Tag Archives: copperplate

Loopy Letters – The Journey Continues….

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“What have you done to the Loopy Letters website?” Screamed Charmaine via a text message.
I sighed, and tossed my iPhone into a nearby plant pot.
“Too much faff”, I muttered to myself.
It was okay for Charmaine and her modern ways, she was, at this very moment, sunning herself in the South of France and languishing in luxury on the proceeds of her inky misdeeds. I knew this because she had plastered the evidence all over her Instagram account. I, on the other hand, was staring through a grubby window at the relentless Devon murk and was questioning my commitment to the Loopy Letter project.

Question 1

How many letters have I actually written since November?

a) 20
b) None
c) 100
d) 1000
e) French

Question 2

Why have I written so much?

a) Calligraphy is my lifeblood; I live to sling ink, it is all that I know, without calligraphy I would be a withered husk of a person. Calligraphy is the only thing keeping me alive; every morning I skip to my studio as though I am skipping through a dewy meadow strewn with daisies and buttercups with nothing else on my mind other than letter formation and the universal line of beauty; life would be meaningless without letters…blah, blah, blah, etc, etc….

b) I had nothing else to do.

Question 3

More pertinently, why have I written so little??????

a) Sigh. Do I really have to answer this?
b) It was Winter.
c) Christmas happened.
d) My boiler broke down.
e) It was very cold and my hand fell off.

Question 4

Do I still intend to complete the Loopy Letter Project?

a) Yes!!! Yay!!! Can’t wait to get on with it!!! My nibs are poised and ready to blast off!!! Go me!! #girlboss.
b) Yeah, go on then.
c) Yes. I have closed down the Loopy Letters website and moved it to Wonky Words so that I am more accountable regarding moving the project along.

After questioning my commitment to the Loopy Letters project I decided that I would write a blog post to let those who were waiting expectantly by their letter boxes know exactly what was going on. It was only fair. I also decided to post some pictures of one of my failures… just so they’d know I’d been trying….

copperplate-calligraphy-on-crown-mill-paper-letter-writing-project-uk

Well, that doesn’t look so bad….

calligraphy-spelling-mistake-in-copperplate-calligraphy-devon-uk

Ah…. didn’t see that coming…

Right, I’m off now to skip through the daisies….

Where is my Loopy Letter?

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Where is your Loopy Letter?

….I hear you ask. Fear not, it will turn up eventually. I have been having a harsh Winter due having no central heating and therefore I have not been able to get on as I would like. Also, I have been navel gazing and pontificating over how I’d like to present these letters… I know, you just want to receive one in the damn post, preferably in an envelope with your address emblazoned on the front, but, I was thinking that perhaps I should include a certificate of authenticity??? I then I forgot about writing Loopy Letters and started fannying about designing a simple certificate to go with the non-existent letters…
It will all come good. Promise. Also, I really enjoy making these….

collage-with-calligraphy-story-postcard-thingy-uk

Weird collage thing….

…so some people may receive one of these.

Other Letters

Although I am very behind [still at the starting gates!] with the Loopy Letters, I have been taking part in exchanges with other calligraphers. I generally practice writing an address on my Rhodia pad before writing it for real on the envelope – just to see how all the letters fit together. What bugs me is that my practice piece is often more fluid than my final version. I think this relates to my ongoing performance anxiety. This is the lively practice piece…

calligraphy-practice-on-rhodia-pad-for-addressing-envelope-uk

My jaunty practice piece….

….full of bounce and attitude. And this is how the address turned out on the envelope….

cream-calligraphy-on-grey-envelope-addressing-service-for-weddings-and-events-UK

The ‘Oh my goodness someone might see me!’ final piece.

As soon as I know someone is going to see my work I become self-conscious and a lot of the jaunty attitude is lost. It’s something for me to work on, apart from the more I work on something the more self-conscious I become! Aargghh!

And Finally…

This is another major distraction and another reason why things are slow to happen in my world…

Parson-Russell-dog-distraction

Sid

This is my mad dog. His name is Sid. He needs 5 miles of walking every day. Currently he gets closer to 3 miles. EVERY DAY. Yes, I have been out in the harsh Winter weather, I have felt every biting wind on my face, and every dollop of snow on my head. Put it this way – I am not an outdoorsy sort of person, and each day when I return from my walk I collapse in a heap and I am fit for nothing. To be fair, what I have achieved so far is a flipping miracle.

