Archive for December, 2009
Plans for New Year’s Eve? Come Celebrate My Birthday!
I’ve been bugging my friend Jim for the past few year’s to do a gig on New Year’s Eve, (my birthday) and to my surprise, this year Drum the Ecstatic will be performing at a big bash 12/31 at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Manassas, Va. Continue Readering »
Artist Inspiration: More of Gentian’s Rhodia Pad Cover Art
Gentian’s art continues to blow me away…. Continue Readering »
Happy Holidays and Thank YOU for Your Support
Karen Doherty, VP of Marketing for Exaclair & Stephanie Smith, Rhodia Driver
Wishing you and your families the happiest of holidays!
Be well, be safe, & with much love -
Stephanie
Vagabond
Last week I was in the fabulous bookstore, Kinokuniya, doing some Christmas shopping for my son and nephew. All three of us enjoy manga.
One of my favorites for both artwork and story is the ongoing series, Vagabond, by Takehiko Inoue. It is a fictionalized account of Miyamoto Musashi’s life, based on a loose adaptation of Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel, Musashi.
Miyamoto Musashi (c.1584-1645), also known as Shinmen Takezo, was a Japanese swordsman and samurai famed for his duels and distinctive style. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his superb swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He developed his own style and school of sword-fighting. Musashi is the author of The Book of Five Rings, a book on strategy, tactics and philosophy that is still studied today. He was also a painter and calligrapher.
Does anyone know if manga is created on sheets or notebooks? Do artists generally ink with a pen or calligraphy nib?
Learn more about Vagabond author Takehiko Inoue here.
Remembering Days Gone By
Having a birthday on the very last day of the year always gives me cause for reflection. I think about the things I did this year, 10 years ago, 20 years ago… Continue Readering »
Sophie’s Hook
Image courtesy of Flickr member Sophie.
Sophie’s caption on this photo read:
“An orange stimulator I found on the floor – or actually, hooked onto my sock – the other day. We have a bad habit of sticking flies in our pockets or hooking them onto our jackets, thus their sudden reappearance in unexpected places. Friday, Nov 13.”
Ok, I’m intrigued. I have absolutely no idea what an orange stimulator is, but I think I know enough that it’s referring to the fancy fishhook sitting atop of the Rhodia pad. Continue Readering »
New Clairefontaine Graf it Sketch Pads – Have you tried them?
Image courtesy of Biffybeans © All Rights Reserved
These spiffy new Clairefontaine 90g Graf it pads are sitting on my “To Review” pile. I’m wondering how the paper compares with the paper in the Clairefontaine Sketch Pads. (Which I like.) Continue Readering »
Rhodia Pencils in Your Pocket…
Photo courtesy of Flickr member Lesli.
Looking for an inexpensive item for a Holiday Gift Exchange? How about a few brightly colored Rhodia pencils? Continue Readering »
Exaclair’s Photo Archive
Several times a week I get requests from retailers, editors and writers looking for specific product photos. I direct them all to check Exaclair’s web archive of images: Exaclairretailers.com. Continue Readering »
Webnotebook Review from Cynthia of JournalingArts
Image courtesy of Beautiful Living © All Rights Reserved
Cynthia, from our December Spotlight Retailer JournalingArts.com, recently wrote a comparison review that included the small version of the Webnotebook on her JournalingArts blog:
Pros
- Clear, sharp text with no apparent feathering, even when using a fountain pen and markers Continue Readering »
Something to Ponder on a Monday Morning
Image courtesy of Flickr member neloqua
Sometimes one of the hardest things you can do is to allow one door to close so another can open. In my life, I’ve had a nasty habit of holding on to things longer than I should- but lately, I’ve been getting much better at letting go and the following quote nicely sums up how I’ve been approaching my 40′s:
“After you’ve done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over.” ~Alfred Edward Perlman, New York Times, 3 July 1958
Warming Up To Brown Ink
I”ve tested a large number of fountain pen inks this past year and one of the biggest surprises I’ve found is that I actually like brown ink. Continue Readering »
What do you do with your used Bloc Rhodia pads?
Image courtesy of Flickr member Wink
After finding the image above in our Rhodia Drive Flickr Photo Pool, I sent Wink a message asking her to tell me more… Continue Readering »
Rhodia Supports The Blackout : crudmag artist showcase and community fundraiser for West Side Arts
Rhodia recently acted as a sponsor for crudmag’s The Blackout - a showcase of up-and-coming talents and brands poised to make a difference in their local communities and the world. A handful of graphic artists, fashion labels, musicians, DJs, aficionados and media outlets gathered for a special night to celebrate in Providence, Rhode Island for the sake of human creativity and to help raise funds for philanthropic community projects overseen by West Side Arts. Continue Readering »
Users Review The Exacompta Sketchbook – Is it THE Ultimate Art Journal?
Image courtesy of Sophie @ All Rights Reserved
As Karen mentioned in Thursday’s blog post, Exaclair imports a number of products under the Clairefontaine umbrella – including the Exacompta Sketchbook shown above. Also known as the Livres d’Or “Basics” line of journals, they contain a 100g laid paper made at the 400 year old Schut Mill (owned by Clairefontaine) in the Netherlands. Continue Readering »
