book, Images and Idols
When we read the Bible from the beginning, what is the first thing we learn about God? “In the beginning, God created . . . .” He is a Creator. He makes things. He made them for form and function, for beauty and glory.
His greatest creation of all came on the sixth day when he made the first couple. And he is still creating, shaping, building, forming. Continue reading
Swirl medallion
It is meditative. It calms you down like a personal retreat as you work on one stroke in a letter, one at a time.
It builds creativity. You always want to try the lettering a bit differently — a different color, slant, angle, size, with new or different elements, or whatever.
It is satisfying. You create a project, show your friends, and receive good vibes from creating something beautiful.
It builds up a person. Some people discover that calligraphy is their main thing in life and it becomes part of their identity. Their confidence and skills mature together. Continue reading
Psalm 148 artwork
This project began as a homework assignment in which we were to put text in a circle using Copperplate. I drew a couple of circles for the baseline and x-height that would fit neatly on 11 x 14″. I drew them on translucent grid paper of that size. I figured I would make the final piece on 11 x 14″ Bristol board, cut to 11″ square. The x-height circle was 5 1/2″ in diameter.
I wanted the circle motif to make design sense for the words. I chose a psalm from the Bible that included the sun, moon, and stars, all circular things. My first chosen verse was too long to fit on the circle, so I chose another verse that did, from Psalm 148. I drew the outer swashes in pencil, erasing and redrawing until I was pleased with their composition. In some cases, the letters linked; in other cases, I drew free-standing swashes that linked letter swashes on either side. Continue reading
People have wondered when they can call themselves an artist, singer, dancer, writer, or whatever. At what point can you say you have finally arrived, and call yourself an artist? There are different answers to this question, and they depend on how you define an artist. Here are several responses with my comments on each. Feel free to add to the conversation in the comments box below. Continue reading
Final piece, digital print
This project began as a homework assignment in Barbara Close’s workshop at her studio space in Costa Mesa, California. We were to do a piece with Fraktur or Gothic lettering paired with gold gilding. I settled on this text because I wanted a Bible passage in my repertoire that was more familiar to people than many of the obscure texts I have used earlier, as posted in my Etsy store. To make the work more interesting, I decided to add red Latin text between the black Fraktur text, of a style having the same even x-height throughout, and that decision led me to use Half Uncial. I chose that over Uncial to challenge myself to try something I haven’t done before, and because its unusual letters looked interesting, and because I thought it was a better fit with the Latin text. Continue reading
Life of Christ quote by Fulton J. Sheen
One assignment we had for our class with Barbara Close was to make an artist’s book of painted paste paper. We brought in Arches Text Wove paper for the pages. The benefit of using paste takes place when we mix acrylic and the paste fluid together, apply it to the paper, and have time to add all kinds of marks to it before it dries. Continue reading
Psalm 103 Final
Our class assignment, given by Barbara Close, was to do a piece in Italic in two nib sizes and two colors. I had the idea of doing Psalm 103 after my pastor spoke on it the following Sunday. With Psalm 103, King David tells us of the benefits of knowing God dwelling in their midst. I thought I would list those benefits in a circle around “Bless the Lord O My Soul,” the words that begin the psalm. To add context for the blessings, I would include the explanatory “forget not all His benefits” running through the middle. So it’s a song about counting your blessings. Continue reading
For this class assignment, we were asked to create a work combining Gothic and swashes, an example being a large initial cap with swashes. However, I challenged myself to think of a reason for them to appear together. In what way can I use these elements to communicate something in the words?
I chose to do Acts 2:1-2 and try to communicate the “rushing mighty wind” in the passage. I would do this in two ways: round the letter guidelines and stagger them to create the body of a whirlwind, and add the swashes to simulate air currents or streamers blowing in the wind. With this in mind, I got to work. First, here is how it turned out:
Final piece, from Acts 2:1-2
In our class in Uncial lettering, we wre to create a book of 5-6 pages, including a colophon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colophon_(publishing)).
Its size was to be half a page with wide orientation. The paper was to be folded in half with the ends at top. The top ends will be gathered and punctured for the binding. The turnable pages will show folded edges.
The finished book
You can see a sample of the updated content here.
Here are some screenshots (click to enlarge). The app works on a variety of screen sizes, mobile and tablet.
Sample Learn Italic Calligraphy app screenshot
Sample Learn Italic Calligraphy app screenshot
Sample Learn Italic Calligraphy app screenshot
Sample Learn Italic Calligraphy app screenshot
A quirk presently prevents me from adding it to Google Play. So I uploaded it to the Amazon App store instead: http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Husting-Learn-Italic-Calligraphy/dp/B01F1G0V4W/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1462235621&sr=1-1&keywords=learn+italic+calligraphy
I’ll update the iOS version once I figure out how to overcome another hurdle.
