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#Aston Letter!!!

15 messages in this thread
#123991From: Jerry NovakMay 12, 1988 5:06 PM
Just got your ashton petition. T H A N K S !!! I just hope that the others on this forum can get some signatures to me soon…. BTW, did it take you long to write like that? I love the writting…You should go into caligraphy if you aren't already! Jer
#124234From: Richard Rae/SYSOPMay 13, 1988 8:23 PM
Thanks for the compliments, Jerry. I don't remember doing anything extra-special on your envelope, so it probably got banged right out. That actually WAS calligraphy, though written at a much faster rate than the art deserves. I do it out of self-defense, as no one can read my handwriting. I don't do it as a vocation though; I'm not good enough for that. Actually, unless you have some problems like arthritis or somesuch, anyone can learn calligraphy. It's really fairly straightforward; it just takes an understanding of the basic forms and enough patience to SLOW DOWN. Next time you're at an art supply store, check out the felt-tips; you can buy a narrow-tip calligraphy pen (wider than what I was using there, but okay to tinker with) and an introductory booklet for under a buck. If you don't like it you haven't lost much, as you get a magic marker out of it. And if you find out it really IS as easy as I'm telling you… why then you go out and buy a REAL pen. 8) Good luck with YOUR letter! Rick
#124261From: Doug WingerMay 13, 1988 9:12 PM
AAAARRRGH! FELT TIP??? You..you…_blasphemer_ you! If at least one of your fingertips isn't smeared with india ink then it isn't calligraphy! Remember, when you write the best, a Speedball C-5 is your very best friend.
#124368From: John DraperMay 14, 1988 5:08 AM
Of course you do grind your own ink… right???? <glaring> 🙂
#124389From: Doug WingerMay 14, 1988 8:40 AM
Don't laugh, but I used to. 8)
#124389From: Doug WingerMay 14, 1988 8:40 AM
Don't laugh, but I used to. 8)
#124368From: John DraperMay 14, 1988 5:08 AM
Of course you do grind your own ink… right???? <glaring> 🙂
#124382From: Richard Rae/SYSOPMay 14, 1988 6:48 AM
Hey look, I'm trying to get a new user hooked, okay? If he finds out he likes it the felt-tip will be relegated to drawing thick lines long before the ink runs out; once he tries his first real pen he'll never go back. But you gotta start somewheres. <"Here kid, the first one's free."> Anyways, I've survived quite nicely all this time not having touched Speedballs OR India ink, thank you very much. I do have some Dexter nibs I use when I need an odd size, but for most of my work I have a collection of a half-dozen Osmiroids and about a dozen nibs that I swap in and out. Makes it MUCH easier to move around (I wanna see you carry a "loaded" C-5-on-a-stick in YOUR shirt pocket 8) and is infinitely more convenient. AND I don't get ink all over myself, either. Someday I'll hit a project which demands the quality inherent in India ink and I will move up to it. For now my abilities just don't warrant it.
#124390From: Doug WingerMay 14, 1988 8:40 AM
Well, I'm more a draughtsman than a caligrapher, so I usually carry a set of Rapidographs. <sigh> Ever since they went to that ridiculous metric nib with the tiny pen I've been loathe to use them as they will eventually break, and somehow a 1.25 will never be the same as a 00. However, I _will_ still have the pens! <eyeing collection with satisfied smile of compulsive collector> And how are you today, my pretties? <semi-deranged cackle> If you ever do 'move up' to india ink (it does have that nice velour look, and is dark as midnight in a coal mine) be sure to have a scratch sheet handy, and be prepared to scrub (and I do mean scrub!) your hands afterwards. You will sit back, ink stained and spattered, and be absolutely overcome with the beauty you have created. Or in my case, sit back overcome with the beauty I have creatively spattered and inkstained. <sigh> Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!
#124438From: Roy S. LauferMay 14, 1988 5:32 PM
Which reminds me of something I half-saw on television about a corpse prepared for a funeral wearing a T-shirt that said "Yesterday was the Last Day of the Rest of My Life!" Some sit-com I believe… <Ducking for cover…>
#124438From: Roy S. LauferMay 14, 1988 5:32 PM
Which reminds me of something I half-saw on television about a corpse prepared for a funeral wearing a T-shirt that said "Yesterday was the Last Day of the Rest of My Life!" Some sit-com I believe… <Ducking for cover…>
#124390From: Doug WingerMay 14, 1988 8:40 AM
Well, I'm more a draughtsman than a caligrapher, so I usually carry a set of Rapidographs. <sigh> Ever since they went to that ridiculous metric nib with the tiny pen I've been loathe to use them as they will eventually break, and somehow a 1.25 will never be the same as a 00. However, I _will_ still have the pens! <eyeing collection with satisfied smile of compulsive collector> And how are you today, my pretties? <semi-deranged cackle> If you ever do 'move up' to india ink (it does have that nice velour look, and is dark as midnight in a coal mine) be sure to have a scratch sheet handy, and be prepared to scrub (and I do mean scrub!) your hands afterwards. You will sit back, ink stained and spattered, and be absolutely overcome with the beauty you have created. Or in my case, sit back overcome with the beauty I have creatively spattered and inkstained. <sigh> Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!
#124382From: Richard Rae/SYSOPMay 14, 1988 6:48 AM
Hey look, I'm trying to get a new user hooked, okay? If he finds out he likes it the felt-tip will be relegated to drawing thick lines long before the ink runs out; once he tries his first real pen he'll never go back. But you gotta start somewheres. <"Here kid, the first one's free."> Anyways, I've survived quite nicely all this time not having touched Speedballs OR India ink, thank you very much. I do have some Dexter nibs I use when I need an odd size, but for most of my work I have a collection of a half-dozen Osmiroids and about a dozen nibs that I swap in and out. Makes it MUCH easier to move around (I wanna see you carry a "loaded" C-5-on-a-stick in YOUR shirt pocket 8) and is infinitely more convenient. AND I don't get ink all over myself, either. Someday I'll hit a project which demands the quality inherent in India ink and I will move up to it. For now my abilities just don't warrant it.
#124261From: Doug WingerMay 13, 1988 9:12 PM
AAAARRRGH! FELT TIP??? You..you…_blasphemer_ you! If at least one of your fingertips isn't smeared with india ink then it isn't calligraphy! Remember, when you write the best, a Speedball C-5 is your very best friend.
#124234From: Richard Rae/SYSOPMay 13, 1988 8:23 PM
Thanks for the compliments, Jerry. I don't remember doing anything extra-special on your envelope, so it probably got banged right out. That actually WAS calligraphy, though written at a much faster rate than the art deserves. I do it out of self-defense, as no one can read my handwriting. I don't do it as a vocation though; I'm not good enough for that. Actually, unless you have some problems like arthritis or somesuch, anyone can learn calligraphy. It's really fairly straightforward; it just takes an understanding of the basic forms and enough patience to SLOW DOWN. Next time you're at an art supply store, check out the felt-tips; you can buy a narrow-tip calligraphy pen (wider than what I was using there, but okay to tinker with) and an introductory booklet for under a buck. If you don't like it you haven't lost much, as you get a magic marker out of it. And if you find out it really IS as easy as I'm telling you… why then you go out and buy a REAL pen. 8) Good luck with YOUR letter! Rick