Name Meaning Gift  

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This was a Christmas gift for all my friends and family one year. I even offered one for auction during last year's LVPPD Chili Cook-off fundraiser. It is loved by all who receive it. They are available for purchase at $20 unframed and $30 framed plus shipping and handling. You can either provide your own text or I can do the research. Personalize it even more with a personal message that will surprise them when they read it.

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Point of Purchase Signs  

Posted by Erma in , , ,

People love to read things. They read book, signs, and even labels.There are magazine racks built just for the bathroom, for goodness sakes. Now, you can put just any kind of sign up to promote your product and most people will read it, but give it some pizzazz and they're more apt to linger after they read it. (The bright colors and swirlies help, too.) That's why advertising is a booming (and fascinating) business.

These are a series of Point-Of-Purchase signs I penned during an afternoon for a local shop that carries tumbled stones. Guess how many stones they started selling after these little doodads were posted. But it didn't just stop at stones. Following were books, jewelry, herbs, clothing, and classes. These are just a few examples.

(This works for selling YOU, too. Sending in a resume with a calligraph-ied address will garner just a little extra attention to your envelope and it's contents. Everyone loves to see their own name written beautifully.)






by Erma, Calligrapher

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All Around Me  

Posted by Erma in , , , , , ,


I delivered a job to a client late last month and his comment was, "You make me smile." Isn't that the sweetest thing? I love hearing that from clients. He also said, "I really like the swashes you incorporated." My reply was, "When you hire a calligrapher, shouldn't you expect swashes?" and then I thought about it. In my 11 year professional career, so far, I have had a few clients who have said, "No Swashes!" How can that be? Why would that be. No swashes would be a job for the computer and some fonts on the computer can give you swashes too.

My life is in a bit of an upheaval at present but its all for the best, I know this, but I can't wait for everything to settle down and fall right back into place. The calligraphy jobs keep me stable and my mind from wandering off into the nether regions of time and space. Many have said they haven't the patience for what I do- y'know, the calligraphy thing-but wouldn't you know, it's the tediousness of it that can be quite therapeutic. You have to focus, which trains your mind to be focused and filters into all the other areas of your world. Sometimes it is exacting, which can help in your everyday to be more exacting, and when you have a client waiting it can make you finish the job, a problem many people have.

Every morning I wake up, have coffee, and turn on CNN's Headline news to get my national and local news in 40 minutes, it's great. All over the news this morning and yesterday I believe, is about a health problem called Deep Vein Thrombosis. Essentially, it's when you sit for long periods of time in a cramped space, your blood clots in your lower extremities and then that clot breaks off and floats into your lungs which can kill you. This is the reason - on my web page (Http://www.antiqueletters.com ) - one of my tips is buying a timer to get off your butt and walk around every hour to an hour and a half. See, see, I know what I'm talking about...yeah.

Also, in the news is President Bush's decision to send National Guard troops to the Southern Border of the U.S. yet I hear on NPR that this force is more for show than anything else. They will not be able to pick up, detain, or arrest anyone crossing the border, and there aren't enough of them going to the border to really make any difference. I ask, what's the point?

Don't get me wrong, I more Republican than Democrat, I'm like a Govenor Swarzennegar Republican. (Which would make me an Independent, I think.-Man, it's so confusing.) I believe in the right to own guns and in a woman's right to choose, not everyone else's right to my choice. I think its an abherration for others to dictate their mythological morals on the marriages of gays and I think we should allow stem cell research. I don't believe in the legalization of marijuana but I do believe the medical uses of marijuana has its benefits. I don't have a problem with tax reforms that make the rich get richer, (I plan on being rich someday) but I don't think taxes should make the poor poorer either.

