Sheila Waters 90th Birthday

Sheila's birthday is March 13th. She has been a rock star in the world of calligraphy for decades. She's even featured on Wikipedia. If you have a minute - you might want to drop a birthday greeting in the mail. I should have given people more lead time. But, even if you send a greeting that is a bit late - I am sure she will enjoy mail that dribbles in all month. In fact -- it might be better to have it spread out.

Her address:

Sheila Waters
851 Boyle Road
Fairfield, PA 17320

Pennsylvania - if you want to spell it out.


For a visual I'm adding a birthday greeting that came from Maureen for Viola - you need to see it in real life to appreciate how tiny the drawing is. It is hand colored - looks like colored pencil - high quality pencils because the colors are very bright. The other Viola envelopes will pop up in May.

Maureen's italics are Sheila-worthy. If you do not have any calligraphic skill - don't worry - Sheila is one of those kind souls who appreciates the value of doing things by hand.

OK - Blogger is messed up right now - I'll try to come back and insert the photo the regular way. Not sure what's going on. I just inserted it with drag and drop - and it looks OK --

Traditional envelopes from CathyO and Lynne

These two are from real calligraphers. I mention from time to time how much I like simple straight forward lettering.

Cathy, on top, added a little line with leaves. Lynne, below, stacked the names. Both are nice little details that work very well when you want something very clean and traditional. Good choices with the stamps which are also fairly traditional designs.

Jan Neuland (windows) to Lauren & Heidi

It's hard to see the Neuland in these three. But, once I started looking at the details on the stamp I headed in a better direction.

The roof lines are not like the ones on the stamp, but that detail does not bother me in the least. That's the tip of the day. Don't be a slave to the stamp.

No picture post - to the envelope exchangers

A note to the envelope exchangers. The lists were sent out on March 5th- if you did not get your list, let me know.

I am happy to report that only 3 people forgot to include their email with their sign-up info.
I did not return the emails and ask for complete information because I am a wimpy pushover. I can talk tough - but am not able to follow through. I won't even *out* the people who did not add their email.

Next month,  we will try something else -- we are in this together... and imagine the celebration if we hit 100% compliance with the sign-up format. Newcomers - you all get A+. You all sent in your info in perfect order.

I guess I am a pushover because I do hear bits and pieces from exchangers - reasons why they are a few days late. The *excuses* are not excuses. They are understandable reasons. Mostly illness. Sometimes there has been a death in the family. Other times people are coping with things that are challenging.

One day, while driving, I was thinking of some of the challenges that my penpals face and I thought - gee - maybe I should make a list - so all y'all know that we are all facing challenges.

Here are some actual challenges that I have heard about from real people over the past couple years:


elder care
cancer
wedding planning
funeral
divorce
adult offspring moving back home
car accident
elder care
flood
forest fire
brain tumor
illness that defies diagnosis
restless-retired-spouse
radon
broken bone
elder care
and one of the hardest of all - death of a beloved pet

MUD SLIDE
SNOW
these two added via email -- I can't believe I forgot to put snow on the list.
which reminds me of
ICE


OK
Those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.
I'm probably forgetting some.
Feel free to add to the list.
You won't be complaining.
I think it's called commiserating.

From Maggie - Nov PTEX & From CathyO - Feb PTEX

About half the Nov exchange envelopes were Thanksgiving themed and will appear in October. The other half will show up now - as they are ideas that would work in any season. This one is quite springy.

Maggie put a note on the back that she was having a Seurat-moment. The photo probably doesn't show how sweet the sparkles are on the little buds.



No matter how many posts I schedule in May, I keep finding more Feb envelopes, so I am bumping a few of them forward.

This - from CathyO to Viola was hiding in the downloads. After the envelope, both sides of the card are pictured. Nice rainbow writing on the card.

Jan Neuland to Anthea and Jadie

Both of these are a little wimpy. Right after I did these two , I turned a corner and had some better ideas. Although they did drift away from the Neuland.

