Rachael's corner to GraceE - Sept (Link to Hoopla)

Shout out to Ruth -- she emailed Friday afternoon that she was done with her holiday mailing. As the person who is leaning on everyone else - I am sad to report that I have not even started mine. But, I have lots of good excuses.

Put *Ruth* in the search box if you want to see some really gorgeous lettering.

I stopped at one of my least favorite post offices on Friday - and was thrilled to see that it has been spiffed up and they now have a large screen TV behind the counter so we can watch postal loveliness while we wait in line. And one of the new clerks is young, and perky, and super helpful. 

This has been a real time Pre.S.

That is like a P.S. - but it comes before the daily blurb

(that is often written weeks ahead of time).

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 This might be the last one in the Rachael's corner series. I know it was the last one I did. A recurring theme in my jabbering is to do multiples and to see if the idea wants to morph. My usual morph is from something tighter and more precise to something loose verging on wild. Sometimes I go too far. I was rather pleased with this one. It's pretty wild without going haywire.

What does haywire mean?

*** I had time to look this up when I inserted the shout out to Ruth. Apparently the rolls of wire used for baling hay have a mind of their own. If you do not keep them under control and they get off the spool, they can turn into a hideous mess. And it is used two ways:

Roughly-made, unsophisticated, decrepit (from the use of haywire for temporary repairs).

Behaving erratically or uncontrollably, especially of a machine or mechanical process; usually used with the verb "go".

I might look it up when this post gets closer. If I had had a ton of those Bill of Rights stamps, I think this idea might have gone somewhere. Julian Waters designed that stamp. His mom is the famous Sheila Waters. 

And---I think the G is a nice letter for drop-capping. 

One final envelope from September - Coulda been better. Coulda been worse. Shoulda matched the Popeye lettering

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Real time. My Pinterest surfing is way down. But, this envelope caught my eye.

The design is not USPS friendly, so you might want to save the idea for 2021. It is from Kim of Hoopla Letters. There is a link to her blog below. If you like the looks of her style, there is a ton of other stuff you can find through the tabs. All of her lettering is fairly loose so it might appeal to those of you who have not taken formal lessons in calligraphy. If you come from a traditional background, I already know that you might cringe at some of it. I do not have an opinion one way or the other. We do not all start in the same place. 

I'm recalling Barry Morentz,  a very well known calligrapher. He signed up for one of my classes when I was teaching in New York and I was startled to see his name on the class list. When he showed up, I asked him why in the world he was taking a workshop with the likes of me. He said he was open to new things. At the time, the NYC guild had not embraced the newish wonky styles of lettering. But, my wonky styles were inviting to beginners and the guild was hoping to attract new members. Barry took my ideas and did them with his very experienced hand/eye -- and the results were fantastic. 

I'm pretty sure I have told this story previously - but the lesson is worth repeating. Be open. I just did a search and found the original story - May of 2013. I love Blogger's search function.

Link to Hoopla Letters blog

I am pondering the idea of going back through all my posts and gathering the stories and chatter that I think is worth compiling into an organized format. My grandkids seem to like making things and their parents are not big *makers.* So, if I fall off my perch before I share all my lessons, maybe I can leave a lesson book for the whole family. While the grandkid's parents are not natural born makers, they have been very good about buying kits and making stuff. It's a start. Most kids love art. For some odd reason, my kids weren't that interested in art projects. It was probably a blessing in disguise. I don't think Mr Wilson is that fond of the mess that accompanies art.