Welcome February!

 The calendar page turns and I always adjust my thoughts for the new month ahead. Outside my studio window, the squirrels are digging through lots of snow and don't seem to be the least bit bothered by it. I start to become so hopeful for Spring as soon as I get my first glimpse of February. I have an amaryllis blooming on my desk to keep me company and I continue to bring home flowers from the florist.  I seem to need flowers more and more these days but I appreciate each moment of joy they bring and keep them as long as I can. I have just finished teaching The Enchanted Meadow for The Gentle Penman online.

I was completely overwhelmed with the response to the class and watching new skills come to life for my dear students. Although I continue to teach privately and work individually with my precious students, I am grateful for these larger platforms and watching a community of painters, illuminators and calligraphers continue to hone their skills. I feel genuinely honoured to be part of your journey. This coming Friday night I will teach my For the Love of Birds class for The Gentle Penman.

 I have worked so hard on the course material and the class will be 3.5 hours long online. I am really looking forward to exploring the Cerulean Warbler with this group of students. I am so excited about this class!

Looking forward to March, I will be launching Nature Sings through Acorn Arts online. I don't think the site is ready yet online, but it will be updated shortly. I hope to explore the awakening of the garden through a grisaille technique on dark paper that I have been playing with. The image below is a glimpse at the beginning stage of the technique.

We will explore birds, blooms and pollinators in this class.

I will build on these techniques in another flourishing class for Acorn Arts again in the fall.  As I am creating these courses I find new ways to explore the flourish and bring more luminous techniques to the page. I hope the content will help you grow as an artist. Flourishing is all about possibilities as well as tapping into the peaceful flow of thought that it can bring. It really is the most powerful pointed pen skill that I have in my skill set and I love working with it. Looking ahead to April, I will be sharing my Fainting Fancies class with the Gentle Penman. Any Harry Potter fan will recognize the name Fainting Fancies. I designed this class for my local guild when we offered a full day Harry Potter themed calligraphic retreat. Although the class content has evolved, the name continues to be a fun title! A fanciful script capital letter is embellished with faint or subtle techniques at first and gradually becomes more and more complex. The magic of offhand flourishing can be added to your script lettering in very playful ways. You can create simple embellishments for envelopes or small quotes or work on complex monograms. I hope this class will be the beginning of many hours of personal study. 

Part of the subtle effects of these letters is the use of white on toned paper, There are delicate details that can emerge when we choose a mid-tone paper.  We can also add subtle details on light coloured paper. Honestly, I wish I had weeks to explore all of the possibilities but the online classes are a great starting place for exploration. 

I am so happy to share these classes with you and I am genuinely delighted to see what you are producing,. If you would like my 2022 schedule, please email me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com. Enjoy the first breath of February and the subtle signs of spring emerging. I have to look a bit deeper right now in the midst of all of this snow but I am grateful for the Hope of Spring. Wherever you are  and whatever circumstances you are facing, I hope you find a glimmer of light that brings you hope and joy and that you can celebrate the work that you do with your hands. I will be cheering you on from my studio desk. Keep looking for signs of Spring!