Treading Softly

 

As March seems to race by I notice changes through the studio window each day. Sometimes I am greeted with morning fog, other days there is still bit of frost on the ground and occasionally there is a warmth in the wind which promises Spring will be in bloom. The walk from the house to the studio can be muddy or icy and I am careful of my footsteps. I tread softly asI figure out the pathway.  This season seems to wake up slowly and then surprises me with such joy and life. I have been spending long hours in the studio preparing for classes. Notes need to be written for the new classes that are in the works and artwork is constantly being created.  In person classes are still not a reality for me but I have been continuing to teach small groups, private students, guilds and large classes online. It is working for me and I am happy to continue as well as explore some longer term programs for my students. I tread softly with my students. I have received so many emails from students and friends who are having such difficulty navigating the news and the bombardment of negativity coming their way. Our world has been going through such a difficult time and as we respond with compassion we can get so overwhelmed.  Our work with the pointed pen is delicate and quiet and I am constantly reminded of the need to focus as we work on our projects. For me, the pointed pen, flourishing, drawing and painting  provides a pathway of peace. It is also an outreach as I put pen to paper or flourish an envelope to send to a friend. This tiny act of caring can brighten someone's day and bring a sense of joy, even for a few moments. It's something within our reach, inexpensive, and an outlet for our flourishing, drawing and painting studies. I want to thank all of you for your notes of encouragement through mail and email. Your notes to me have been such a kindness and a blessing. I am so grateful for your kind words and you encourage me to send out notes of my own. Keep treading softly in these delicate days. The thoughts and words that we share can be so powerful. Sending hugs all around. I hope you continue to flourish!!

Welcome March!!!

 I love the month of March. I know it is unpredictable here in Canada. Sometimes it is a stormy, snowy and icy mess and at other times, it just gently unfolds. Already, the garden sounds different as I hear more and more birds. I continue to wait for the ongoing wonder of this season to begin to emerge. 

I feel so grateful to have work to do in my little studio. I have been intensely working on new workshops. This weekend I will release Nature Sings through Acorn Arts classes online. This class will dive into the wonders and beauty of nature expressed through offhand flourishing. I have also been studying the effects of different mediums on paper and how to build luminosity into the flourishes. The butterfly explorations have been so addictive.

There are times when I am amazed at the results on the paper through very simple techniques. My Faber Castell Polychromos pencils continue to bring a lot of delight as I work with them. If you have never experimented with them, I encourage you to give them a try. They layer beautifully and each layer remains transparent. Their quality is excellent. The core pigment is bonded all the way to the bottom of the pencil so you won't have problems with the core colour falling out. I can use these pencils all the way to the bottom if I use a pencil extender. The are excellent quality for the money and can be mixed with watercolour and watercolour pencils. John Neal Booksellers sell an assortment of some of my favourite colours. I always buy these open stock rather than in sets so I can select my favourite colours. Your favourite art store should have these in stock and you can enjoy looking at the wonderful colour range.

I will be using these coloured pencils in my April Fainting Fancies class through The Gentle Penman as well. The piece at the bottom of the post explores some ideas from both Fainting Fancies and Nature Sings. I hope you treat yourselves to a few colours and explore their possibilities. Just looking at them in the pencil case brings a sense of expectation to my work these days. 
Even as I work at my desk, surrounded by bright colours and and a mind filled with hope, the news of what is happening in the world is overwhelming. As artists, we reflect what is in our minds and hearts when we work. I struggled with whether or not to post about the classes that are coming up. There are so many pressures and concerns in the minds of my dear friends, students and colleagues. My hope is that this type of quiet work with your hands will bring you a sense of peace, hope, and focus as we bring beauty to the page.It can't fix the world but it can realign our thoughts and give our minds a haven from the storm. Wherever you are in the world and whatever is surrounding you, I am sharing a gentle message of Hope to our delicate world. Hugs all around. 

Pink is Always a Good Idea

In the midst of dark days of news and an enduring winter I find that anxiety creeps in a little bit. I find I need to dig a little deeper to find a sense  of peace when I work at my desk.  When I worked in the fabric store, just seeing the bright colours of the quilting fabrics lifted my spirits! The shop is long gone but the joy of colour remains with me. This week I came home with the most gorgeous miniature rose. Seeing the pink colour instantly brought a smile to my face. There is joy in colour and for me the colour that releases joy for me is pink. It came up in conversation as I was teaching The Flowering Flourish class this week. Pink is always a good idea, at least for me. 

I don't know what it is about the colour but it just lifts my spirit and brings a sense of calm no matter what is going on around me. As I continue to prepare for the class Nature Sings class, a pink bunny emerged. I guess it was just a matter of time before it happened!

Even the gilded butterfly has hints of pink in it. I can't escape how much joy I find in this colour.

Surround yourself with the colours that bring you joy and see if that can bring you a little lift of happiness even if you are going through something dark or stressful.

