Calligraphellie

I was asked to make another chalkboard for my church for our weekly community nights.  It's kind of fun having this repeat church gig - good practice and I get to design it to look any way I want! :)

The major challenge for this piece was actually figuring out how to erase the old chalkboard that I had set with hairspray.  After a few attempts, I was successfully able to get most of it off with a magic eraser.  And I found out that the top of a pack n' play makes a great place to balance a big chalkboard if you need to keep an eye on precious littles while you work.  :)

I designed some stamps!  I thought it was time to reboot our family address stamp, so it was a good time to help out some friends while I was at it.  One is for a friend who wanted to get a gift for his wife.  And I designed two for my friend and photographer Em The Gem.

My church wanted a sign so people who came to our mid-week dinners would know to find us on the back lawn.  This is what I came up with!  

My friend Ayaka is one of the creators of a social enterprise called TLMade (as in Tenderloin Made, as in the district of San Francisco were many impoverished people live) where they work with local artists to create jobs and artistic goods.  She is also on the board of New Creation Home and has been trying to bring a similar venture down to East Palo Alto.  For their fundraiser, Ayaka worked with some of the girls and New Creation Home to make candles and asked if I would donate my calligraphy skills for the labels.  I was happy to oblige.

It was pretty cool to see my writing on the label for a real product!

The husband and I had the pleasure of attending the annual fundraiser for New Creation Home Ministries.  It was really fun and a little surreal to walk around the event and see my calligraphy all over the place.  The "Let there be Light" that I wrote for the invitation was on a big screen, on the front of the programs, and made into little buttons that people wore.

Also, my art piece of 2 Corinthians 5:17 was up for auction (which someone bought!).

I completed my first "art" piece!  (And look how nice it photographed in the light box!) I was asked to donate something for a silent auction fundraiser benefitting New Creation Home Ministries, a non-profit in East Palo Alto that serves teen mothers.  I decided to write 2 Corinthians 5:17 because that is the verse that inspired their name.  The process was really fun because I got to make it whatever I wanted, and was finally a chance to use the Artograph LightPad that my husband gave me for my birthday.  

I hope someone at the auction bids on it!

My friend Ayaka was designing the invitation for a fundraiser for New Creation Home Ministries, a non-profit that serves young mothers in East Palo Alto, and asked if I could lend a hand with some writing.  This was a spot job (I write the words to be scanned) so I had no idea what the finished product was going to look like.  I think Ayaka did an awesome job designing the invite!

It's also really fun when you walk in to church and see your hand printed in the bulletin!

I made a light box!  I used the instructions from here.  It was really easy.

Does it make things look better?  Although I do love the warmth of my kitchen table, it's often hard to get enough lighting.  What I like most about it is that when I'm not using it I can fold it up flat and store it away.  I'm excited!

My dear and wonderful friends Emily and David were married on July 13th in Berkeley.  It was a truly joyous occasion that combined 3 of my favorite things: calligraphy, Berkeley, and Emily&David!  The reception site was about 0.5 miles from the church, so they thought it would be fun for guests to take a scenic stroll through campus and asked me to write some sidewalk chalk signs to help guide their way.  Writing these signs throughout campus was so thrilling for me because it had been years since I'd been back.  If anyone told me 10 (er....15?) years ago as a student that I'd be back doing calligraphy signage, I think I would have been thoroughly confused.  Just goes to show you that life is always wide open.  Join me on our walk...

After a project is done I often don't pick up a pen for months until another project comes along.  That's not a very good plan for improvement and growth, so I started an Instagram account to help motivate me to at least doodle something each day, even if it's only for a few minutes.  If you want to follow what my humble hands are doodling each day, you can follow me @calligraphellie.