In short, I love this country and what it's supposed to stand for, I just don't agree with our President's policies and while I'll give him the respect that is his due...since we did elect him....I don't have to like him. But that's not it either, President Bush has some great things about him that I do like, but the parts I don't sure do outweigh the parts I do.

originally posted Wednesday May 17, 2006
photo from http://www.theinsider.com/photos/171384_Arnold_Schwarzenegger

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Coffee Shoppe  

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On Thursday I went and picked up a calligraphy job and I met my clients at the Starbucks on Flamingo and Maryland. I got there a little early and was able to catch up on some e-mail and drink my Frappucino leisurely and partake of a "Works" bagel...now is it just me or do they not normally offer it buttered, creamed or even toasted...it was still good, but I think I would have liked it toasted.

Anyhow, behind me there was a meeting of sorts with many men in suits and ties; normal stuff, but across from me were two Jamaican men having a lively conversation in their native language. It was beautiful.

My clients showed up and we sat, went over their list of guests, figured out the specifics, y’know, regular small business stuff and then we talked for a while. It was nice. No one bothered us; no one leaned into or interjected into our conversation, as always…and this is the reason I really like meeting at Starbucks for client consultations. (Well, that and their Frappucinos.)

 I hear all the rhetoric about the “corporation” of coffee houses and so I thought I’d be politically sensitive and try out other smaller coffee joints, but for business meetings, not such a good idea. Small business owners, like me, and especially of restaurants are so willing to check on you every three minutes you don’t have enough time for conversation with the person you are there to meet. Normally, I would love that kind of attention, I think it’s what makes small business great…but…and I know I could just get to know the business owner and let him know why I was there and what I needed but I’m not going to have my clients from Green Valley meet me at a coffee shoppe all the way over on Craig and Rancho…not gonna happen.

Besides, because of the “corporation” aspect, Starbucks is everywhere (like 7-11) and I kind of like the idea that if I go into a Starbucks on Flamingo and Maryland, I’m going to get the same Frappucino as I did when I was just over at Rancho and Charleston…but hey, that’s me; a sellout to the franchises. (Yes I like 7-11 too)

 On another note, I collect clip art for use in my calligraphy work. Mainly for reference because someone else might have a simpler way than I do to draw a particular object and it aids in the illumination of many of the pieces I do. So I go to write this entry and begin a search through my various files for a freaking cup of coffee…not a one, not a single one, not even a darn coffee bean, not even in all the Microsoft crap I have loaded into the computer. So I searched and found the first one and stole it, just ripped it right off the Internet from these guys: http://www.global-b2b-network.com/b2b/98/101/580/flavour_and_fragrance.html Good enough. I know, I could’ve chosen a more elaborate on, or hey, even one that kind of matches the subject matter but I decided to KISS.

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Getting Paid For Writing Pretty  

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Breathing free after a large dose of Dayquil, my lungs were able to be filled with the exhaust of several dozen vehicles fighting to get into the Venetian parking garage off the back entrance on Koval. Harried Monday morning employees of the Venetian and Harrah's and vendors and attendees to the featured convention at the Sands Expo filched a mile if an inch presented itself to get out from behind the stationary truck and trailer in the only right turn lane available for the garage. Finally, my behemoth and only three inches of clearance for this structure found a beautiful park spot right next to the elevator on the tenth floor. Sue had to go all the way up to the 14th floor. I waited for her on the third. We had thought we arrived early enough but traffic had slowed us down and now we had to find out where to go.

After an escalator ride and watching a gondolier push his way through a shopping mall we took another elevator and followed whomever we thought might be attending the convention as well. With as much patience I have you would think I would have been able to take the time to decipher the maps posted everywhere around the Venetian. I let Sue take charge and lead me by the nose. My mind wasn't in it. After much struggling, we picked up badges and made our way onto the convention floor area. I was able to clear my mind long enough to read the map to find our booth and we finally arrived.

The crappy little drafting tables did not lift my spirits. The flimsy, hard, barely adjustable chairs sank my spirits even further. What the hell was wrong with me? I live for this kind of work. Maybe I'm too spoiled. Sue and I settle in, the third calligrapher we were informed, was going to be late. They told us their game plan. Whatever. I readied my pens, made a liner, made a quick reference sheet for Sue and then we waited. I played a little with some varying calligraphy styles and settled for a Gothicized Uncial uppercase and a super-fast Carolingian-like lowercase with an Uncial d for the tail, for aesthetics. I brought feathers for all of us so we could attach them to our pens...more aesthetics. Sue couldn't work with hers on. Mine kept poking me in the eye, but dozens loved it, even after discovering I really wasn't using it.

