Hola!
Wow. My goodness. How long has it been?
So much personal things happened and still are happening, but I think I've adjusted enough to do this.
This year, soon, hopefully, I'll start my Weekend Arts and Crafts Workshop here in San Pablo City, Laguna, that will run all year through with few breaks in between. It'll be open to everyone from 6 to 106 years old. Heh! Not a joke, though. The Arts part will include drawing, painting and mixed media art classes. On the other hand, the Crafts part will focus mostly on papercrafts, because that's what I love the most.
I'm still thinking if I'd like to offer calligraphy class but I'm mostly a fan of really pretty handwriting for everyday use, and not the artistic kind that which could be framed afterwards. If there are people who are interested in improving their handwriting, then I'd probably offer that... even if I'd only have a couple of students.
Each class will have 10 sessions of 2-4 hours each. If you want to stay beyond that, it's up to you. Bring your lunch and snacks, though. I'll provide water. Arts classes will be in the morning. Crafts classes in the afternoon. Lessons will be age appropriate, so it's going to be, more or less, one-on-one instruction even if we're going to be in a big group.
Even if you think you don't know how to draw and you still want to take classes, please come! You will surprise yourself. I promise. So, if you're around my area, please check us out after I've hashed out and posted the details.
Fees will be on a per session basis. There will be an official announcement later on.
See you later, guys!
Weekend Arts and Crafts Workshop 2015
Hello 2011!
Happy New Year everyone!!
Here is the title for Gerry's Rizal story which he asked me to do. He wanted the whole thing in freehand but of course, for the base pencil, I had to measure and use templates. The inking part is in freehand, though. Here's the finished pencil layout:
I didn't want to do it again in case I made a mistake with ink so I decided to scan it and print the lines in blue. Here's a partial inked part. Not much of it, actually. hehe. You'll see the finish product on his final inked and colored cover this January.
On to paper crafting! Two calendars I did for a couple of very, very good friends. You know who you are. Now you know what you're getting. :)
The calendar which I did myself, has a blank space at the bottom of each page/month to put tiny designs on. Here, I used paper strips. ribbons, stickers and a blank piece of cream paper where my friends can write important dates such as birthdays, et cetera. The pages, along with a cardstock stand, were bound together using wire comb binder.
If any of you would like a digital copy of the blank calendar, please leave a comment with your email address. I don't know how to make PDF file that I can link here, so I'll just send you the image files.
Be safe tonight everyone!
"Oh, The Dread That's My Handwriting!"
It is a common affliction: the dread over one's handwriting on a scrapbook page. Many believe their handwriting are just atrocious, that they don't deserve to be recorded for posterity. I'll tell you what: the less you use it, the more uncomfortable you'd be with it in the long run. So, practice is the only answer.
One of the things I love about old documents are the handwriting of the officials who prepared them. The seeming uniformity of the angle by which the letters lean to; the size and shape of each character; the clever use of either a fountain pen or a ballpoint pen; and of course, I love, love the fluorishes for the capital letters and the final letters of a line or sentence. They are simply beautiful! But you know, if you look at them very closely, they are far from perfect. And that fact makes them one. Granted, they had no choice because there's no computer back then and, therefore, they had more practice with it.
This tip is for those who want to improve their handwriting and have that personal touch on their journals or scrapbooks. This is not really for those who want to be a professional calligrapher, because honestly, I don't know how to teach it.
First tip is to work on the slant of your letters. No matter how weird you think your letters look, if you have a seemingly uniform angle for your words, sentences or paragraphs, they'd look smashingly awesome! A cheat suggestion: instead of just lined paper you use as guidelines at the back of your writing surface, try adding diagonal lines (about 45 degrees) that run from end to end. Or lines perpendicular to your guidelines, however you'd like it to be. Follow that angle when you write and when you get the hang of it, try to write faster. The slower you write, the wobblier your lines are. The faster your strokes are, the better they look.
This won't happen overnight, I'm telling you now. So, if you really want it, try to be patient. Part that makes a beautiful handwriting is the confidence by which you do it and that only comes with constant practice. Like all skills, it requires practice, practice, practice. Remember also, that it is HANDwriting. It doesn't have to be 'perfect' like our computer fonts.
Your handwriting is part of the story you're telling in your journal or scrapbook. I certainly believe that it is a story on its own.
Till next time!