I have had some wonderful emails, letters and phone calls from those of you who share the love of special colours and flowers. Pansies are another favourite and I have been exploring them with my private students and will be painting pansy initials as part of the Alphabet Garden course at Ardington. The classes were sold out but we expanded the capacity a little bit to open up a few more seats and take care of the waiting list. So if you would like to join in either March or May, I think you will enjoy the pansy letters and other explorations we can do with a brightly painted Illuminated Letter.

The Ardington classes are kept quite small to allow for more feedback and I have seen some absolutely remarkable work in the Luminous Letter and The Flowering Flourish. My hope is that students will be able to find peace and joy through the work of their hands. If I can play even a small part in bringing them happiness, I will feel so grateful. No matter what happens in external environments and things that are beyond our control, there are small things we can do to nurture peace and joy. Sending hugs all around and I hope you have a beautiful weekend!

 

From Glimmer to Glow

 I wanted to add a quick post to the blog on a bright but cold February afternoon. I taught an intense class yesterday for The Gentle Penman online. We tried an extended single class of 3.5 hours along with an ambitious project called For the Love of Birds. I loved working on the project and trying this teaching approach. It is fun as well as challenging to figure out the best approaches for the online classes and I am learning so much in the process. The project itself was to demonstrate some drawing, inking and painting techniques and I was thrilled to see what students could accomplish.

I could not complete the design in the class time but several people did and I hope they continue to explore the techniques and bring their own vision to the new designs. One of the things that seemed easier to navigate in an online format is having the students in their own homes where they don't compare their work to others. Yes, we miss the energy of the other students in the class, seeing what unique supplies people bring to class and the social interaction that can really add to the experience. But as an introvert in these social settings, my senses could often be overwhelmed and I would find time to take walks outdoors to recalibrate my mind. There can be a pressure on the student to think that they need to be able to absorb content and gain skills at the same rate of the other students. I want to encourage my students and students of any instructor that you are uniquely you!!! You have a vision, voice, instinct and skill set that is yours alone. You hear things your own way, judge things with your own ideas and have a desire to push your skills where you want them to go...or not to go. This journey is for you alone. As we continue to navigate this world that has so much content for us to explore and devour online, I want to encourage you to find the glimmer of joy in each success and even in the  failures along the way. As I was teaching this intense class in this online format, I remembered how different my own experience has been over the years.

I did not have the choices of online classes that are available now. I had images from a book to study, sought out pen pals and mentors, looked for articles to read and if I could find a class that I could attend in person, I would make substantial investments to attend. I failed a lot. But I kept my successful projects and never lost the passion and the peace that the journey was brining to me. Even as I failed at my desk, I was continuing to explore and learn. Always remember, that this is not a race. There is incredible joy to be discovered out of sheer curiosity of a subject. The art work you create as you play and explore would never be created unless you do it. The smallest note that you can write to someone can bring them joy or hope. Whether you design a whole composition or add a rosebud to someone's initial, you have placed your unique signature on the design.  As I continue to work with my students and prepare for new courses I hope you can celebrate the successes and even the failures as your skills begin to shine and glow. Be patient. Honestly, when I see how quickly some people can catch on to these skills I am reminded just how slow I was to learn and catch on. But I have no regrets. I am just grateful to share what helped me learn along the way and then enjoy seeing your unique creations. Happy Saturday dear friends! Enjoy the journey and allow you skills to grow slowly over time. 

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!

Always Anything

 Welcome to 2022! January always surprises me as I linger over  the last couple of days of December. Suddenly a new calendar is opened and a fresh year is upon is. I am not one for making resolutions. That has not worked for me. To be honest, as the new year rolls around, nothing much changes for me here in my little studio. I usually have overhanging goals from the year before that still need to be completed so I continue with my work with very little notice of the change. To me, every day, month and year has possibilities. We can always try anything. Just start where you are, with what you have and see what happens. That philosophy has worked better for me than the pressure of resolutions.  

 As I ended December with the Star of Hope, the word Hope continues to be on my mind. I will continue  to send messages of encouragement through the year. I want to reinforce the possibilities that are waiting for you and build your confidence as you explore the things that bring you joy. Even as you patiently build on your skills don't worry about what seems like a slow pace. You are right where you should be on your journey. Take your time!  

I have a lot of classes on the schedule this year starting with Italian Hand this Sunday. I  look forward to sharing the magic of this amazing script with new students. My 2022 teaching schedule can be emailed to you through heather@heathervictoriaheld.com if you are interested in what is coming up or in private Zoom sessions. The Enchanted Meadow is my next large class online and will be presented through The Gentle Penman. Registration is currently still open.

There are also a few spots left for my encore presentation of The Flowering Flourish at the Ardington School Online in June. It seems a long way off but I will be busy working on blooming flourishes very soon here! If you have never studied with the Ardington School, be sure to subscribe to their newsletter. Their classes are very small and they have so many wonderful offerings available. I have loved working with this small school and have appreciated their approach for the classes. 

