In the spring of 2020, during which time I was sewing Covid 19 surgical masks for King County health care workers, I began work on a second book. Originally conceived as a booklet of biographical profiles, it evolved into a linen-bound hardcover book produced as an edition of 150 copies. Also a collaborative work, with my clients providing the colorfully written text, this book was fully illustrated by me with thoughtful, creative guidance from my clients. Calligraphic titles also added interest to the many profiles and historical additions.

The completed manuscript was sent to the publisher and binder in April of this year. Followers of my map artwork may be familiar with the large property map I did for this family in 2018: see my post on this HERE. In addition to images clipped from this map, I created many more for the book.

Custom border design for one of the profile pages.

This spread combines photos, image clips from the map, and one custom ink and watercolor illustration based on an old engraving.

One of my favorite spreads allowed me to draw a fun map showing aspects of the families' historical immigration routes and further travels in the Colonies.

Dumas Bay Centre in Federal Way was the first-time, urban location for The Art of Drawing Maps by Hand in 2019. The long, Pacific NW daylight hours provided our classroom with ample natural light for the hardworking 13 who took this challenging course. Meals were delivered to our private, adjoining dining room. As is typically the case once the mapmakers become immersed in their design work, many logged dawn to dark hours, making the most of the time set aside for immersion into map drawing. Here is a collection of photos (not all maps are included here) that show some of the work being done during class, and photos of some of the maps completed at home after the workshop. Please click on the photos to enlarge them. Appreciative thanks to Marilyn McGuire for supplying many of the photos shown here!

Full concentration is evident in this photo. We did have our lighter moments and Happy Hours, even.

There's a lot to cover in a relatively short time. The second day of this workshop is chock full of learning techniques.

Marie's preliminary design steps utilize tracing paper images that are ideal for tracing later.

Marie's finished map. Bright, clear and charming, it shows many natural and human-made elements within the 11"x14" map.

Above, Tim's tracing setup on his lightpad illustrates a key step in map drawing. His map is of a network of trails and other property landmarks showing visitors the way around his home.

Tim's completed map done in ink and colored pencil. This is the first such project he had ever done.

Yes, sunsets came and went but some soldiered on until closing time at 11 PM.

Sandy's map benefited from her R&D done prior to the workshop weekend. Her map illustrates her grandmother's journey from her small, tribal village in British Columbia by schooner to Seattle in 1923. Symbols of cultural importance add further meaning to this keepsake.

Mary's map integrates numerous memories from her childhood home. To create a lyrical, dreamlike quality, she lettered her texts in undulating lines.

Shan's map is of a favorite neighborhood in Georgetown, DC. His distinct drawing style evokes the Colonial era.

A map serving as a memoir: Gayle created an architectural-style map of her home, including all the sleeping spots enjoyed by her cat..

In this photo, most of the inking is done. Waterproof ink is used so that paint can be applied.

As an experienced "map drawer of imagined places," Pat branched out by creating many illustrations of alluring destinations on this map. He also added a voyager whose journey is mapped and labeled here.

Various ways of adding color to maps are demonstrated during the workshop.Spattering watercolor serves to add tint and texture to map areas needing accents.

Katy's map depicts her many-year journey through her education as a calligrapher. It folds up, map-style.

A custom cover and closure enclose Katy's map.

Anne's map was inspired by the siting of birds in the Dumas Bay vicinity. Her border designs show a solid grasp of ornamental design.

The final afternoon hours include photo ops, sharing of maps, and general levity. This group included five "grad students" from previous map workshops. My current plan is to schedule a map drawing retreat for any grads who would like to set aside a weekend to work on maps without the repeat of full instruction.

We are soggy up here in the NW corner. That's nothing new but we are especially saturated. So for a wine tasting party I decided to design an escapist's invitation to taste wines from Down Under. For this piece I used a pointed dip pen with sumi-e ink and watercolor on HP paper. One person who looked at this said that it appeared I had already started drinking wine when I was doing the artwork. Not true. I was just having some fun:

Click to enlarge. Personal information has been removed.

As an example of a "Personal Letter as Manuscript" the letter below was written by me to the students who had signed up for the mini-workshop I taught on May 2. Twenty students went right to work last Saturday at the Letters of Joy conference at Edmonds Community College. Watching these calligraphic artists launch into writing their letters was a moving experience. I took some photos of their work, but then realized that these were personal letters to real people so I will not post them. Kudos!! to all of my hard-working students.

