The lost art of letter writing

With the revolution of the internet it is easier than ever, texting, tweeting, status updating – as a consequence letter writing has fallen by the way side and now, it is often bills or junk mail that fill our letter boxes instead of personal communication. Last year my partner at the time (now husband) went to Ireland for three months, there he had limited internet and as the time-zones were quite different phone calls were expensive and hard to coordinate. So for everyday of those three months I hand-wrote him a letter to help keep our communication channels open. It wasn’t easy and I didn’t follow all of the rules listed below (I used lined paper most of the time), but all of the letters were hand written… he said on his return that it was the highlight of his day receiving my letter in the post, he has kept all of my letters to him and I certainly kept the letters he sent me.

A quick foxy project

It is probably time I demonstrated a project of my own, although I do love doing profiles on other artists — It gives you a goal to aim for in excellence.

Today I will be posting about the processes I go through when cutting a new project. I have started with a basic option today and I have selected this cute fox as my starting point.

If you like this project the finished cut is available for sale on ETSY at:

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/162448814/fox-paper-cut-10in-diameter-unframed-fox

Finished fox paper cut

The journey of paper: China

I really wanted to write a story about chiyogami, but somehow it felt like I was jumping the queue – I will get to the Japanese papers in good time. I have taken a few steps back to help myself at least gain a better understanding and ‘refresh’ on the world changing invention that was paper. I work with paper on a daily basis, and as I look around my living room, I see so many uses of paper in my daily life that I take for granted. I know it is made from wood pulp, I even loved making my own recycled paper as a child, but I can’t remember ever stopping to really look into its history and the process behind it.

Artist profile: Yulia Brodskaya

As a designer seeking inspiration, the Internet, for me at least, plays a critical role in seeking new ideas and current trends. I can remember the day I stumbled upon the website and fine quilling art of Yulia Brodskaya, it was like a whole new window had been opened to my career and the view was amazing. As corny as it might sound, I believe finding Yulia’s website changed my life… Not in a ‘single white female’ way… But I was inspired…

Yulia is a Russian born artist, illustrator, crafter and typographer who lives in the United Kingdom. Her long list of commercial clients is ever growing. Her website is an amazing collection of works ranging across her spectrum of skills.

Why I love paper

where do I start? I love paper!

I am a print designer entering the age of digital and I feel so excited to be venturing into the stratosphere of technology and learning a plethora of new skills. However! I cannot help but feel that so much is lost by viewing our universe on an illuminated monitor – the texture, the smell, the taste, the tangibility that is denying our other senses.. That which makes it ‘real’. Ironically I end up writing a blog made up of many thousands of bytes, and many millions of pixels brought to you by the power on wireless signal transmitting in the ether… Confusing much?

In this blog I hope to explore the richness and luxury that is paper, how it is used, how it is made and also investigate my own fascination with the material and how it can be manipulated to achieve various results.