Finally, after about half an hour, we were put to work. They had divided the alphabet up. I was A-J, Sue was K-S, and Madelyn, our third, was T-Z. After a good start, we were able to stretch our legs for about five minutes and then were bombarded again for the rest of the time we had. My ass hurt, but my spirits were definitely up. I smiled, joked, conversed and rarely lifted my head from the certificates. I was in a zone absently saying "thank you" with a smile and a nod as people picked up the ones completed. My ego growing by miles every time someone oohed or ahh-ed. On rare occasion I had to ask for clarification of a letter or title from attendants, I soon realized, didn't have one either.

We finished up promptly at three clearing all the requests for the day. My knees cracked when I got up. Sue and I had lunch after wards. It was pretty awesome and reasonable. We invited Madelyn but she declined. I went to work after. It was a good day, even if I started out crappy.

Tuesday's traffic and parking experience went super smooth as did the trek across the casino. None of us spoke after our good mornings. We were completely slammed. I still smiled and joked and grinned when I was complimented but I don't think I actually heard or saw a soul. Sue left immediately after and Madelyn and I walked out together.

Wednesday's traffic was also smooth but I was late because of the immense crowd waiting to get in would not let me pass. So I waited. I think I was five minutes late. Breathing was easy. We walked around a bit and were able to visit. I made exemplars of my uppercase for Sue and Madelyn in case they wanted to try it. I met a teacher who had two students graduating. He adored my work and although his students had names beginning with letters in the latter part of the alphabet, he had me do them instead. He was a retired Air Force captain so we had a bit to talk about. He was really nice. He reminded me of one of my history teachers. A young girl took hers away from my table and gave it to Madelyn to do apologizing profusely for not wanting my style of calligraphy. I tried to console her, to let her know it was okay, but she still kept apologizing anyway. I guess us artisans can be a little sensitive but, yeesh.

originally posted December 9, 2007

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About Me  

Posted by Erma in , , , , , , , , , ,


When I was only eleven years old, living in Vijont, Italy, about 25 miles from Aviano Air Force Base, I found an old Christmas card buried in the bottom drawer of our bookcase. I stole it and carried it with me all day as I attended school on the air base. Every spare moment I found, I pulled out this deep, red card and stared at it. I allowed my fingers to trace the gold raised lettering printed on the front. It was written in thick, old world writing. Looking back now, it was a bit gaudy, but I was entranced and my passion for calligraphy began with that small card.

Every day after school, those who lived far away from the base sat on buses and waited for every other grade to get out of school to join them. It was on the bus, waiting, that I first attempted to make my own letters; to copy the ones I had fallen in love with. They were horrible, absolutely horrible, but I kept trying. I traced the outline of each letter onto my schoolbook paper and colored it in with the side of my pencil. Still terrible.

When I finally arrived home, I raced into the living room and proceeded to peruse through every encyclopedia book we owned. Wouldn't you know it, the "World Book Encyclopedia" has as it's first page a dissertation on the letter of the alphabet that book belongs to, complete with a pictorial history of the letter itself, how often its used in the English language, the different ways it is pronounced, what it can represent when it stands alone, and a brief written history of the letter. (Did you know that the 5th letter of the alphabet, the "e," is the most frequent letter used?) I think this is where my love of the history of letters came from. Not only could I make the letter really pretty, but there was a substance there...a reason why you would want it to look pretty.

Subsequent volumes showed pictures of charters, and ships logs, and constitutions, and a vast array of historical documents, all written in some form of calligraphy. Amazing! I was very tempted to tear each and every page out and seclude it in some secret place just for me, but thoughts of Dad and his belt made me think better of it. Instead, I made tracings of everything I found and continued to work at forming my own letters. I eventually got pretty good at drawing the letters out and then coloring them in. I think this is the reason why my letter forms are better than most.

