Bobbi's Ladder to Heaven

A group of Jacksonville calligraphers recently had a small tribute show for Bobbi Yoffee, who died about a year and a half ago from ovarian cancer...this show motivated me to finish a small sculptural piece that I had started after she died, but never completed (actually, it mostly existed in my head, until I actually had a deadline! My collage students can verify, all I had was the back spine -about 15"x4"- collaged with joss paper!). I never got a proper picture of it with good lighting; all I have to offer it this quick snap in my studio.

Sculptured Surfaces in LA

This was the collage workshop I taught last October for the Society of Calligraphy in Los Angeles....what a talented group! We found several "do-able" collage projects for our short time together, and, with a lot of sweat equity, we turned out the products! This was amazing also in that many people took time out that Saturday to attend the memorial service of Molly Gaylor, a wonderful LA area calligraphy who had recently passed.) You can see the participants painting the hosho paper that will appear covering their little flipflop boxes, their photo frames and in their collages. (Thanks again for my hostess Xandra Zamora and Carrie Imai, for helping with all the gear and stuff (lots of raw materials had to be brought to this room!) Please play the video-slideshow to see the art in action!

New Champion

Letterist to the rescue! Last December I was asked to put the TPC Sawgrass Golf Championship winners on the wall of the Men's Champion Locker room...an area of the locker room at the Sawgrass Country Club that is reserved for the people who play in this major golf event every year...this is after they got bids from sign shops and wood routing folks, they decided that a handlettered Bembo font (the font used throughout the country club) was what they wanted! And who was fool enough to take that on? Moi. The Letterist. I estimated it would take me two full working days, and it took me four. But they paid me what I asked for and it was the highest job I ever bid (I knew it would be hard, but not that hard!)
So recently, I added this year's champion, a Henrik Stenson...luckily, a guy whose name isn't too long (did I mention each name not only is hand drawn, but has to have about three layers of paint?) and who is at waist height, so I didn't have to lean out from a ladder and have lights hanging from scaffolding...that's for next year.
View slide show below to get the scope of this doozy of a job....