Touching the hand of God

Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed
like the eagle's. Psalm 103:5
We are so much smaller than we think we are.
God is so great! For all the cruise vacations that we have been blessed to journey on, I always find renewed faith and rejuvenation no matter what happens. It is a time to enjoy the beauty of our surroundings and breathe deep! This cruise was no different, although we had a few glitches with health issues for both my honey and myself.
He provides everything we need and if we can just let go and trust in Him, everything will work out just fine.

When I snapped this photo, Kevin and I were sitting on our balcony (quarantined to the room) admiring the scenery in St. Thomas. The water was so blue, scattered with little white sea crafts in the tranquil bay we were overlooking. The mountains that jutted out of the crystal blue were majestic and green. I felt like I could just reach out and touch the puffy, white clouds that were moving by so slowly above us... so I tried...... They were really, very close to that mountain.... and to my hand. I felt like I was touching the hand of God. What a great feeling.... As I did so, I said a small prayer that health would be restored shortly to my dear one... and it was. The next day, he was feeling ALMOST back to his "old" self and we released from the "quarantine" restrictions finally!

Return from our "Oasis" on the Oasis

Well, we're back from our FAB cruise and it was a lot of fun. Our traveling companions were Monica and Chris M. from Houston. They are life time friends that we have known forever... and now, plan on cruising with LOTS more in the future. Although my honey came down with a 'bout of the "Norwalk", it didn't stop us from "making up for lost time" after he recuperated. There are lots of stories to tell and perhaps I'll write some after I get my "legs" back. Here is a shot of me and my main squeeze in the dining room after he got his appetite back... the next to the last night.
It was FORMAL night and we had LOBSTER for dinner!

Crashing Wave

This has got to be one of the best photos that my honey has ever taken. It was from our last cruise to the Mexican Riviera! As we were sailing away from Cabo San Lucas, Kevin was on the top deck, leaning on the railing, snapping away. Who'd have known that it would be an "award winning" shot like this one. It was only enhanced in color and nothing else. Quite the wave! I wonder what those people FELT when it cam crashing up on shore next to them like that!? STUNNING!

As we get ready to embark upon yet another cruise (this one marks the 10th), it being a little more special 'cause we are celebrating with old friends from Texas whom we have not seen for a long time and marking a "milestone birthday" for my honey. I can't wait to see what memories, great times and photos we will "capture" this time. I will make sure that we have some more wonderful photos to share when we return, for sure! ENJOY! TFN....

Paste Paper Workshop Booklet

When you truly BELIEVE with all your heart that you can achieve your deepest desires, only then will it become reality!

I love this saying and calligraphed it into a small, paste paper booklet that I created recently to entice participants to take a mini workshop I am teaching with colleague and calligrapher Pat Price, through our local, Calligraphy guild here in Austin Texas on April 17th, 2010. www.ccscribes.com
Paste paper is so versatile and I love it's depth and texture. I have made books, backgrounds, cards and collages from these gems. The "Dance" that I created for my sister (shown in another post here on the blog) was also created with paste paper.

I hope that the participants who are signed up to take the workshop will be inspired to create and explore their own creativity to reach their deepest desires.

Sandala's not Mandala's!

At the end of last year, my dear friend and colleague, Sandy taught me how to do a "Mandala" in study group. It was so much fun. You start with a chalk pencil circle around it. I have left a faint line on here so you can see it. I am including a couple of mine... very amateurish compared to hers. I will also include a couple of her amazing ones so you can see what I mean. She is an incredible artist, calligrapher and friend. Ever since she learned how to make them, she has been going crazy with the creative factor. As of late, she has turned her little mandala's, which I call "Sandala's" now, into little gift boxes complete with stickers inside. I reminded her how to make these handcrafted boxes and now she has a chance to sell them at a local gift shop. I am very happy for her. The one on the left is mine... as well as the one directly below on the right.

Sandy's!

This one is Sandy's! So perfect.

The colored ones are some of a box she made as a gift for a friend's birthday!


Here she is!

Old Settler's Music Festival is coming up soon!

