Easy Pencil Calligraphy

All pencil work except "City" as noted below, is artwork by Anne Rita Taylor, enhanced by filters.

Last Saturday I led a presentation at the Houston Calligraphy Guild with a few techniques from Amity Parks workshop at the Legacies II Calligraphy Conference in 2014, called Graphite Techniques. Graphite, otherwise known as pencil lead, is a mixture of carbon and clay, not lead.

The #2 pencil is considered 2B or an HB combination. A hard graphite results in a light grey - H for Hardness. Soft lead is darker, B for Blackness. 

My handout has the four techniques I demonstrated. We started with drawing shades with any pencil, from light to dark. This is called the VALUE of a color, so you learn how to vary your pressure while using a pencil.

Next was an exercise for a Cross Contour, that makes words pop and look three dimensional as you can see on my handout with the words JOY and PLAY.

Two tables were set up for hands-on play: one with graphite sticks. You can cover a large area with graphite, then use an eraser to write into it. A famous artwork using powdered graphite is “City” by Ed Ruscha, made in 1967, held in The Broad, a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles. 

The other table had water-soluble graphite sticks. Also cover a large area, then write with a paintbrush wet with water. Or use the graphite as watercolor where I wrote: Believe, with the quote above.

A big difference is graphite can be erased, but the water-soluble graphite cannot be erased as easily. Water-soluble graphite mixed with water is an ink wash, like painting with watercolor except it looks like pencil markings. Fun to spray water on a quote made with water soluble pencil, comes out like this:

All in all, I think 40 calligraphers enjoyed a few techniques I learned in Amity Parks workshop. And I can’t wait to take her next workshop in March when she comes to Houston to teach Mixed Media. What do you think about pencil calligraphy?

Varied my writing pressure using a #2 pencil, plus brushed on water soluble graphite.

©Anne Rita Taylor 2017

San Francisco Book Arts

The Book Arts Jam, organized by the Bay Area Book Artists in San Francisco is so much fun. Every year, it is a one-day celebration of the book, print & paper arts, now held at the Elks Lodge in Palo Alto each October - this year on the 15th. Click here for more information.

Polymer clay covers, imprinted with my carved dragonfly
Paste paper accordion: Italic calligraphy

During the Exhibition of Artist Books I bought these fun books, Book Artist Blues, an open edition, and The Tourist, mine is #20 out of a limited edition of 30, from Nikki Thompson of Deconstructed Artichoke Press. 

Green Chair Press was there, I loved this handmade spiral bound book, A Reader’s Diary. Comes with a pretty bookmark to remind the reader on rating the book. Lovely idea and I had to have it!

At the Exhibitor Hall I bought this lovely print that hangs in my kitchen.

I saw this wonderful handmade bone folder from Don Drake, owner of Dreaming Mind Bindery and had to have it. Once a year Don sells his handmade bone folders at local book art events and I was lucky to see it early in the day. By the end of the day he sold out.

My husband Kevin enjoyed talking with Ingrid Butler of Moth Marblers. Kevin knows how to marble paper and fabric. Kevin bought this lovely silk necktie. For more info on Ingrid, go here.

They had 50 vendors and I spent all day visiting and learning with mini-workshops, from 11 am to 5 pm. It was a heavenly day!

And no visit to San Francisco is complete without a visit to the City Lights Book Store where I actually met Lawrence Ferlinghetti - an unforgettable experience. Do you recommend any book arts events?

©Anne Rita Taylor 2017