Again, I was thinking some more dark green would help both of these, but I was nervous about botching them. At some point, I will show you the one that intimidated me into doing these wimpy ones.

Bonus Post - only if you have time to kill

Skip this unless you have time to kill.
Regular daily post is right below.

The past couple weeks have been full of fun conversations and emails with a variety of people. I have some follow up comments from some people and observations.

1
Rehj left a comment on the post where I celebrated 4,000 posts. She corrected my math. She asked if I was testing to see if anyone was paying attention. Nope. I just know myself well enough to know that I make a lot of very simple math mistakes. And I was correct. She also mentioned that she is still too busy to join the exchange for now - but says hi -- so *Hi, Rehj* from all your pen pals.

2
The BigHelpfulBrother left a comment on the same post telling us that he was sorry to point out that 9 divided by any number will yield a big long string of the same number. It's one of those mathic-magical tricks that keeps me clueless. I love math - but am not on top of it. I do not know why he was sorry to point it out. I think what he meant to say was that he was sorry I'm so clueless.

3
More than a couple people had private comments about hesitating to call a studio a studio - since that implies you consider yourself an artist. Trust me -- no matter where anyone is on the curve - in any art (music, theater, applied art, crafts, baking, sports, etc) we are all on a curve and it doesn't matter which words you use. The ornery people who want to judge others and demean anyone who wants to say, *I am an artist* - are sad little people and we should be very polite to them but let their comments go in one ear and out the other. Everyone is gifted in some ways and not-gifted in others.

Below, I have copied some paragraphs from a woman whose art form is cookies. That's right a cookie artist. I love her thoughts on this subject. She explains that it is the connections we have that are meaningful. Sure - we aren't all rock stars. But that's the way bell curves are designed. We all have to fit and some of us are going to be stuck in the middle. It's probably fine that we are because it is easier to meet each other. If you are way out on the tip - it might be harder to meet up with any of your peers.

So - here is the cookie artist's post:


I kind of massively love this cookie community. I'm just a little bit all the way obsessed. I love the way you look out for each other. I love the way you innovate. I love the way you SHARE. But my very favoritest part of all...okay...I have two favorites. I love that there is always SOMEONE SOMEWHERE that is awake. No matter the time or day...there is someone you can reach out to.

When I lived in South Korea....it was a pretty big deal to me to be able to connect with other living people that also liked to eat sugar and play with their food and really really really didn't know how to make it through an entire grocery shopping trip without a colossal meltdown of epic proportions as well. You know...basic every day stuff.

And my other very favoritest thing of all is how being part of this community makes me feel like a renaissance artist in Italy. Think about it. Those amazing architects and philosophers and artists all hanging around at the Medici house...eating left over pizza and talking about their newest projects and ideas and I bet Botticelli was like "Hey I've got this great idea - check it out!"

And DaVinci was all, "Ohhhhh!!!! That's so cool! You know what you should do...."

And Botticelli was like, "YESSSSS!" and then he threw popcorn at DaVinci...because they are still boys after all. And then the art was even more amazing because they were friends and they built on the ideas of each other.

Because I do not for one second believe that the amazing growth of the arts and craftsmanship during the renaissance happened as a result of competition between those incredibly talented individuals.

I LOVE when an idea gets passed UPWARD, OUTWARD, SIDEWAYS. I love when a cookie or design sparks new joy. When someone sees a cookie and takes it a step further. Because it HELPS ME to take my next designs, my next idea or project, further in a way I couldn't have done myself.

end of cookie artist (https://www.lilaloa.com/)

I love my connection with all y'all.
I wish I had time to write personal notes to everyone who exchanges.
Maybe someday I will.
For now - thanks for everyone who participates and gives me all kinds of ideas to post and share.

From RachaelT - Nov PTEX - Lady in Wind

Even though this arrived in the November Exchange and the blowing leaves look like autumn, it would be just as pretty in spring colors with March blowing in.