This is a great festival.. if you are in the Austin area... you must attend! I have been judging the Youth Talent Competition for the past 5 or so years and calligraph the certificates that the participants receive upon completion of the contest. Come out for some great, family fun! http://oldsettlersmusicfest.org/ Here is the link for the line up and more info!

I love this saying. I wear it often.
It reminds me... my sister is coming
from New York on Monday.
She always makes me laugh!
I can't wait!

Spring is here!!!

This was taken outside my back door today... the SPRING one. It is a nice comparison to the one that I took in the Fall when the leaves were ablaze! How GLORIOUS God is to us and how wonderful that we can see new paintings each day with newness right outside our back door! All we have to do is TAKE NOTICE!

My Grandmother's Letters

There is something to be said for handwritten letters. The ones I have received in the "not so distant past"--I treasure, but even more so... I treasure the correspondence that took place in the early 1920's and spanned a lifetime... between my grandmother and her best friend, Winnie. I was lucky enough to have them bestowed upon me after the passing of our dear Winnie. I received them from her daughter, whom I was named after. SHE was named after my grandmother, Helen. That is my middle name. [Patricia Helen] Note the postmark and the fact that there is no street address on this envelope.

A blog entry that was sent my way this morning from a great, new friend, prompted my own thoughts on how GREAT a feeling it is to get a handwritten envelope in the mail...... with a letter inside. The rumpled corners of a well worn piece of paper, the ink blots and cross-outs that show a "human" lives on the other end, a person whose hands make errors and leave traces. Sometimes they are written on fine stationary, its lettering prominently sunken into the creamy shades of ivory or even the notes dashed off on notebook paper or something that was to be discarded but was "just sitting there", edges as ragged as their scribbled messages. So infrequently it is that letters come, although I probably receive more than others being in a Calligraphy Guild, but I stop everything else for a brief, whimsical moment in time to identify the words that are placed on the envelope.. whether it's exquisite calligraphy or just a scrawl of handwriting from a distant friend. My world comes to a halt as I study the strokes of the lettering, the stamp and artwork... as well as the placement of my name which dominates the envelope in some cases. I try to guess who it is from just by the style that is displayed. I always open those gems first, forgetting all about the rest of the bulk I am holding. I'm always hoping to read something I don't already know... some little treasure or secret that only we can share. It takes me to another place sometimes....of years gone by, just from a memory or a thought!

I've saved old letters from my mother, my aunt, my sister, best friends and even people I barely know. Each year I sign up for the Cyberscribes' Envelope exchange JUST so I can receive something pretty in the mail in hopes that I will "connect" with someone from the little letter or note they post inside. They let me in on a glimpse of THEIR life in a different country and enlighten me as to what their background has been or is with our connection of calligraphy. I do the same, providing photos of my puppies and sometimes of myself... I also include my "signature" TRISH TRASH, which is all that little confetti you see in stores and wonder WHO buys them. I'm sure if people saw my TT collection they would smile and wonder WHY!? Sometimes I wonder, too, but it all comes back to many stories of how that TT made people smile or laugh... as well as other stories I won't go into right now.

I have to admit... I've always wanted a pen pal. I mean a REAL pen pal. NOT one that I send letters to, sharing my heart, and not getting anything in return, but one that can really pour their heart out on paper, too! I had a couple of them growing up... even in different countries, but their lack of effort was to my disappointment.

As of late, though, I have FOUND a pen pal... but on the computer.... I get "DOUBLE DAYS" regularly... daily or weekly ... with a puddle of heartfelt and thought out sentiments. Not only are they complimentary, but they are also profound at times and educational. I would not give that up for anything... for I have found something that I have always wanted... a TRUE, REAL PEN PAL--and a brother at that!! How luck and blessed am I! Thank you, dear!
PS (I sometimes get cards and letters from this individual, too, as well as send my creations via pony express to North Carolina and his family!)

Kristen Doty workshop weekend!!!

