Regarding these two student exercises – an arcing line drawn repeatedly with eyes closed to
awaken internal connections and prompt fluidity – and a driftwood "life
study" – reminds me of my own awkwardness, to which I feel very connected
and which is absolutely fluid in execution, & recalls that
old SCTV punchline (Eugene Levy as Sid Dithers?): “Makes you think.” (I guess you had to be there. It makes me think.)
I'll have to try this. Although I've been told that I have a beautiful handwriting, I'm unable to draw ANYTHING. I've always been envious of those who can translate their feelings and ideas into art. My father could. I have a collection of pencil sketches he did while he was at Columbia.
ReplyDeleteAlong these lines perhaps, I had to have my mother sign some forms the other day. As you probably know, she is legally blind. However, if you position her hand at the starting point, she is able to produce a reasonable signature from memory. Her hand still remembers.
It's nice to hear that you have good handwriting. It's becoming a lost quality. I did read yesterday, however, that the White House employs three calligraphers at pretty good salaries. That seems wacky to me and difficult to justify, but I do like beautiful handwriting A LOT and I'm not surprised to hear about your mother's script. For a short while in college, I went out with a girl (boy, did that end badly) who told me that her father signed diplomas for a living. I asked her if he was a calligrapher. She explained he was a college president. I did some online research and found that paint-by-numbers products are still available. I intend to purchase one. I think it would be fun and interesting to show Jane. Curtis
ReplyDeleteI suppose the White House calligraphers are responsible for the formal dinner invitations and such, but I can't imagine what else they do, unless they transcribe laws in longhand. That's probably because I have a lack of imagination. Maybe they are part-time calligraphers. Maybe there is an opening for me. I forgot to mention that my maternal grandfather, Oscar Epstein, worked as a scribe for many years, before typewriters became widespread. Good luck with the paint-by-numbers search. My father completed one of a huge cocker spaniel. It hung downstairs in the tiny foyer outside the laundry room. I'm sorry to say I always thought it hideous. I never told my father.
ReplyDeleteI think paint-by-numbers has all sorts of fun and creative possibilities. No, these are three full-time calligraphers, two of them paid about $97K and the other $86K. Frankly, I think that they could switch to mailing labels, but I imagine they'd find a way to make those into the equivalent of the thousands-of-dollar Air Force toilet seats we all remember so fondly. Going crazy from the heat, but you are also, probably. Curtis
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