I was going to post some pictures from Em's party, but blogger isn't cooperating right now. I'll have to do that later!! Instead, I'll post about one of my hobbies that can sometimes be lucrative - calligraphy.
As a child, I loved visiting my grandparents in West Chester, PA and have fond memories of riding (on my grandfather's lap) to the milk store, playing in their trailer, chasing bunnies around and out of my grandfather's garden and playing with all the strange and wonderful things that grandparents always seem to have lying around their homes!! We spent so much time at my grandparents house that I even remember all my friend's I made there. There were the sisters next door, Lauren and Taren, the girl across the street with the pool - Tony and then the girl up the street, Barbie, whose family won a trip to Disney World off a Cheerios box.
My grandparents lived in a ranch house on a nice size piece of land with some strange rectory or something behind them. I'll never forget the time my grandmother offered to pay us 1 cent for every dandelion we picked. She failed to mention that she was talking about HER dandelions, so we went straight for that field behind the house, the one that was rarely mowed, and we picked dandelions to our hearts content!! My poor grandmother didn't even have enough pennies to cover all the ones we brought to her, but she had plenty of yellow weeds left in her own yard!
I also remember being very intrigued by my grandfather. He was so creative, a carpenter, draftsman, perfectionist. His basement was half workshop, half gameroom. He had a pool table (and taught me well!), an air hockey table, shuffle board painted on the floor and a ping pong table that doubled as his dollhouse building workshop. I also remember spending hours at the desk using his typewriter and allll his typing paper. Grandparents are known for their generosity with supplies parents are generally unwilling to share freely!
My grandfather was very organized, all his screws were in baby food jars, labeled and arranged by size on his homemade shelves. He also kept a coffee can full of nail and a box of scrapwood. Those were my favorites! Papa would help me choose the correct pieces, we would put them in the vise, plane them smooth, sand them and then proceed to nail all the scrap pieces together. I received many a blood blister in that basement!
Of course, being the perfectionist that he was, we didn't stop there. We continued on with the staining or painting so that we had a completed and final project. I don't have a single one of those creations - I'm quite certain they ended up in that huge garbage bin that I watched my grandfather toss his mistakes into while yelling, "Oh, phooey!!!" Then there was my grandmother, who always nursed my blood blisters while rolling her eyes and huffing at my grandfather's lack of concern over them with an, "Oh, Good NIGHT!" They were both so predictable!
The one talent of my grandfather's that I really desired to own was his precision in lettering. I'm sure this began from his training as a draftsman. But, like everything else in my grandfather's life, he honed this skill until it reached his level of perfection. He was a calligrapher, sign maker, engraver, and he taught me everything he knew about all those things. I'm not nearly as proficient as he was in all those things, but I am a calligrapher. While he introduced me to this art form, he's not the one who taught me. I wanted to know how to do this when I was 10 years old, and he didn't have the patience for me at that age. Instead, I learned by accident!
When I was in junior high school, a friend of mine and her mom had signed up to take calligraphy. They asked if I could babysit her brother while they went to this evening adult education class. After the first night, her mom decided she was not interested and offered to send me in her place. It was great fun!! About 12 weeks of class and I loved every minute of it! I've been doing calligraphy ever since.
Right now, I mostly attend Creative Memories functions and do work in scrapbooks. I also, on occasion, have addressed envelopes for various functions. I do much work for friends and it's on a pay me if you want to kind of basis. In other, I could never charge a friend, but most of them give me something. I do wedding invitations, corporate invitations, etc. Last year, a friend of a friend asked me to do a small project. It actually ended up being a very lucrative project, although I had meant it to be a gift. Now, T has decided I should get to work!!
I actually love calligraphy - it's fun for me and I would hate to ruin that by making it a job. I love being able to offer something to friends that they will cherish and enjoy at an affordable (free mostly!) rate. It also allows me to reminisce about my grandfather, whom I love dearly. Since he passed away several years ago I find that I cherish each little creation that he made even more than before. To have carried on a talent is even a deeper connection, as I know he was proud that someone in the family enjoyed his artistry.
Someday, I may turn this into a business, but for now it's just an outlet and service for people and friends who appreciate it. Kt has always been interested in learning it, of course, we'll have to work on that handwriting a bit first!! Not to mention, I'm a lefty and I'm not sure I can teach a righty how to do this. Aw, just kidding! I can teach it - but only if it's something you REALLY want to learn. We'll see about Kt!