This past weekend went by waaay too fast! I attended a two day workshop with Kristen Doty from the state of Washington. She was quite a good teacher and extraordinary colored pencil artist as well as a superb calligrapher... lending an easy transition from one to the other. She knew what "us calligraphers" already are familiar with and are used to working with so it was easier for her to instruct us using the things that she knew we already had such as analyzing counter space, really looking at something and trying to determine how it is comprised, etc. We had several exercises that she made us PUSH THROUGH that were downright painful, but I felt it was necessary to get to the next echelon of my learning. I never do my best work in workshops with all the distractions, the uncomfortableness of the work space/chairs, lighting, etc... but felt that I progressed in that little amount of time. Some of the final pieces that were being created were so impressive. It made me want to practice illustration so much more to get to the Next Level! Here is the class photo and a few more that were created in the class.

The one to the right of Kristen analyzing her hand was an exercise that we did to study light and shading as well as contour drawing. The actual example of the hand below was from one of the students in the class who was not quite a beginner, but not advanced, either. Most of the "hands" looked like that. I wish I knew whose this one was... Sorry! My hand drawing is still a work in progress and you'd think I had dipped my hands in ink or was an African American if you saw it in it's present state. Still working on the LIGHT and taking the SHADING out of my hand drawing..with erasure. Kristen's website is www.kristendoty.com

I hope you Dance!

I am getting ready to take a weekend workshop with Kristen Doty tomorrow and Sunday. I am really looking forward to it as it's called "Drawing for Calligraphers". Whatever that means... I guess I will find out tomorrow. I hope to come out of it a little bit better artist than I already am. I know that you just don't take a class and "become an artist"... and that it takes a long time to develop skills in different media's but I am looking to get from this class only another facet to what I already do and love. I am sure that I will learn some new technique, to see or to paint or color, draw or enhance the work that I already create! It's waiting to get out of me and is just looking for an avenue. Although this piece was not drawn--as an illustration, I still had to paint the background (paste paper), determine the layout and design, the feel and the flow I wanted to portray as well as the personal taste of the recipient to whom it was eventually going to. Each LETTER, although it's called CALLIGRAPHY and most think it's just "writing", was drawn from the strokes that I have learned, memorized and practiced repeatedly.

My sister had a BIG birthday a few years back ('07) and she loves to dance... she also LOVES purple, so I took the Lee Ann Womack song, "I Hope You Dance" and used some of Mike Kecseg inspired pointed pen letters to document and create this "work of art", hand made from the heart.. for my sister! These words have a certain meaning to how I am feeling with this upcoming workshop.... "I hope you never lose that sense of wonder.... when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.... DANCE!" That is how I like to live life! Jump in with two feet and really LIVE!!!!

Pretty Postage Stamps!? Does anyone really care?

I went to the post office the other day in search of some pretty stamps.... I guess they aren't really "caring" what we calligraphers THINK when it comes to "pretty stamps". The clerk looked at me as if I were nuts! I was mailing another envelope with the Chinese New Year (red and gold) and she commented that she went to the website to purchase those and they were all sold out. Figures.. they were GORGEOUS! Of course, the only ones they had available to me at the time was the "washed out" LOVE stamp with the King and Queen on them. Don't get me wrong, I like the design.. as it was based on an old stamp from ages ago that they redeveloped, but I feel it would have been much more appealing if the colors weren't so subdued but more vivid. You can't even see the LOVE on there till you look REALLY close!

Anyway... I came home and decided to incorporate it into a Zentangle design I did for a couple of Thank You notes that were long overdue. So, this is the TOP half of the envelope I did today.. showing the stamp and the "A" for Alison. I didn't include the address as I am still kind of weary about including them in my posts. I did mention that to a colleague and she made the point that you can pretty much find anyone's address on the net if you really wanted to. She had a point, but I didn't really want to flaunt my friends' addresses without their consent. So, here is one! I did one other one that I am not as pleased about, but it's another rendition using the stamp as my inspiration, which is what I like to do with my envelopes>>>> mini canvases!