As always, kraft paper is soooo pretty. And we *heart* the arts and crafts font.

Stealworthy items:
banner
lettering
dashy line swirls
skirt pattern
font

Bonus Post - Birthday report

When I sent out the lists for the Feb exchange, I invited people to send me a birthday envelope addressed to Viola - because I was going to her 99th birthday party on Feb 22nd. Viola is my BigHelpfulBrother's mother-in-law.

The envelopes, and some included cards, are wonderful and Viola really enjoyed them. I know it will be fun for her to have them to look at and take to show-and-tell at her assisted living home. They are all scheduled to show up in April but I wanted to let the people who sent mail know how much it added to the event.

I wish I had a video of Viola telling us the story of her first job. She worked for the railroad in Louisiana. Job title: Train Order Operator. She said she was 22, so that must have been 1942. At the time, the railroads had only one track to be shared by trains going in both directions. There were sidings where trains had to pull off to let opposing trains pass. Clearly, running into each other would have been a mess.

So, there were people hired to pass a note to the engineer to let him know when it was his turn to pull off on a siding. The note was attached to a long pole and people like Viola had to go out and stand right next to the track and the engineer would stick his hand out the window and grab the note. The train would slow down - but it was still moving as the engineer grabbed the note. Viola said it was scary standing so close to a moving train.

Viola even worked the graveyard shift. She took a bus to her outpost, started at midnight, and worked until 8 am.  Her supervisor suggested she take a gun since she'd be out there by herself in the middle of nowhere. Lucky for Viola, her mom had a gun she could borrow.

I'm not making this up.

At this point, Viola giggled and said there was no way she could have shot anyone. Eventually she became a station agent and I am looking forward to hearing more about that job.

If you are curious about Train Order Operators, here are a couple links with more info. I need to do some more research and find out who the person was who said, "You know, it would be really helpful if we laid a second track.

Wiki article

Here is a second article that even discusses the penmanship on the notes.

http://trn.trains.com/railroads/abcs-of-railroading/2006/05/train-orders


A line from the article:
Telegraphers' script, a beautiful, flowing, but legible handwriting, was the trademark of an operator who had learned his trade in the days of the Morse telegraph schools (named for the device's inventor, Samuel F.B. Morse). 

Today's regular post is right below.

Jan. Neuland to Patty, Finn and KathyS

Another batch of Neuland, done for the Jan exchange. I had planned on using up the 25-cent Greeting stamps in December and forgot all about them. Since the rates are going up, I figured it would be fine to use them up in January rather than hold them over for Dec 2019 - and have to use three - or add an oddball.

One tip for Neuland is that it is a good style for stacking. I like to make names into rectangles or squares. Because the stamps are usually rectangles of squares - it's nice to harmonize those two shapes.

This was an early one in the series and it isn't wildly exciting. There are 15 in this series and they do get pretty wild.

Phillip's is a little busy for my taste - but I do like the idea of writing things in the horizontal lines.

Kathy's is a little tame. I did not have a good pale blue marker and none of my greens were the right shade - so I thought layering greens was a good option. I was tempted to add some of the dark green to Kathy's, but chickened out after I botched some of the others that you will be seeing in the coming days.

March PTEX Exchange Sign-up

Angie sent this in October - or at least that is what she wrote
on the back and then it did not arrive until Dec 8th.
 There is no postmark.
It is some kind of shiny ink on a matte black envelope. Very cool.

Sign-up for the March Exchange starts today.
LISTEN UP old timers.
Don't be frightened, newcomers.

Sign up is Mar 1 thru Mar 4
Send me this info:

Your Name
123 Your Street
Town, State 50010
YoName@gmail.com


If you forget your email I will return your request and ask you to add it - sadly, I am unable to combine info from two places and need name/address/email
all in one block of copy.

Thank you.

Last month, two people did not get their lists on the 5th or 6th. It took a while to sort things out. If you do not get your list by the 7th - contact me promptly.

