favorite music over and over.

any musicians out there who can comment on the value of playing the same favorite piece many times?

stacey's address is going to go, stacked, over to the left of the S. not sure what color,

patti - blue

i have done two or three for patti. this one is not a keeper because i couldn't find a stamp and the spacing bothers me. but i like the quickness of the idea. the markers are galaxy metallics.

from elizabeth

i covered up her return address. this is a fun stamp with a quill. and she did it during a blizzard. the inside has a couple mistakes and then some very cute comments about making mistakes. i'm glad she went ahead and mailed the mistakes. she attributed one of the mistakes to concentrating on the letterforms. i know that happens to me all the time....

beth lee has this to say on her blog:
The two you see here are — obviously — the remains of a couple of errors. I shouldn’t say “obviously”. You, my readers, may be calligraphers, in which case you most likely looked more carefully at the letter forms than the actual words, a tendency which non-calligrapher friends and spouses find humorous.

Read more: http://callibeth.com/blog/category/metallic-inks/#ixzz1mdiMboll

there are more envelopes on her blog. she is talking about looking at the letterforms...after the fact. but, i imagine some of her errors happen when she is thinking about the letterforms as she is addressing.

ccc patti

sumiec is all short letters with no ascenders or descenders, so i made it really tall to divide up the page and then filled in the rest of the information and added some dots. i did not have a stamp in mind and i was not sure where to place the stamp. if i get a chance to do this one over, i will put the stamp right in the middle of the envelope. and work the rest of the info around the edges. this is not a favorite, but the idea is worth further exploration.

christine - original

this was the original doodle that i thought looked better than the gel pen on navy a couple days ago. it was on a blank piece of paper, so i thought i could convert it into an envelope. i should have penciled in the address, because it ended up too low. so, i had to put some stamps down there in a futile attempt to fix it. i guess the ccc group will get to see a lot of problem solving...which is actually a good thing. i don't want it to give the impression that everything is perfect the minute the pen hits the paper.

valentine from jeri

here is my valentine from jeri. love the lavender and red combination. jeri is taking a broad nib class. so she pulled out her uncials. that is a good style for getting back in the broad edge groove.


i am keeping her in stitches with my suggestions of what to wear to an upcoming wedding. a fashion blog is not in my future. no cooking either. i am very one dimensional.

ccc elizabeth (brown)

i was experimenting and did not have a stamp in mind. this one is OK. i would keep looking if it was actually going in the mail.
also, i did not have that much fireworks, but i put too many dots on the one in the lower left, so i had to add a bunch more to detract from that boo-boo. i do like metallic gel pens on dark papers.

ccc patti scribble

ohhhhh, what a mess. it was at the end of a long day and i had some fun, then, this one was not working out, so i tried to follow my own advice, when in doubt scribble. i did manage to find some stamps that were perfect colors, but they were not square so the shape clashed. this one is almost OK. and i was very pleased with the placement of the address. the p.o. would not be pleased. you would probably want to put on a $1 stamp to make them tolerate this kind of a mess.

one of the few people who recognized mail art (and other ephemera) as worthy of collecting has passed away

steven leiber

nancy - hb - red

happy birthday to nancy. i know someone whose birthday is jan 11th, nancy's is february 11. i hope someone will post a comment and tell me that their birthday is march 11.

this envelopes is a boo-boo from a recent job. i have never been hired to address valentines before. this person had a list of 145 addresses. i spelled a name wrong on the top line, so i scribbled through it. then i wrote nancy's name a bunch more. and the white gel pens were on the verge of running out. so, it is not a spectacular envelope, but it was fun to do. no, nancy did not move to eldon, iowa. that is the town where the house that is in the painting *american gothic* is still standing and there is someone living in it. you can visit it and take your picture out front with a pitchfork.

now, i must go check and see if nancy's last name has an s, or no s. my memory is foggy at best. happy birthday, nancy...:-)

lesson in multiples

this might show why you need to do several versions. i knew the one i sent yesterday had a dreadful crossbar on the t. it was thin in the middle and it should have been thick. this morning i found the bottom envelope ont he right which had been a reject yesterday because the S is tilted back. i thought i would try that style S again and did the top one. i did not outline it, i just added the notch on the ends of the ribbons. on the one yesterday, the notches were too deep. i still don't like the top half of the S. that made me think the one that is tipped back is better. then i wondered what it would look like to fill up the space with ribbons, more like the stamp. so, thinking i would just throw it away, i tried it on the bottom one and i liked it enough to share it with you. but not enough to put a stamp on it. the top one, i will send. how funny would it be if i sent 20 envelopes to stacey. i would, except that i am engrossed in my ccc project. i am pretty much booked on the blog for the next three months. yikes.