Birthday gift to a friend

This was a birthday present that I created for a good friend of mine in the guild. It was during our "Reggie Ezell" year in 2006. We were studying this type of lettering and it was one of my homework projects, that I never showed, but instead DID and gave away. I tend to do this quite often! When once another member in the guild told me I could just enter "something I had on my wall into a current exhibit"... I looked at her in disbelief... telling her that I had NOTHING of mine on my walls because I always gave my work that I created, with love...for a certain purpose, away! I love this quote.. it's so true. Find purpose and passion... then share it with those you love and will always have that in common!

This was done with a Paste Paper background and Pure Pigments in a "snipped" pointed pen nib (EF66) with a straight staff.

Paste Paper Background Gift to a friend

This was a gift to a friend. in the guild.. we shared a lot... over our "Reggie" year, being table mates, riding mates and even spent the night together at my house when it was too tiring to drive the hour plus to her home after a 12 hour day with Reggie! This lettering was one of my favorites that we studied and here we are, four years later already, I still utilize it--or a variation of it, in my daily calligraphic endeavors. I would like to give credit to Serelda Bedsoe for this "hand" which is what we calligraphers call the lettering style. She is from the DC area and it was one of the hands we studied in August of 2006. Thanks, Reggie and Serelda!

PS (Another good reason I gave my friend this quote is because she always said that her hubby told her she could talk to a POST!) LOL!

Vessie Voodles!

This is my Vessie Voodle caboodle doodle head! Her real name is Vestal... named after the Vestal Virgins, as we went to Rome the same year we got her... and, more importantly... after Banjo Great: Scott Vestal. She is quite the character... I think you can see it in her eyes of how expressive she is.... She can get away with pretty much anything 'cause she looks so darn cute! She is a Long Haired Miniature English Cream Dachshund. She is my baby and I love her with all my heart! Who knows a Doxie who can go running for several miles? Well, this one can! She and her daddy go out to the park and she just loves it! Almost as much as her daddy does! (Running pics taken about 500-700 feet away)

Yesterday, he took her to the park and on the way there is a stream with some stepping stones that go across. They usually go there to look in the water and then continue onto the park. Well, yesterday she was on one of the stones and it was slippery....and she FELL IN... The sun was out, but the temperature was only about 50 out and I'm sure the water was much, much colder than that! I wish I had had my camera, but I only HEARD the story and wasn't there. She came home drenched, but it didn't seem to phase her in the least. Look out.. WET SMELLING DOG coming your way.... shhhhaaaaaakkkeee...... shaaaakkkeeeee!
Vessie's sisters had a fit when she got home... of course, they are older than she is and don't go running. They barely go walking.... Their names are Bela and Fleck and you shall meet them in the near future! They, of course, are named after the great Banjoist: Bela Fleck. We got them all from a great local kennel called The Long and the Short of It! if you want some great dogs... this is your place to start looking... www.longandshortofit.com Sharon and her hubby, Terry, run the kennel and love each and every dog they have. We are very happy with our choices.. or rather, should I say... THEY chose US!

St Patrick's Envelope

This envelope was sent a long time ago and since, they have moved so I think I am safe with posting the whole address here. To do the shading of the green, I used prisma colored pencils and from dark to light, I used pressure from the stem of the letter outward. Those were stickers to embellish the envelope. This lettering is called Blackletter... and it's not my forte, but I try.

Andrea's Birthday Envelope

(Just a note on this one... I took it to the post office yesterday to get it HAND CANCELLED so it wouldn't look so ugly when it arrived with all the marks all over the envelope and to my surprise... I got it back in MY MAILBOX Today!!! Don't know why, but I took it to the postal clerk again today and had her resend it. She said they didn't see a the squiggly lines at the top, but I hand cancel all the time... we'll see if it gets returned again! My return address was printed on an address label on the back ..so maybe that was why!? Who knows?)
I am not sure about putting peoples' addresses up here, but i feel that the whole OVERALL look changes when you block out the address... so.. I am in a dilemma here! Advice!?

Well... there is always a first.... so I have started a blog... I am not sure which way I will take this, but I thought it might be fun just posting some envelopes I have done in the past and daily Ah ha's as well as HA HA's. Not sure who will read it, but that's the beauty of it, I guess.... writing into the unknown.