Spring Weather Grams

After three months hanging in the tree outside my studio, five weather grams survived the Winter weather.  The others flew away or were used by squirrels or birds.  It's amazing how they do survive all of the elements of rain and wind. 

We gathered last week to exchange our Spring weather grams.  After one week, half are already gone.
Where they went, I don't know.  I scoured the yard to find them but didn't find one.

I'm glad that I took photos of them before hanging them in the tree branches.

One thing that I enjoy about this exchange is reading each person's poem.

Mine is the one on the left.  I decided to machine stitch the two layers of paper bag together so that they wouldn't come apart.  This is such a fun way to honor the change of each season that I plan to continue hanging them at each solstice and equinox.

Italic Handwriting Calligraphy Class Journals and Workbooks

Yesterday, we had our last italic handwriting class for this term and shared our journals and workbooks on creativity.

Debra used her watercolor paintings for her cover..

and inside with one of her favorite Mary Oliver quotes.

Ryan created this ABC cover.  She used the white counter in the letter A to embellish  the page in different colors

Her workbook pages included both italic handwriting and other decorative lettering.

Eddy entitled her workbook "creativity".

Here's an example of her fine italic handwriting.  She experimented with different fountain pens in search for the best fine nib to write her quotes.

Marianne wrote a favorite quote about the creative process on her journal cover.

She used different decorative papers as backgrounds for her quotes inside her journal.

A musician, Roberta's journal included several of her favorite writings and poems about faith and music.

Alysa used a card from a friend in New Zealand for her journal cover.

Pat found this print from the Book of Kells at a thrift shop and turned into her workbook cover.

I took my portfolio that I made at the beginning of our class and used it as the cover to bind my workbook adding a button and bead clasp.

It's amazing how each person in the class created her own workbook or journal and personalized it with her interests and visions.  Thank you, Christine Colasurdo, for a great class. 

Sketching Vignettes Welcome Spring

Yesterday with a cup of tea at hand, we sketched early Spring flowers. Here in temperate Western Oregon, hellebore and daphne bloom.  The bird reminds me of the morning birdsong that greets each day.  I haven't sketched much lately and it feels good to get back into the habit.

These sketches I did last month to warm up and experiment with different styles.

What's in your sketchbook?