Just for fun, for now

I had fun playing around tonight with the blocks I mentioned in an earlier post. For now I am testing impressions and experimenting with these logos and seals, but as I worked tonight a few ideas started to sprout. I'm going to pursue them and hope something wonderful comes of it! Here are the "Just for fun" prints I got tonight. Thanks again to my fab dad who supplied the vintage blocks!

 

  

  

  

 

Letterpress on the Horizon

 

For an upcoming project I will be experimenting with letterpress typesetting. I have done no letterpress printing so far in my life so everything will be new. My completely cool dad has given me permission to try out these blocks, which he came across in his wanderings. I'll post results... if I can figure out the process! (The blocks above include: Rolls Royce, Greenville Country Club, FTD, Virginia Military Institute, Mack, The Greenville News, Pontiac, the South Carolina State Seal, American Legion, Pepsi-Cola and the US National League.)

Singer

I started, at the end of 2009, an exploration in hand stitched designs. I loved how my Wedding Invitations turned out, but the amount of hours put into stitching each stitch isn't practical for mass production. (Can you imagine a bride ordering 500 of those?! I would curl up and cry.) This year I wanted to continue my exploration into this facet of design, but needed to research alternatives to the embroidery needle and thread (at the very least, for the sake of my poor bruised fingers). I considered creating one piece then scanning the design and producing multiples that way or using a quality varnish or embossing job, but both of those ideas strayed away from the whole point of the piece: that it was Hand Stitched! and had actual threads of colorful embroidery floss worked in! So I went on the hunt for a sewing machine. My mother's machine is dated which does not rule a machine out... but it has 'tension' issues, and those of you who have tension issues of your own understand the machine needs a break. Thankfully my dad came across a 1951 Singer Featherweight in his explorations and graciously allowed me to use it on this project! It still runs like a dream 59 (yes I am shocked too!) years later. (I wonder what wonderful things have been crafted on this sewing table... if needles could talk!) I am thankful beyond words to him for his generosity and cannot wait to experiment and share my findings with you all here.

1920s Constantinople

Step back 90 years into the charm of Constantinople (now Istanbul). This set of prints offers a window into the everyday culture of Turkey. Scenes depicting marketplace transactions and street entertainers are set against the breathtaking backdrop of Justinian's 6th century Hagia Sophia. The warm tones, animated expressions and body language of each figure and the ability of each work to communicate a story is an inspiration to illustrators. Each piece is marked "Constantinople 1920" on the front and on the back with a number ranging 1-30. The illustrations are rendered in what appears to be an opaque watercolor or gouache. It is a unique pleasure to come across such a broad collection of illustrations this old!