A vintage Schaeffer calligraphy fountain pen (fine) and colored pencils were used on 8.5" x 11" Crane's stationery. I designed a lining guide that includes borders and boxes for placement of initial cap letters (versals). Gold gel pen was used to enhance the artwork and writing.

W by Linda O'Neill

HAT are "Versals?" Simply defined, they are emphasized capital letters that are used as the first letter of text in a manuscript of any kind. The term is relatively new, having been coined by Edward Johnston, the English "father" of the modern practice of calligraphy. Versals can be slim, broad, plain, or ornamented. Historically, they were filled in with solid color either with embellishment or left plain.

For the workshop I taught in Tacoma on October 17, my lessons were based on making versals using monoline pens rather than the traditional tools (quills, primarily) used on historic manuscripts. All the students in the class showed how observant they were in following the examples I gave them. In their examples below, you can see the range of variations they came up with (click on the photo for a larger view): 

After carefully drawing their letters in pencil and then inking over the pencil, students applied all kinds of decorative techniques to their letters done in different sizes. The monoline pens are very user-friendly, allowing calligraphers to create these letterforms in unlimited sizes. Note: these letters are not altogether drawn with the classic proportions of Trajan Romans. I selected the word ROMANS because it incorporates several letters that require us to learn the sequence of strokes while making them.

After warming up to the letter forms by first tracing them, the participants pencilled the letters and then inked them at 1" and at 1/2" heights. They then drew them at 1/4." If needed, they could draw them at 6" or a foot, even. For smaller letters and decorations, a finer-tipped pen was used. Once the letters were inked, watercolor or colored pencil was added in gradients, patterns, or solids. The goal of learning to make these letters was to have an alphabet that can readily be used for titles, signage, journal enhancements or cards. 

Precisely drawn letters are filled with graphic embellishment by Sandra W.

I brought in several antique manuscripts* that featured various kinds of versal letters including some that were similar to the basic form we were working on. Other versals were extremely ornate, such as the penmade cadels (thank you Sandra for that term!) that show in the photo below. The group of students was interested in what I pointed out about this manuscript on vellum from about 1600 AD. It came from a religious house in Spain and was purchased by a family friend in the 1960's.

A monumental antiphonal manuscript is discussed during a work break. A note to my students: the four-line staff did not go extinct with the development of more complex musical forms. Rather, it was restricted to Gregorian chant while the five-line staff served polyphonic musical composition. This clarifies how one small manuscript in my possession is dated 18th c. but has four-line staffs. *A side note about availability: one can still buy such manuscripts but from collectors and galleries only. A quick search online revealed this. A more rustic single page can cost in the 100's, but a more skilled and elaborate page would be in the thousands.

Small (1/4"), colorful letters with added dropshadows make this line of writing stand out. Very nice work! Thank you Tacoma Calligraphy Guild, Terri Kruger, and Randi Kander for inviting me to teach and for managing the day. To my students I also give thanks and I encourage you to keep up the excellent work! (Photos by Randi Kander and Jocelyn Curry)

Complex assignment projects appeal to me. I've had enough of them throughout my career so that if enough time goes by after the completion of one, I get to hankering to take on another. Earlier this year I posted another artwork from the same project for which the artwork below was completed in late January of this year. Both artworks are now installed in the Control Building visitors' area at the Skagit County PUD Judy Reservoir Water Treatment Plant. The installation is open to visitors so if you'd like to see a 7-foot version of this map on the wall there, you may schedule a visit and a tour of the facility!

I used Rapidograph pens and watercolor for this illustrated map showing where all the water comes from for Judy Reservoir. My work began with a tour of the water treatment facility. I took home a collection of survey maps and photos I took during the tour. To be honest, I was overwhelmed; where on earth would I start? This map came to me first. The original is about 10"x14". To view a larger image, please click on the map.

The scenic Diablo Lake peninsula trail (part of the Environmental Learning Center campus) is lined with magical wildflowers at this time of year. Here is a spread of dainty twinflowers thriving in the shade.

Billowing clouds and meandering waterways characterize class assistant Sarah's map.

Part II

Conventional maps can do no more than point the way to unpredictable, individual experience, while artworks embody those experiences. Katharine Harmon

Here you will see more expressive, personal maps from The Artful Map, A One-page Nature Journal held at the North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center June 20-22, 2014. Not all maps could be included, for which I apologize. Please excuse the gaps, as I try to make the blogging software do things it doesn't like to do!

