Label for Blackberry Jelly
Copyright © 2008, E. Bachman
Well, it seems another week has come and gone. I don’t know where the time goes, but it sure goes by a lot faster every year.
The blackberry label is finally done. I’m working in a 6.75″ square, and it’s hard to fit long words into it. See what I mean?
Layout for label
I dink around trying to fit it all in, and all of a sudden it magically fits! And you know what else? I did the exact same thing with the strawberry label! However, the C was much easier to fit in than the W. It’s not that I can’t spell, it’s that the letters stop being a word, and become part of a design. By the sixth or seventh time you try to get it all smushed in there, it’s just easier to leave part of it out.
Fortunately, I discovered the error before I added any ink, but it was a close call on both occasions. Really close!
Technorati Tags: art, illustration, label, blackberry
category: Home Canning author: Lisa B. comments: 5 Comments
December 27th, 2008
County Courthouse
Ink and Watercolor pens
A petit jury is not what it sounds like; it is not a jury that resolves petty disagreements, and there are no small furry animals involved. I would have preferred the small, furry animals.
The jury I sat with had to decide a case against a young man involved in a shooting at a local McDonald’s. I was chosen as an alternate juror, and thankfully, was not tasked with deciding the outcome. I still have no idea what the verdict was, but it was a stressful experience for all of us.
The courthouse was built in 1996, and is a beautiful building. The walls are a creamy yellow, and not that gaudy one I tried to do some shading with. The thick posts surround an opening where light from the skylight penetrates to the ground floor. The electrical lighting was soft, and a great deal of it was indirect. It was very easy on the eyes.
There were built-in benches all over the place, and I made use of them over the lunch hour. There’s a lovely cafeteria on the ground floor, but I kept my pennies in my pocket and brought my own food. The pictures on the wall are photos of judges that are currently employed by the county. There are twelve altogether, with six on each of the facing walls.
There’s no parking at the courthouse without a special permit, so I rode the shuttle bus from a nearby parking lot that had lots of room. It was about a five minute trip, and the buses run from the courthouse to the parking lot all day long.
Kudos to the county for making jury duty as painless as possible. There was free coffee and hot chocolate available to those of us in the jury pool, and a $5000.00 fine plus 30 days in jail for those who chose not to show up.
Technorati Tags: art, sketch, jury duty
category: Miscellaneous, Sketchbook author: Lisa B. comments: 2 Comments
December 18th, 2008
Greek Alphabet Letters
Faber-Castell Ink Pens
I don’t speak Greek. I know Baklava, and a few of Aesop’s Fables, but that’s about the extent of it.
Anyway, today we have the third and fourth letters of the Greek alphabet; gamma, and delta. Yep, that’s right, gamma comes before delta, and I didn’t find anything that resembled the letter “C.”
Deltas are triangular areas of land formed at the mouth of a river by sediments carried downstream and subsequently deposited. Deltas are extremely important to wetland areas, and gamblers on the Mississippi.
Gamma Rays were a gift to the ancient Greeks from Aesculapius, the god of healing. The local dentists used the poisonous venom from their stingers as a powerful anesthetic during oral surgery. Once populous in the Aegean Sea, they were also quite tasty, and hunted to extinction about 300 B.C.
Isn’t learning a new alphabet just all kinds of fun?!?
Technorati Tags: art, illustration, drawing, Greek alphabet
category: Alphabet Art author: Lisa B. comments: 7 Comments
December 13th, 2008
Label for Chili Sauce, Ink
Copyright ©2008, E. Bachman
Fat n’ happy. I’ve often wondered about that phrase. Frankly, if fat people were happy, The Biggest Loser wouldn’t be a hit TV show on three continents, and I wouldn’t mind the yearly holiday weight gain.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, along with one turkey, one ham, stuffing (with almonds!), two sweet potato pies, sweet corn casserole, and a bowl of green beans. Thank goodness for the green beans. They were the only low-calorie item on our plates! So, how are your jeans fitting this week?
No, I did not put chili sauce on the turkey, but I’m just about done with the labels. One more, and I can start formatting them for the printer. I may even have them done in time for next year’s efforts!
Technorati Tags: drawing, label, chili sauce, Thanksgiving, menu
category: Home Canning author: Lisa B. comments: 5 Comments
December 2nd, 2008
Label for Strawberry Jam, Faber-Castell Ink Pens
Copyright ©2008, E. Bachman
Okay readers, have you had your flu shot this year? No? Well, it’s coming, and I’m glad I got mine. You see, sometimes after you get a flu shot, you’ll exhibit symptoms of said bug. This isn’t always the case, but I’ve had “mock flu” after a shot on more than one occasion. The symptoms usually don’t persist longer than 24 hours, but this year it was a full 36 hours before I was back to normal.
So, if you’re not going to get yourself vaccinated, this is what you can look forward to: you’ll start with a queasy tummy, followed by a tightening in your chest. After a while, your neck will start to ache, and gradually move all the way down your back. This is followed with a cold chill that no amount of blankets will warm, dizziness, weakness in your arms and legs, and a topsy-turvy tummy that prevents you from eating anything that might make you feel better.
