Star of Hope

Sending all of you around the world a message of Hope as December comes to a close. Many of you will be able to see friends and family in the coming weeks but others may find themselves on their own this season. If you find yourselves with some time on your hands, I filmed a little video that hopefully is simple to follow. My hope is that it brings you a sense of calm and peace during this season as well as a sense of accomplishment. Enjoy the process and let me know how you do! I hope to bring you more video tutorials in the New Year.

If you have time the last week of December and want to take a pencil class for drawing The Glittering Vines, registration will be open a few more days through the Pointed Pen Collective.  We will learn the pencil stage on December 29th and then illuminate and paint the beautiful border vines on January 19th. An earlier blog post explains a bit of my thinking about the pencil process. I really consider the peace that the process brings to me as I work though these special designs. 

Finally, I have had so many questions about Italian Hand. I will be teaching it online through Zoom early this year. My first offering will in January through The Hamilton Calligraphy Guild and registration is very limited for this two session course. If you email me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com I can send you the registration info. I will also be teaching it through Zoom for Atlanta's Friends of the Alphabet Calligraphy Guild. Registration info is online. If you want to practice on your own from the resource that inspired my own version of Italian Hand, I recommend the inexpensive bool George Bickham's Penmanship Made Easy.

Pages 29 and 32 still make my heart skip a beat when I see the simplicity and beauty of the letterforms.

After dancing with Italian Hand for the past 10 years, it still brings me such a sense of delight and joy.

A truly lighthearted hand that allows you to play and investigate endless possibilities. As this year draws to a close, if we are watching the news closely, uncertainty and fear can easily creep into our minds. I can recover a sense of peace, calm and even hope as I pick up my pen, brush or pencil. So many of you have written to me through in emails, wonderful card,s and letters telling me the same thing. Chase hope this season dear friends. Nurture yourselves. Find a sense of calm and peace. The work you are creating with your own hands is leaving me speechless as I see you reach new heights. Keep going! From my heart to yours dear friends, have a beautiful season. I can't wait to to welcome the New Year with you. 

Sharing Beauty

 Happy December dear friends. 2021 has been another uncertain year but despite the news around us there has been a sense of wonder, delight and beauty. We may have needed to dig a bit deeper at times to find those moments, but they were certainly part of the year. I want to thank my dear friends and students who have taken the time to write, send messages or emails with their thoughts, images of their work, gardens and even decorated Christmas trees. Your notes have brought joy to my life and I feel like friendships are growing. The beauty of the work of your hands has really been a joy to watch evolve over the past year. I feel honoured and blessed to be a small part of your creative journeys and I look forward to the new year and watching new works of art spring to life. I know many of you will meet me in online classes and as private students and we will continue our conversations there. But for now, I hope you find peace in this December season. Take some time for yourself. Brew your favourite seasonal tea and use your best china cup for the occasion. Light a special candle and enjoy the warmth of the glow. Read a bit of your favourite book and just take time to pause. This is the only December we will have in 2021. Notice the details. Right now my garden is covered in snow but the squirrels are still entertaining me with their acrobatics as they jump from the pine tree to my garden swing. The scene is so familiar but always draws my gaze for a few quiet moments. Whatever is surrounding you this December, I hope you know that your friendship is so appreciated. Thank you for sharing your time with me. Thank you for being part of my classes this past year. I feel so blessed to accompany you on your own creative path. I look forward to seeing you in 2022 and sharing new thoughts and insights. Sending hugs to you all and please keep in touch. You can email me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com for my 2022 teaching schedule. If you want to see my Christmas 2021 Youtube video, it is now on my channel. Happy December dear friends.