anyhow, the point of this was that you should try writing the same name a few different ways. you can't count on your first attempt being the best one.

ccc marji

this needs a box around it so you can see where the envelope ends. i was channeling betsy dunlap. her caps have very quirky bumps and flinging tails. i added some tiny details off the stamp. i like the pink writing outlined in red. and while there are all kinds of good shapes and ideas to pull out form the stamp, it is just as much fun to use just the colors for inspiration.

when i composed the post, i couldn't see any box around the envelope, but then when i checked the blog this morning, it seems as if blogger puts a line around it. so, thanks blogger, for being helpful.

bonus post

stacey sent me the new love stamps
i had to write a thank you. i used a dry zig marker, then outlined it and added the little parallel lines on the ribbon. the actual forms of the letters are way off, but, i don't mind it as, it would be hard to make ribbons act like a line of ink. the flourish shapes are a little goofy, but, again, if you want it to look like ribbon, it can't follow all the rules of a line of ink. it would be better to be an illustrator. someone like jessica hische (not sure of that spelling) has some spectacular lettering that looks like ribbons. check out her website.

oh, duh.  i just googled jessica hische to put in a link to her website and she designed this stamp.
so, here is her website:

http://jessicahische.is/awesome/

ccc lester

i could have a lot of fun with this idea if i had more of those stamps. but, they are old and this one was done in a batch of about ten experiments. i do like the idea of a jumble of letters, and each name in a different color. i think i will assign homework on this one, too. if you are going to attend the workshop, play around with layering names and see what you can come up with.

ccc jill

this name is a good example of looking at the letters and finding elements to repeat. it is a little bit symmetrical with one pair of l's in each name and also one descender in each name. i like these stamps with the name. although, the lettering is a little too wonky. i made this one in my very first batch of ccc envelopes and have been ambivalent about posting it. it needs work....but it is not a complete dud.

oh, i remember, the very first batch was done without any pencil lines at all and that is what bothers me about it. i'd be OK with the waves if the strokes started and stopped on straight lines.

hi, mimi. i saw your comment on an older post. glad you are thinking about some lettering :-)

and this just in....postage stamps in england that feature illustrations by quentin blake from roald dahl books.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2012/jan/09/roald-dahl-stamps-in-pictures

ccc elizabeth (white)

blogger won't let me write at the top. this was done while i was on a phone call. it was probably a 45 minute phone call. i always like my phone doodles and at the last lettering club meeting that i went to, susan and i talked about how some of our best drawings happen on the phone and if we try to redo them, they never turn out as well the next time. so, there must be some advantage to being slightly distracted. i wonder if the people i talk to are annoyed that i am slightly distracted. maybe they can't tell.

ccc christine

i thought we needed some relief from the all white envelopes and i had some leftover squares. i doodled a christine that was similar to this. then was happy to see those shapes in these new stamps. they are the new rate for post cards. so, i have to think of some excuses to send post cards.

ccc alyce

i like the idea of the name spelled out on the coins, but i need to figure out a better way to do it. alyce, fur shur you get another envelope....

ccc judy

the details in this stamp are wonderful. it took a lot of self control to not redraw the fruit. i put just a touch of the vine on either side of the zip. but, i could easily do several more variations on this one. i like ribbon writing. hopefully the c.c.calligraphers will enjoy ribbon writing, too.

ccc faith

i did this writing before i had a stamp. so, the little detail lines reminded me of some of the parallel lines in the stamp. you do not need to be literal with design elements.  and if anyone is noticing that there are a lot of green and purple envelopes, it is because i only had two markers at my desk and was too lazy to get up and get some more. we will be through this phase and on to some other colors pretty soon.

ccc barb

oops. i forgot to finish this one. that flower on the left side of the B needs one more tendril, and the whole thing is a little wonky. maybe it looks better as a *primitive* piece. decisions, decisions. if i have time to redo it, the whole envelope will get a  border.

ccc barbara

the top two were warm ups. i like this style better when it is done a little fast and jerky.