 Please keep in touch dear friends. I am only ever an email away.  I can't wait to share new courses with you, work with you on your flourishing, script lettering, gilding, painting and drawing sweet little meadow creatures. Let's stay joyful as we work and  hang on to Hope in 2022. 

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.

The Peace of Pencil

It seems like we blink and month expires. Here we are at the end of November. I am almost finished up with my teaching schedule for the year. It seems like the studio desk was bustling from one day to the next  and I am so very grateful to my dear students, friends, and colleagues who hosted my online courses. There is more to come in 2022 and I hope to dig deeper in areas that have been requested by students. I have some new courses coming up! If you would like my upcoming confirmed teaching schedule, please email me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com and I will send it to you. I hope whatever classes or techniques you have explored this year have brought you peace and joy! Thank you to all of you  who have sent me such kind notes of encouragement. I appreciate your thoughts and I love seeing your work. 

 As we embark on the festive season in a world that is still so stressful, I wanted to share something special with you. One of my closest companions on my studio desk is the humble pencil.

This low maintenance, analog tool is the first one I reach for as I am toying with ideas. It is quiet and patient with me and yields to erasing easily. It builds my confidence as I slowly come to conclusions about paths I should take in my work. It helps me formulate ideas and thoughts into more complex work on the page. 

 It can be easily overlooked as we want to quickly proceed to the vibrancy of colour and the joys of gilding or painting. But the pencil provides the stability and structure of the design. In all honesty, I succeed or fail with a project at the pencil stage. Sometimes the sharp point of the pen and the permanency of ink embeds a bit of stress into my process. There is such peace with working with the humble pencil. I know I have stressed this before, but pencil work translates into skills with the pen. I have many journals of sketches, ideas, quotes and layouts that are so fulfilling to use and refer back to.

Although most of my flourishing work is done in true offhand style without pencil work, the Glittering Vines, Enchanted Meadows, Enchanted Letters and Alphabet Gardens all start with pencil plans. If you want to explore some of my pencil play late December, my dear friends at the Pointed Pen Collective will be hosting the course Pencil Lines for Glittering Vines.

You will have plenty of time after the class to design with the simplicity of pencil before we have the second class in January where you can gild and paint your design.

My hope as the year advances, you will be able to expand and enhance your techniques as well as I slow down and take a deeper dive in subject specific classes. I also want to share my research and study methods with you. I tend to go head first into a subject and love to share what I have discovered over the year.  Pencil drawing is the root of my animal designs and  I will be teaching The Enchanted Meadow through The Gentle Penman in January as well.

You can also look for a special Valentine course soon through The Gentle Penman where we focus on some precious birds to study. Once again...we begin in pencil!

I have also agreed to run encore presentations of The Alphabet Garden and Flowering Flourish for the Ardington School of Crafts. Ardington classes are strategically kept very small.  I have more time to look at student work and our final session is a Q&A session with lots of feedback.

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As November comes to a close in yet  another turbulent year, I hope you find peace, joy and creativity in your own home at your desk. We have no control of the things around us, but knowing how to utilize a pathway to peace can be so helpful! I am only ever an email away and I love to hear from you. Happy pencil play dear friends!

Noticing November

 I think I mention this every year in my blog posts but November mornings always draw my eyes toward their spectacular light. There is some sort of shift that happens with the light. Maybe it is the changing leaves, or the crisp air or the bounce in the steps of the squirrels but November captures my gaze. I can feel the threat of winter but I know that winter will pass. From the warmth of my studio and the bright windows, I can work away in peace and quiet. I appreciate this time. 

I have been busy teaching for guilds online as well as preparing for upcoming classes. It seems that I have been doing tons of pencil work lately and I love it more and more.

The pencil never judges. It allows us to make corrections. It allows us to think on paper and really play with the work before we finalize with ink. My Pentel Graph Gear 1000 mechanical pencil is my favourite to use, but lately I have been reaching for my Blackwing pencils. The Blackwing is so smooth and fluid on the paper as I sketch my designs. It does need to be constantly sharpened though but that is all part of the process. I have some courses coming up that will involve more time for drawing.It is the fundamental backbone of so many skills we want to incorporate into our calligraphic work. I am convinced that if we spend a bit more time with the humble pencil, we refine skills that translate with pen and brush. I still love working in my gridded journals and I have been having fun looking at older sketches that translated into paintings for my Enchanted Meadow series.

I find the pencil work as meditative as offhand flourishing work. I enjoy the process of watching the work evolve slowly and the freedom to correct things as often as needed. I can hardly believe that November is here and I still have so much to complete this year. No matter how rushed things get in the Festive season, I recognize how important it is to work through my tasks slowly and mindfully. I hope you notice the beauty of autumn and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. Wherever you are in your creative journey, I hope you are appreciating the process. Thank you so much for the kind emails and words of encouragement in my inbox. I appreciate your comments on my IG posts @heathervictoria1. And I love seeing the work you have been doing after classes!! Keep going and keep playing!!