As a child, I loved visiting my grandparents in West Chester, PA and have fond memories of riding (on my grandfather's lap) to the milk store, playing in their trailer, chasing bunnies around and out of my grandfather's garden and playing with all the strange and wonderful things that grandparents always seem to have lying around their homes!! We spent so much time at my grandparents house that I even remember all my friend's I made there. There were the sisters next door, Lauren and Taren, the girl across the street with the pool - Tony and then the girl up the street, Barbie, whose family won a trip to Disney World off a Cheerios box.
My grandparents lived in a ranch house on a nice size piece of land with some strange rectory or something behind them. I'll never forget the time my grandmother offered to pay us 1 cent for every dandelion we picked. She failed to mention that she was talking about HER dandelions, so we went straight for that field behind the house, the one that was rarely mowed, and we picked dandelions to our hearts content!! My poor grandmother didn't even have enough pennies to cover all the ones we brought to her, but she had plenty of yellow weeds left in her own yard!
I also remember being very intrigued by my grandfather. He was so creative, a carpenter, draftsman, perfectionist. His basement was half workshop, half gameroom. He had a pool table (and taught me well!), an air hockey table, shuffle board painted on the floor and a ping pong table that doubled as his dollhouse building workshop. I also remember spending hours at the desk using his typewriter and allll his typing paper. Grandparents are known for their generosity with supplies parents are generally unwilling to share freely!
My grandfather was very organized, all his screws were in baby food jars, labeled and arranged by size on his homemade shelves. He also kept a coffee can full of nail and a box of scrapwood. Those were my favorites! Papa would help me choose the correct pieces, we would put them in the vise, plane them smooth, sand them and then proceed to nail all the scrap pieces together. I received many a blood blister in that basement!
Of course, being the perfectionist that he was, we didn't stop there. We continued on with the staining or painting so that we had a completed and final project. I don't have a single one of those creations - I'm quite certain they ended up in that huge garbage bin that I watched my grandfather toss his mistakes into while yelling, "Oh, phooey!!!" Then there was my grandmother, who always nursed my blood blisters while rolling her eyes and huffing at my grandfather's lack of concern over them with an, "Oh, Good NIGHT!" They were both so predictable!
The one talent of my grandfather's that I really desired to own was his precision in lettering. I'm sure this began from his training as a draftsman. But, like everything else in my grandfather's life, he honed this skill until it reached his level of perfection. He was a calligrapher, sign maker, engraver, and he taught me everything he knew about all those things. I'm not nearly as proficient as he was in all those things, but I am a calligrapher. While he introduced me to this art form, he's not the one who taught me. I wanted to know how to do this when I was 10 years old, and he didn't have the patience for me at that age. Instead, I learned by accident!
When I was in junior high school, a friend of mine and her mom had signed up to take calligraphy. They asked if I could babysit her brother while they went to this evening adult education class. After the first night, her mom decided she was not interested and offered to send me in her place. It was great fun!! About 12 weeks of class and I loved every minute of it! I've been doing calligraphy ever since.
Right now, I mostly attend Creative Memories functions and do work in scrapbooks. I also, on occasion, have addressed envelopes for various functions. I do much work for friends and it's on a pay me if you want to kind of basis. In other, I could never charge a friend, but most of them give me something. I do wedding invitations, corporate invitations, etc. Last year, a friend of a friend asked me to do a small project. It actually ended up being a very lucrative project, although I had meant it to be a gift. Now, T has decided I should get to work!!
I actually love calligraphy - it's fun for me and I would hate to ruin that by making it a job. I love being able to offer something to friends that they will cherish and enjoy at an affordable (free mostly!) rate. It also allows me to reminisce about my grandfather, whom I love dearly. Since he passed away several years ago I find that I cherish each little creation that he made even more than before. To have carried on a talent is even a deeper connection, as I know he was proud that someone in the family enjoyed his artistry.
Someday, I may turn this into a business, but for now it's just an outlet and service for people and friends who appreciate it. Kt has always been interested in learning it, of course, we'll have to work on that handwriting a bit first!! Not to mention, I'm a lefty and I'm not sure I can teach a righty how to do this. Aw, just kidding! I can teach it - but only if it's something you REALLY want to learn. We'll see about Kt!
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