Conclusion

I am still working on the Loopy Letter project!! I have not forgotten!! I have not given up!!!

Calligraphy Address Label for Envelope

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Address Label

I managed to write out an address label in the dark the other night – okay, so ‘dark’ might be an exaggeration, but it was certainly dim. I think my writing looks better than when I can actually see what I’m doing. Perhaps for a future post I will experiment with blind-folded calligraphy? We did such things at art college.

calligraphy-address-label-on-manilla-envelope-gillott-303-dr-martins-bleedproof-white-uk

Red address label with calligraphy…

Apologies for my photographs. They were also taken with the lights off and at different times of the day… therefore the red label kinda looks orange in one pic… then sort of washed out… you’d think that over the years I might have sussed out how to take pics for my blog. My excuse is that the goal posts keep moving as in the technology is always changing. I do read blog posts about it optimisation… but… blah… I don’t know why the top picture in this post looks blurry. Perhaps cleaning my glasses would help?

another-picture-of-a-red-address-label-by ms-scarlet-blue-there-is-white-writing-as-well-yawn-uk

Outgoing mail… as opposed to the mail that’s too afraid to go out.

Whatever, all this fussing over uploading pictures takes my attention away from things that I should be concentrating on, such as writing a Loopy Letter! So I will be away to do something more fun… and if you want to see clearer examples of these pictures then click on them and you will be taken to a better version.

Alright, Mr WordPress, I’m ready for my close-up….

close-up-of-white-calligraphy-lettering-on-red-envelope-label-for-exchange-uk

Close up!!

Next Week

Another envelope gets dressed up to hit the sack…

So typical…

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….of me to come up with a genius idea and then vanish off-grid. Apologies. I have been doing the festive thing, but I am back now. The festive thing included some of this…

red-christmas-envelope-labels-on-manilla-with-washi-tape-uk

Happy Christmas!!

Yes, Christmas calligraphy!! But Christmas is over and now I must get on with The Loopy Letter project.
Many thanks to all who have emailed me with their addresses! I am rather chuffed by the response and pleased that the project has generated so much interest. Obviously I am going to be rather busy for the next ten years replying to everyone [my calligraphy is rather slow handed], but thank you!
So how far have I got? The first letter is typed and ready to write out in a suitable script. My aim is to have it in the post to the first recipient by the end of the week – it is over 300 words long, gulp. I shall be back next Monday with a further update. Wish me luck!

We Interrupt this Blog Silence…..

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…..to bring you two pictures of a hedgehog. Mr Devine has cornered the market on big sky and cormorants leaving me with nothing to work with other than a hedgehog…. so there you go… if you stare at a blog long enough eventually something new will appear. But perhaps not what you expect nor want.

hedgehog

Snuffling

Another-hedgehog

Still snuffling…

And for those keen on pen marks and calligraphy, some recent work….

calligraphy-practice-double-lettering-copperplate-uk

Scruffy knickers…

green-copperplate-alternative-envelope-address-with-modern-calligraphy-and-scroll-nib-capitals-for-blog-post-uk

Addressing envelopes…

I will now make Ye Olde Blogging promise about updating more frequently in future etc, etc… etc…. blah, blah, blah…. *sincere well meaning face on head that is furiously nodding*…..

Friends, Romans, Countrymen……

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….lend me your wallets….

Old blogging chum Gyppo Byard has designed an Insult Generator, and it works!!! It is fabulous, I used it this morning to yell at the telly. AND, our friends in the US seem to love it too. With this in mind I have come up with a cunning plan to shore up the British bank vaults…. yes, I am stealing Mr Byard’s generator and will be opening The British Insult Shop on Etsy. I am positive that my US chums will be clamouring at my door wanting me to pen an insult for them. Think about it – the pound has fallen so you can get more insults to the dollar. I will also be offering the luxury version – The Gilded Insult. I will be away talking percentages with Mr Byard and working on designs, but for now, here is a preliminary sketch….

calligraphy-British-insult

Nigel Farage?

Please wish me well with this new venture.
Sx