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Showing posts from 2017

Who's that?

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Oh my god, it's crazy out there on the streets and canals of Venice. Two nights before Christmas and the "buon Natale" love & fever is all around us.  Imagine the scene, lane ways crammed with shoppers, boxes, parcels, people of every race & creed, strolling, running, dashing here and there ... wait ... was that Santa Claus I saw in a gondola just now?

Text, Print & Paint: Venice

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Better late than never. These photos are my snaps. I am hoping under good lighting to get much better images. Enjoy!   Prepping the gallery.     David & Deirdre Kelly (Scuola curator & artist) bumping in.  Not a good pic but you'll get the idea:       Ready!  Tomorrow evening the opening is at 6pm with music by none other than David Nuttall Principal Oboist, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and my gorgeous partner. Wishing all our girls were here to join in the fun. To Amy Ellen & Laura I dedicate this show.

Madrid, winter 2017

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It is the trip of a lifetime. Invited to the exciting city of Madrid I have fallen in love with another European city and it's people. Thanks to my friends and great calligrapher and teacher Anna Coll & her husband Pepe. I attended an amazing exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornmeisza Gallery ... ... and spent a day at the Prado. I certainly got my steps up at these galleries. Amazing works.  I was thrilled to come across one of my absolute favourites Georgia O'Keefe.  I have fallen in love with Madrid. A pic of the class on our final day. These were the early-birds to class and... ... here were the wonderful mischief makers. I loved every minute of it. I am so fortunate.    

I found a treat in Turin

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Today I walked into a church in Turin, Italy that I discovered unexpectedly. It was completely empty. Not a soul, apart from in the crypt (I imagine). It was a strange yet special experience. San Filippo Nevi Catholic Church I found a treat there. It will be a part of my body of work for my residency in Venice. Here is a sneak peek:  

Ampersands Mandalas, and Colour & gold

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I am fortunate enough to teach at various places around the world and I'll continue to do so until such a time as the invitations stop flowing. I am grateful for time I have to spend with all my lettering artist friends. A couple of weeks ago I returned to a favourite place of mine to teach, Adelaide. After an invitation from the  Calligraphy Society of South Australia we settled on two one-day workshops. Workshop one: Ampersands and Workshop two: colour & gold. Both workshops were just a taste in each area.  "BRAVO" a shout of congratulations to the Calligraphers in South Australia. Ampersand Mandala Random My in-class sampler My in-class sampler

Ramblings from Missoula Montana

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One of the lovely things on this trip is I don't have wifi at the home of the people hosting me Cindy & Jim. It allows me time , time I don't bother taking to do other things, things I used to do before wifi (BW) :-) Long story but now in Montana, Amity has kindly given me access to her wifi so, here are my late night ramblings. This year, to date, I have been invited to teach in three Australian cities & towns, Buderim, Sydney & Pokolbin with two more to go Sydney again and Adelaide. To my Australian colleagues I am eternally grateful for your support.   Thank you. I have also been fortunate to visit and teach in eight US cities this year, Pittsburg, Salt Lake City, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Colorado Springs, currently I am in Missoula and next week I’ll be in Minneapolis. To friends and colleagues around the world who, spend hours of their busy lives helping to organize these workshops and classes, I am indebted to

Birdies, Ampersands & other ligatures San Antonio

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My "ampersands & other ligatures" workshop has now finished in San Antonio Texas. The participants were fabulous and we all enjoyed our time of it. It was the first time I used a document camera but I am yet to be convinced that it is the way for me. I was also miked as the group was large and some a little hard of hearing. I got used to that but I had to keep my sniffles in check! On the way to class, I snapped these "Grackles on a wire" out of the car window!     Participant mementos.   The classroom was a bright and airy pre-school! Some of the participants painted Celtic ampersands.    Students work:  Depending on the style of ampersand some mandalas were quicker to execute than others. My unfinished in-class sample. It was great meeting so many talented peeps in San Antonio.