Calligraffiti

I’m above impressed with the work of Niels Shoe Meulman and his work on Calligraffiti. Calligraffiti is the combination of graffiti and calligraphy. It’s intense, beautiful, and every second spent on the site is worth it. There is a grit or dirtiness to the work that just draws me in with the traditional Blackletter or Fraktur style (used quite a bit in Germany) with a sense of urgency and care. He is listed to have a workshop/lecture in Philadelphia at Drexel University. I am so there if he does. 1

Sea Legs

I would have loved to have seen “Sea Legs” A Collaborative Journey of Jolby & Ashley Forrette, but it ended on March 20 and was in Portland, Oregon. So the odds were against me anyway. But the images, the artwork, the lettering … sigh … so wonderful. SO much more to see on the website, take a gander. 0

IS•LY

I am smitten by these quotes created by hand over at I Still Love You. 0

The Art of Hand Lettering

I just discovered this lovely blog of Alan Ariall’s hand lettering. The Art of Hand Lettering shows the process of hand-lettering from sketches to completion. I love how he includes the sketches, the inked drawings, and the final pieces. It’s not magic folks, it’s hard work. 0

Lisa Ridgely

Twitter is so great for finding new friends, talent, and amazing work! Lisa Ridgely began following my tweets and so I checked out her work and want to share some of her great lettering work. And while you’re browsing the internet, check out her Pen & Ink Journal blog. 0

J. Panter Calligraphy

I love that calligraphy is so expressive and is reaching outside of the usual straight line addressing on envelopes. Calligraphy can be fun, and J. Panter Calligraphy has some truly inspirational examples. (I secretly wish I could do calligraphy) 0

Spencerian

If you are a follower of my Twitter page, you probably already know that I found a copy of the Spencerian Key to Practical Penmanship printed in 1867 in a local antique shop. I am 39 pages into the book and some of the writing is certainly hard to read – I’m so used to modern-style writing. But the most wonderful part of the book was not what was written on the pages, but samples of someone’s practice left in the book. I found a few scraps with script and wanted to share them here. Not the best photos thanks to the lighting in my office, but I’m working on a remedy for that! And…

Illustrated Philadelphia

At a recent wedding held in Philadelphia, the talented Bryn Chernoff of PaperFinger created illustrated table cards of famous landmarks throughout the city for the couple’s event. 0

Lettering by Raphael Boguslav

Ooh la la! I love me some lettering in the evening, especially when it’s divine as the work on the site of Raphael Boguslav – a calligrapher and hand-letterer. A unique tidbit from his biography: His classmate Milton Glaser got him his first job in design and later joined the small studio as art director. Samples of his work above from his website, and below is my favorite find amongst his fine work. I couldn’t believe these lettering samples above, so beautiful, so breathtaking! 0

White on Black

I was having a good old time the other day using white ink on some black scraps that I had leftover. I love, let me say this again, LOVE using the white ink. It was fun and I got to write a sweet message for my hubby. 0