Chalkboard Painting: Cockfield Plantation

Here's a commission I finished up this week. Done for a friends' mother. These pieces get more and more fun each one I do. I want to have Thanksgiving dinner at THIS house! 

First I sketch the piece on graph paper and then move to the chalkboard. I Crete the same graph there, with a soapstone pencil, so I can easily run it away later. 

This particular client loved the chalkboard look, but wanted the board to be permanent, so I used Sharpie Oil Based markers for the final instead of chalk or Chalk Ink markers.

After the chalkboard has been gridded, I sketch out the words. Then trace over the sketch with the markers. Go slowly with the markers to get an opaque and evenly weighted stroke with each line.

These pieces make for wonderful holiday gifts for vacation homes, vacation getaways, memories, or an old family home that's been sold. I'm very close to making one for my parents place in Rabun Gap, Ga. 

I'd also love to make one for a group of friends, non-specific to a particular place, but simply honoring the connections we all have to one another. 

Copperplate Calligraphy Weekend Workshop October 25-26, 2014

This coming weekend I'll be teaching a Copperplate Calligraphy workshop from 11-4:30. Come join in the fun of inking up a page with loops, ascenders, descenders, power, and grace!

Sign up here!

Copperplate Calligraphy Weekend with Anne Elser 
2 Sessions | Beginner to Intermediate | Price: $160 | Max.10 
ARTZ1463 | Saturday & Sunday, October 25 & 26, 11am - 4:30pm


Description 
This is an introductory look at Copperplate, an elegant and elastic hand frequently used for formal invitations, documents and bridal events. Completely enchanting, the dramatic thick and thins of this delicate hand will make you swoon.

Students will be given handouts and guide sheets, learning the upper and lower case characters. We will also address spacing and layout for addressing envelopes. 

Calligraphy is less about pretty handwriting, but more about DRAWING each and every letter. It's about establishing a pace and rhythmic motion as you write - giving you a consistency of shapes and letters, and spaces in between words and lines. It is highly relaxing and meditative. Like yoga for the hands, it centers, calms, and enchants the person making as well as and the person admiring it.

Instructor Bio:

After earning a BFA in painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art and graduate studies in Graphic Design at The Portfolio Center, Anne Elser began her artistic career as a painter, bookbinder, designer, and calligrapher. With over 20 years teaching experience, her students often report how fulfilling the classroom experience is, prompting both personal and artistic transformations. Anne's classes are also FUN and full of laughter and you will find the sense of community she inspires  enriching and entertaining.

To compliment and serve better Atlanta's calligraphic and book arts communities, Anne recently founded "The Atlanta Penablers" a group that meets the first Friday night of every month.

Artist, calligrapher, teacher, mother, and friend, Anne believes making art creates a channel for truth and is a soulful reflection of the connections shared by all. 

www.AnneElser.com
www.AtlantaPenablers.com

This Workshop takes place in our Buckhead store.

For questions or comments please email Jacob@Bindersart.com 

The Supply list for this class can be found HERE

$160.00

Additional Information

Contemporary Envelopes

More fun with envelopes. Above is an experiment with Diane Townsend pastels beneath lettering and around it as a soft cloud. The shimmer pen is done with a clear glaze Sakura gel pen. 

Beneath that is a copperplate envelope sans capitals, for students who are ready to letter an address, but not yet confident with their capitals. So, now there aren't any excuses... Jump on those vlopes now, friends!!

Purple Vows

This lovely commission is for two Georgia ladies who traveled all the way to Washington, just to get married. Someday, gay couples won't need to travel so far and I want to be around to see it happen. 

Done in purple gouache ink to match her dress, this italic variation features dragon tongues I've been trying to master for years. 

Kitty Envelope

Let's see how far this kittie's meow will carry from Atlanta to Chicago.

Wedding Sermon

Finished up a commission today for a bridal couple who wanted their wedding sermon hand lettered. This baby took me  a while. 22x30 on arches HP stock. 695 words done with two ZebraG nibs. It's beautiful!

Time now for a visit to my chiropractor. :)