I do ask people to respond when they get the list -- so I can see if anyone did not get their list -- but it is getting to be too much for me to do the double checking - so it is on your head to make sure the list has arrived.

OK - old-timers may skip the rest of the post which you know by heart.
Or you might want to check out that last bit in red down at the bottom.

Send your info to me at
jmwilson411 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Send by March 4th - and lists will be sent on March 5th or 6th.

NEWCOMERS: I will respond by email that I have received your sign-up. If you do not hear from me, send another email. Sometimes new emails end up in the spam - although, I do check it every day.

Beginners are welcome. There is no theme. Half the exchangers are calligraphers. The other half do collage, rubber stamping, digital art or handmade envelopes. It is a NO-STRESS exchange. We like to experiment and have fun and then toss things in the mail. No judging. It is not a contest. It is about carving out a few minutes to be creative. Some people have more time than others. About half the people send empty envelopes. Enclosures are optional. Some people tuck a note inside letting us know what materials they used. Others just say *hi*

If you like to exchange cards - put (CARDS) after your name - and you will be put on a list with one or more other card makers.
If it is your birthday month, let me know and I will mention that on the list.
Birthday themed mail is optional.
If you would like to be on two lists, let me know, I may add your name to a second list to make them all come out even.

Adding - (CARDS) - birthday - two lists should be done like this:

Your Name (CARDS)
123 Your Street
City, State 50010
YoName@gmail.com
March birthday
2 lists

I put 6 people on each list.
You send to the other 5 and they send to you.
Please get your envelopes in the mail by Mar 31

Any questions -- just email me

jmwilson411 -at- yahoo -dot- com

Jan. Neuland to KateR

In Dec-Jan, Kate decided to give Neuland a try. I told her I would do all of my January exchange envelopes in Neuland and pass along some tips.

The number one thing I like about Neuland is layering. This one was done very quickly and if I had time, I would do some spectacular tiny details on the lettering, inspired by the details on the stamps.

My set of 48 ZIG calligraphy markers are nearing the end of their lives. Dry markers are fun - to a point.

Mean Jean warning. - to exchangers - non exchangers may ignore this:
Tomorrow, there will be some requests in red - to catch your attention - on the March Exchange Sign-up

There were complications with the Feb exchange -- and I have a couple simple requests to help avoid mistakes and complications, (i.e. mistakes made by me)

I hope I don't sound like I am yelling. I struggle with my computer keyboarding skills.
If you do not type your email - I can't always figure out how to copy and paste it - plus some people have more than one email and I can't keep track of which one they want on the list.

Thanks for your help.

I'm not yelling.

Bonus Post - Studio shots from Janna and GraceH

Janna sent photos of her studio. Lots of nice light. She has a new light pad that she is enjoying. That looks like a serious magnifying glass headset.

Below is Grace's photo of her studio. It looks like it's closed for the season. Maybe we will get a peek inside when the snow melts.

Nov from RachelD - Leafy

While this one arrived in November and is autumnal, the idea could easily be morphed into a spring theme with the right stamp.

Instead of leaves - flowers and bunnies. Or summer - watermelon and what? I'm writing this on Dec 10th and drawing a blank on summer motifs.

That Guy (in Ames?) Yes, in Ames

I hope I can find this one and insert the name.

It is not from an exchange - its from a guy who found out I did mail art - somewhere - I don't remember...maybe Ames.....

I like the rubber stamp - falling coffee cup
and the way it fits into the reconstructed/recycled window envelope. Very clever. I have to rein myself in from saving every window envelope that shows up. I love the security patterns, too.


Almost ready to celebrate that the new and improved method of blogging is going to be up and running starting on April 1. I know. A foolish day to start anything. And yet--- it's my birth month. It is usually a gorgeous month weather-wise and flower-wise. Maybe all of this is working out perfectly.

Maybe not.

