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Showing posts from July, 2017

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.

Highlights from The McNay Museum, San Antonio

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    Georgia Okeefe   Looking Down   A surprise seeing my favourite artist Amedeo Modigliani    St Barbara The Master of Frankfurt Southern Netherlandish 1460 - c1533 War Mother Charles Umlauf

The best laid plans ...

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I really have not had a moment to log my travels since I arrived in Pittsburgh.  Amazingly & luckily I have been through a few doors but I am not going to be a crashing bore and show them all. The pace has been (happily) frenetic. On my first day I visited the Carnegie Melon University where I was to teach. Fortunately I was able to spend many hours in the Fine & Rare Books Reading Room. The lettering below was designed by Arnold Bank and thanks to Karen Nordstrom Roberts I was privileged to to view many wonderful works held here. What's this?   Wait for it ... Father Catich's rubbing of the Trajan Inscription.  Oh my, I was somewhat excited. I took photos of every word up close and personal for study purposes but lucky you I shan't bore you with them all. Studying from a book is one thing and the best way if you have no other exposure, but to study from the real rubbing is a grade up from that. Other than climbing a ladder as F