To see larger versions of these photos, please click on each image.

Geological layers and dinosaurs are featured in Dave Braun's map.

He used letter forms derived from historic maps to further ornament and embellish a map that looks fictional but is indeed factual. Dave left his map uncolored so that it could be reproduced in black and white and offered as a page to be colored by visiting youth.

Designing for a full sheet of watercolor paper, Lyn Baldwin pencilled a large territorial map surrounded by titling, color codes, and significant tools used by natural journalists. In the photo below on the left, Lyn has created vignettes containing the ten essential gear items for a field journalist.

Mt. Rainier's Wonderland Trail is the subject of Jessi Loerch's memoir map. She filled her sheet of paper with meaningful drawings and quotes.

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In April, after a winter of no egg-laying happening in my girls' coop, the eggs started to appear. Being four years old this spring, the hens were supposed to be pretty much done with laying, or so all the despairing jumped-on-the-backyard-chicken-trend writers were saying. Not so with my three. To keep track of their production, I decided to have a little fun and design a way to visually monitor this unexpected abundance! Here you go:

Calendar form was drawn in pencil, and then inked in with a pointed pen. A very casual pen script was added along with freely written versal letters for the days of the week. I cut a little egg eraser stamp and used three colors of brown stamp pads for distinguishing who laid eggs on which day.

Years ago I did several jobs for a client whose life story unfolded by way of a series of calligraphic pieces he commissioned me to do. First: a written song with which to woo a love interest. Then, a poem to honor their marriage. Then, a poem commemorating their firstborn child, his daughter. Some years later, a poem to help him through the pain of their divorce. A few years later, I gave the daughter a private calligraphy lesson at my dining room table. Following this came another poem to woo another love interest! The most recent assignment from him: a row of musical notes that would be tattooed on his arm. This last project was in 2008, I believe. You can see how the work of calligraphers can take on significance in the lives of our clients.

Fast forward: I have another tattoo design assignment, but not from my longtime client. A woman who has been working her way through numerous life (and death) challenges within her extended family is once again calling upon my skills as a calligrapher to bring power to the word. Her chosen word will be tattooed on her wrist so that at any moment from now to the time she is in her last moments of life on earth, she can look at the word and draw strength and solace from it. And, when she can no longer speak, she plans to raise her wrist in farewell to those who may be present! Below are the choices I wrote out for her last week. They haven't been polished yet; she will select one, and I will do some retouching of the calligraphy to suit the tattoo artist's requirements:

This is the version my client is leaning toward.

At first look, this is the version that was preferred by my client. She liked the bird, and as she is not a "swirly" person (the O in the first version), this one spoke to her. But, after further review and after collecting opinions from her family, she will probably go with the top version.

When a prominent company comes seeking one's work, any freelance artist's heart beats a little faster. Such was the case when I was contacted by the design firm working on a new Starbucks product.

When I recently saw a display of Iced Coffee by Seattle's reknowned coffee giant, I reflected back to 1996 when I received the call and subsequently did the lettering for a new product: a bottled, carbonated, spiced and sweetened coffee. Sound a little odd? Well, it evidently was too odd, because the California test market for Mazagran ended with the scrapping of this bottled beverage. It never made it to most grocery store shelves. Indeed, I got my bottle from someone who ended up having a case of it in his garage! Read about Mazagran in this blog. The story is well-told by this coffee-loving blogger. He didn't say who did the lettering (maybe I should write to him), but the story does jive with what I was told at the time.

Shortly after the failure of Mazagran, Starbucks invented the Frappuccino™, which is still with us today. Again, hand lettering was used for the identity of this product. Incorporating personality into a name is the specialty of lettering artists, so we were frequently sought out by design teams in the 1990's. It's always a fun exploration to try expressive letters and words with pen and brush and submit them in hopes of capturing the spirit of the product.

Contemporary typography has shifted to a cleaner, more neutral style. A case in point: Iced Coffee. There's no story here, as with Mazagran. It's the straight-up beverage, something to chill and open up on a hot summer day. I'll save my bottle of iced coffee, not for the graphic design, but for the day when cold coffee actually sounds good.

My mid-90's lettering of "Mazagran" contrasts the contemporary presentation of "Iced Coffee." Click on the photo to see the lettering up close.

"frappuccino™" was also issued in the mid-90's, but it succeeded.