My tribute to Margaret Spiess

The tribute I wrote for the Society for Calligraphy website, was too long, so I'm posting it here. Please be sure to zoom in, if needed:

Round Robin Journal Exchange

We met yesterday, for the fourth gathering of our round robin journal group. There are six of us, five calligraphers and one artistic friend, Sharon, who dabbles with lettering.
   I'm staying with my mom for a few weeks, while she recovers after surgery. I drove home for a few supplies, and made do with those. I do think I get more creative when faced with limited options.
  This page was in Sharon's book, originally entitled Japan in a Nutshell. I choose the section, Ginkos.
   I collaged the background from the insides of used security envelopes. I added accents from old green stamps; a label with "Ginko" in handwriting, rather than formal calligraphy; used postage stamps.
   Watercolors were painted on the back of ginko leaves, then pressed onto drawing paper. The drawing paper didn't seem as conducive to good results as other paper I've used in the past--it was, however, good enough for my purposes. I cut them out, arranged, and collaged them. Since I didn't have my matte medium with me, I used glue stick, which doesn't always stick as well as I'd like, so stitching on my mom's Bernina was added to make this more permanent.
   This was fun--I plan to do more!

Wedding Card

Last weekend, my sister was visiting and wanted a card to take to a wedding, so I created this for her. It was done in somewhat of a rush, so I still plan to make some modifications to the lettering.  She was very happy with the result.

The foliage was done with a fine point pen and watercolor. The roses and leaves were watercolored, then cut out and collaged. The blue background was created in photoshop, to add a little contrast.

Inside is the sentiment with which the This day was associated.