Now, if this sounds like fun, you can also look forward to several days off work. It’s your choice, but why not head down to the nearest Minute Clinic and let the nice technician stick you in the arm. It won’t take very long, and if you cry like a baby, he might even give you a lollipop. Then, when everyone else is dropping like flies, you’ll still be able to shovel snow off the driveway.
Technorati Tags: home canning, labels, strawberry jam, flu shots
category: Home Canning author: Lisa B. comments: 2 Comments
November 25th, 2008
Alphabeta Soup
Handbook Journal, Ink and Colored Pencil
So, now that the alphabet series is complete, what’s next on my agenda? Well, someone suggested that I do the whole thing all over again using the Greek alphabet. Good grief. I don’t know about doing a whole nuther alphabet series, but I’d hate to disappoint anybody! So, here ya go (you know who you are), alphabeta soup. I think Andy would be pleased.
Technorati Tags: alpha, beta, soup
category: Alphabet Art author: Lisa B. comments: 6 Comments
November 19th, 2008
Z is for…
Ink, Colored Pencil
Z is for zinnober, zircon white, and zinc yellow. Z is for zoho, a Japanese method of calligraphic overlapping using a brush, and Zig calligraphy supplies. Z is for zincography, a printing process using zinc plates.
Z is for zip, the vertical lines pained in the works of abstract expressionist Barnett Newman. Z is for zebrawood, and for zoomorphic, paintings with animal attributes. Z is for zoopraxiscope and zeotrope, early mechanical devices for simulating movement and animation.
Z is for…
Ink, Colored Pencil
Z is for Zatzka, Zinnogger, Zampighi, and Zoffany, an original member of the Royal Academy who was nominated by King George III. Z is for Ziem, Zatti, Zorach, and Zorn, known for his watercolors and three color palatte. Z is for the Danish painer Kristian Zahrtmann, and for Johannes Zehngraf, who painted three of the “surprise” miniatures found in some Faberge’s eggs, and finally, Z is for…
~ ZEE END ~
Technorati Tags: art, illustration, alphabet
category: Alphabet Art author: Lisa B. comments: 8 Comments
November 17th, 2008
Y is for…
Ink
Y is for yellow. Y is for the Yucca leaves that Native Americans used for paint brushes. Y is for yarn used by textile artists, and for yard, a unit of measure for really big paintings. Y is for celebrating YAM (Youth Art Month) every March.
Y is for yugen, one of the ten Japanese qualities of mysterious skills that can be felt, but not defined, and the Yayoi art period of ancient Japan. Y is for Yarka pastels and drawing crayons, and for Yupo synthetic paper.
Y is for…
Ink
Y is for Young, Yeames, Yelland, and Yu-Tang Yang, a notable pen and ink artist. Y is for Yvon, Yewell, Yon, and Yanow, contemporary pastellist and member of the PSA.
Y is for having a yen for art, and that’s no yolk!
Technorati Tags: art, drawing, illustration, alphabet
category: Alphabet Art author: Lisa B. comments: 7 Comments
November 6th, 2008
X is for…
Ink, Colored Pencil
X is for X-Acto. X is for Xanthorrhoea, an Australian resin that’s colored either yellow-gold, or ruby-red. X is for Xylem, makers of elegant easels, and for Xyron, when you need stickers or lamination. X is for toxic solvents like Xylol and xylene.
X is for…
Ink, Colored Pencil
X is for Xanthic, from the Greek word for yellow. X is for xerography, a dry process of photocopying, and for xylography, a printing technique using ink. X is for xylo, from the Greek, meaning wood, and for X-ray techniques used by xperts who reveal old paintings under new.
X is for Xavery, Xeller, and Ximeno. X is for Ximenes, and Ximenez.
X is for getting new art supplies for xmas.
Technorati Tags: art, illustration, alphabet, X
category: Alphabet Art author: Lisa B. comments: 8 Comments
October 20th, 2008
W is for…
Ink, Colored Pencil
W is for white, whether zinc, titanium, or lead. W is for weld, an obsolete yellow and woad, a dark blue similar to indigo. W is for waza, Japanese for technique.
W is for watercolor. W is for waterbrushes, washi paper, and working wet into wet. W is for watermark, a translucent design impressed in fine papers, and more recently, a copyright notice on images displayed on the web. W is for weaving, wood burning, and woodcut prints. W is for wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic of beauty in all things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
W is for…
Ink, Colored Pencil
W is for wedges in wooden stretchers, and wedging your clay to remove air pockets. W is for wheat paste, white spirits, and whiting used to prepare gesso. W is for wire sculptures, wire hangers, and the waffled texture of wove paper. W is for walnut oil, Winsor & Newton, and that wonderful workbench built by your spouse.
W is for Weyden, Whistler, and Weistling. W is for Watts, Waterhouse, and Weeks. W is for Wyeth, Waite, and Woodburne.
Technorati Tags: art, drawing, illustration, alphabet
category: Alphabet Art author: Lisa B. comments: 4 Comments
October 10th, 2008