I didn't start with a calligraphy pen or a calligraphy marker. I started with a 2 lead pencil and an eraser...a lot of erasers. I drew each letter as if it was a picture. It wasn't until moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1980 that I discovered there were actually pens that could form the letters I had come to adore. Imagine the novelty (of which never wore off). My first pen was a Schaeffer Calligraphy fountain pen with a metal nib that I found at a Thrifty store on a trip for ice cream. You screwed the nib off and inserted a cartridge of black, royal blue, or red and wrote to your hearts content. It leaked a lot, but boy! Did I have a great time with that pen? I do have to say that I had to relearn everything all over again though, but it didn't take as long as it did the first time.

Then, I discovered Desert Decor (now known as Desert Art Supplies) on East Charleston Boulevard and found a Speedball Calligraphy book, a pen holder, and Speedball "C" series nib set. The gentleman at the counter suggested Higgins Eternal Ink and now I'm a customer for life. (Of both the ink and the store.)

Again, it was a learning experience. How deep do you dip the nib so you don't turn your fingers black? How do you get rid of the excess ink so you don't have these huge inkblots all over your paper? How often do you rinse the nib off? How do you keep the letters crisp? What the hell is sandarac powder for? What's an Arkansas stone and how do you use it? How do you not over sharpen your nib so you don't tear the hell out of your paper? Too many questions.

I just kept practicing, teaching myself everything I could; reading everything I could get my hands on. I was stealing pages from magazines wherever I went, collecting typography to imitate. What else could I do? Michael's Craft stores and their calligraphy classes hadn't made it to Las Vegas yet. Calligraphers were rare.

Books helped a lot. The first one after the Speedball Calligraphy book was Margaret Shepherd's "Using Calligraphy." She hand- calligraphied the whole book. Impressive. In fact, it is from that book that I stole...um...borrowed my portrait from. Thanks Margaret.

On another visit to Desert Decor in 1995, I spied a small flier taped to their front door. WhooHoo! Calligraphy class! Taught by Joan Williams! I called, sent her a check, and attended the class. It was being held in an art gallery on the other side of town. They served lukewarm punch and crunchy cookies as snacks, but otherwise it was quite nice. The display at the time was the Dinotopia artwork. Very neat stuff. Quite a few ladies were in attendance. We were seated in 2 rows of long foldout tables, and I waited in anticipation.

She was British. Of course, she had to be. Heck, the most coolest calligraphy style is called "Old English" for goodness sakes! She was almost exactly as I expected her to be and although the kindness in her eyes gave her away, as she began to teach, you could see in your mind the ruler smacking the back of your hand whenever you made a mistake. (That never happened; all I'm saying is that Joan is very disciplined in her craft.)

The hand we were learning was called "foundational." It's the one every wannabe calligrapher skips over in every book because it's not fancy enough to be calligraphy. It's also one of the most difficult to master, just like " Roman," the type you are seeing now. I had actually tried it and when I screwed it up-it became a challenge to get. I thought I had finally beat it, but as with any craft called a "practice," there is always more to learn.

Joan showed me some small, essential; finesse strokes that helped improve the letter forms. I seized the opportunity of the intimacy of the classes to bring in my work and show it to a professional calligrapher to get an assessment. Joan seemed quite indifferent, which completely crushed my ego, and I walked away resolved not to pursue any notions of becoming a professional myself.

About six months later, I received a letter in the mail from Joan. She wanted to set up an appointment to see me. Joan had been the premiere calligrapher in Las Vegas for years and was about to go into semi-retirement, no longer taking in new clients. She wanted me to be the "go to guy" for any new calls she would be receiving. Damned unreadable British! (hehe) What a meeting. I was ecstatic! and thus began my professional calligraphy career. Joan was absolutely wonderful as a business mentor and taught me alot about the local calligraphy market.

http://antiqueletters.com

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