Rinka Ronka Reprise

Goauche, gold leaf, Spectralite, Finetec, ink, colored pencils
and crystals on Bristol board

It's auction season again and I was asked to donate a piece to the school where I worked for 25 years, until I 'retired' last June. If you follow this blog you may remember that last year, the curse was broken and not only did my three little pieces raise some serious money, there were people who were willing to match the highest bids so I did two more. This one is essentially the same design as last year, with different colors.

This is the song the children (and their parents!) sing each morning as they file into the classroom. A choir of angels!

Sweet Music

Quote by Stephen Sondheim, Artwork by Jody Meese
Gouache, Spectralite, gold leaf, colored pencils, "jewels", Pitt marker

 These little 5"X5" illuminated pieces (8"X8" framed) are so much fun to do, and perfect items for charity auctions. This one was for the Marin Girls' Chorus. My daughter, a former chorus member, sits on the Board.




Lucky for me, I had help with gilding from visiting calligraphy royalty, Harvest Crittenden! She also offered valuable critique and encouragement.


The mat is some marbled paper I picked up in town...after this photo was taken, I used a ruling pen to add a gold line about 1/4" from the inner edge.

Always fun to contribute to a worthy cause with something I enjoy creating!

Triple Threat



As a mom and school director, I have probably been involved in 25 or 30 charity auctions for schools and sports teams. Over the years it has become painfully clear I have absolutely no sense of what will attract the interest of bidders. Once I copied an item (non-calligraphic) I had seen go for $600 a few years before...then watched it go for 60 bucks, probably less than it cost to make it. Another time I donated anonymously--still no dice. I've even bought back my own stuff to be sure it didn't get tossed! In other words, I am the Kiss of Death (KOD) for auction items.

But I'm giving it one more shot this year! I've chosen three verses that are special to the children and known to the parents at the school, and illuminated the heck out of them. Gold leaf, crystals, Spectralite, Finetec, the works! I figure even if these babies don't go for much, I sure had a great time making them. Each is a little less than 5"x5", and I popped them into 8" x 8" frames.



Please hold a good thought that the KOD curse has lifted, and that these find good homes and raise some golden coins for the magical Mountain School!




Update 3/29/15: There were bidding wars and these puppies raised well over $1K for the school! Yesss! The curse is lifted.

Update 5/15/15: Two families offered to match the top bids on their favorite piece, so now we're over $1900!


My New Best Friend


So I've been playing around with colored pencils lately, and in one online tutorial it was suggested that one use a "colour shaper" tool (apparently used primarily for making designs in clay) to apply masking fluid, which is gooey gluey sticky stuff to keep the page white wherever it is applied, creating a spot of light on, say, an apple. And since I'm doing a lot of engrossing these days, my first thought was...Instacoll!

Instacoll (used for applying gold leaf), is great stuff but devilish to get out of a brush--also gooey gluey and sticky. Some teachers say to use a good brush and clean it well; others say not to. I have a dedicated brush labeled "Instacoll", but it's not exactly in pristine shape. Not helpful for the old brush control... 

But lo! Enter the Royal Sovereign Colour Shaper! It's a silicone tip (no bristles) and the Instacoll rubs right off it, good as new. It comes in different sizes; the one in the above photo is a #2 but I just bought a #0 (both pictured below) and haven't tried it yet. The tip on either one is fine enough to work  the small details.




Royal Sovereign Ltd. Colour Shapers #2 and #0

Anyone else playing around with these? How are they working for you?