***
Feb 10 - I just found his name
Mike Parsons and he does live in Ames.

I've seen his stuff on other blogs. But, I had to make the decision that I only do my own exchanges. If I started doing others -- I would spend all day at my desk and the list of chores is still too long.

*** an off-topic post below

Off Topic - The Big Nib - I-80 Rest Stop

Back in March of 2015 I ran a photo of the big nib and said I would post the whole story. Then I lost all the photos. Recently they reappeared.

David B. Dahlquist is a local artist who works with one of the architectural firms that designs the theme rest stops on Interstates 80 and 35. He contacted me about the one they were working on that would be built just west of Iowa City. The University of Iowa (in Iowa City) is world renown for their writer's workshop (think Kurt Vonnegut and a host of other famous writers). David was curious about dovetailing some of the tools of writing with authoring and offered to pay me for my time just to chat. In addition to talking about pre-typewriter era tools, I wrote the words --  Iowa - the beautiful land --  many times using many different tools and gave him a stack of random writing in many styles. Some time later, I heard about the BIG NIB at an I-80 rest stop. It was fun to stop and see it and even better to see my name on the plaque on the wall thanking the people who contributed to the project.

I have no idea if that is my handwriting on the IOWA. For all I know, he went out on the internet and found a font. It doesn't really look like my penmanship at all. But, it might be.

Same with the the words "the beautiful land" on the nib. It's not what I would have chosen. If he took something I wrote that was about 1/2-inch by 3-inches and enlarged it - it might have ended up looking like that. It's pretty hard to get the power of veto on these kinds of projects. Since the whole point of the rest stop is to honor the Writer's Workshop, it is probably fitting that they did not feature fine penmanship. Maybe someday we will get our own penmanship rest stop.

LOL

Below are more shots from around the rest stop and inside the building.

Bonus Post - Alyce's Studio

Whaaaaa?

Alyce sent 3 photos and I had to decide what order to post them. This is her new space in her new house and clearly she has not moved in.

I read her message before I looked at her photos and she explained that because she feels she is more of a craftsman than an artist she does not refer to her space as a studio - rather she calls it her playroom and even has a sign that someone made for her. I'm pretty sure that craftsmen still call their workspaces studios - but I can also see how studio does sound a little more artsy. Workshop is probably more crafty - but workshop doesn't sound right for paper/pen/marker work.

I never quibble with people over which label they prefer. Artist, player, maker, craftsman, putterer, whatever. The important part is to boldly take up as much room as you like and spend time doing things that you enjoy.

Here is Alyce's current space in all its glory. Yowza.

Really well organized. Thanks for sending -- hoping more readers send photos.

Daily post is right below. Right after her door sign.

Oct 2018 PTEX from Heidi-Alex-Holly-Fatima

While this is very *fall* it would be easy to morph it into a springy design with springy flowers and springy colors. Below are the rest of the October exchange envelopes that arrived. The ones that are more specifically *Halloween* themed will appear in late September.

There is a new system of posting. Odd days will feature incoming mail. Even days will feature outgoing mail.

That gives me 15 days to post all the incoming exchange mail and 15 for the outgoing. When I get to the end of the month, the last posts will have a few extras.

By putting everyone's name in every post - if people want to look at all their mail - they can do a search. Or - if they wanted to look at all the mail that went to someone else - they could search that name.

Heidi's pretty fall envelope had an equally pretty fall card. The leaf looks like a real leaf that was pressed. Whatever she used to adhere it to the card has made it impossible to discern if it is real or not - without destroying the leaf.

From Alex

From Holly

From Fatima

Bonus Post - Mr Wilson's Birthday Mail

I think these are the last two.

Alyce sent the top one and Carole sent the bottom one.

Technically - Carole's was a valentine to the BigHelpfulBrother - who is not Mr. Wilson. I can see how it is confusing to know who all these people are.

Another penpal told me recently that she had just figured out who Ellen Wilson is. In the older posts - there at 70 envelopes to her - my daughter.

I pondered making a family tree - but it would just get lost in the stream of posts. I will be making a family tree to go with my other blog -- stories. There are some stories that I need to leave for my offspring - so they can console themselves when I go to that big scriptorium in the sky.

Here is Carole's to both Mr Wilson and the BigHelpfulBrother. BHB liked the enclosed fridge magnet (which I forgot to photograph). He uses them on his file cabinet. The bird on the card is a very good likeness of Mr Wilson who does, indeed, wear bowties and has some hats that look like that.

Daily post is below.

Dec to Kate, Janet, Jessica - Neuland, gouache, dolls

Kate mentioned that she was going to try Neuland - one of my all time favorite fonts. I did not have any black stamps - which might have been better.

A couple more that went out in Dec were old ones. I spent a lot of time painting in with gouache - to Janet - the letter is printed onto paper that is folded into an envelope.

I think I ran another envelope with that little tea set on it. This was the first time I was able to part with any of the doll stamps. I loved those stamps. I hope they went to someone who likes dolls.

Bonus Post Smash-girl's Studio

Sue Mashman, AKA Smash-girl, sent photos of her work space. Neatly organized and the view out the window is very nice.

Don't miss the gian nib that is hanging on the wall between the two windows. The high ceiling is nice, too. I'm guessing she has a mini step ladder somewhere to reach the top shelves.

Thanks for sending.

I have another set of photos to share - still hoping that
 *everyone* sends a photo of their workspace.

Today's regular post is right below.

Oct 2018 PTEX from CathyO and Marie (4,000th post)

The low contrast on Cathy's makes it hard to see how really pretty the lettering is. It looks like walnut ink and the stamp is gorgeous. The white highlights add just the right amount of sparkle.

Below, Marie said she was inspired by tamarac trees. Tamaracs are conifers that drop their needles the way deciduous trees drop their leaves. It's fun to note that even in the world of trees, there are a few rebels - that just have to do things entirely opposite. Why is that?

Feb 17th was the 9th anniversary of the blog. I forgot to mention that. I also noticed that we were getting really close to 4,000 posts. The blog does not show an all-time tally, just yearly tallies. I can see the all-time tally when I am scheduling new posts to pop up.

Yesterday, according to my calculations, we hit 4,000 posts. I divided 4,000 posts by 9 years and it was a twilight zone moment.

4.444444444

Cool, eh?

Although someone should check my math as well as my calculator battery. I am only 50-50 on my math skills.

Ruth's Card for Mr Wilson

This is the card that was inside Ruth's envelope that I already posted. It is an accordion fold with more of that very nice lettering from her Carl Rohrs online class.

Ruth and I have both done workshops with Carl in person. This is what she said about the online class.

"Carl's hope is to inspire his students to use his ideas and come up with their own style. The online classes are a perfect fit for me as I can practice a lesson more before moving to the next step."

For anyone questioning the expense of the online classes, Ruth says:  "The instructors  spend hours replying to all posts. In a way, better than a workshop because we all get to read all of his comments."

She is referring to the work and comments that students post online. In a workshop - you do not hear all of the comments that the instructor makes as he goes around to each student. I had not thought about that as an advantage to an online course. 

But - if you have never taken any in-person classes, an online class might not be as much personal interaction as you need. Beginners benefit from having someone watch exactly how they are holding the pen, etc. 

I had not thought about the advantage to being able to do a ton of practice between each lesson. Sometimes, a workshop can move a little faster than one would like. As someone who has taught -- I know how hard it is to keep everyone going at the same pace.

To learn more about the online courses with Carl Rohrs and Yves Leterme, Google - Acorn Arts or - here is a link - http://www.acornarts.org/online-classes-2.html

acornarts.org will take you to more info on Harvest Crittenden - the dedicated scribe who is bringing these classes and a whole lot more to the scribal community.

Here is Ruth's card - open - and the envelope - one more time - cuz it's so pretty.