Archive for Artist Inspiration
Water Damaged
One day when I was searching Flickr for “Rhodia” I came across the following images.
Turns out that Sandy Chidester, a bookbinding hobbiest, created this book using Rhodia paper. Continue Readering »
Artist Inspiration: Ann Rinkenberger from Harvest Moon by Hand
Artist Ann Rinkenberger from the blog Harvest Moon by Hand is our inspiration for today. After many years in the non-profit sector (with the last 8 of that founding/operating/directing a children’s art and farm camp), Ann is now a stay-at-home mom who homeschools her two daughters. She says that this is perhaps the most challenging – and rewarding – position she’s held.
“I feel so fortunate each day that I get to spend teaching and learning with the girls.” Continue Readering »
DIY Mini Portfolio
In a random search on Google, I found a giantMONSTERblog post about creating a mini portfolio from a Rhodia notebook. The blog is by Justin Chin, a game designer, artist and writer.
“I’m always trying out new ways to show potential clients my work,” he said. “It all sounds pretentious and ego driven but how else are you going to show anyone the things you do? Honestly, in my world visuals are a must.”
“Instead of doing the traditional portfolio I decided to make a ‘low rez’ booklet. The intent was not to do anything high falutin’ or serious but just be scrappy and raw. It’s made from a torn apart and rebuilt Rhodia notepad.”
See all the photos of this project here.
Visit Justin’s other site – infinite machine – here.
Les Encres de Monsieur Herbin by Tree Riesener
Happy New Year!
2010 marks the 340th anniversary of J. Herbin, a Paris-based maker of inks and sealing wax. Many people use fountain pens with their Rhodia pads, and have an Herbin ink or two in their collection. 
We are honored to begin the anniversary year with a poem about Herbin inks by Tree Riesener, an award-winning poet and writer.
Les Encres de Monsieur Herbin
Encre Authentique, “Lawyers’ Ink,” for orders of execution, though paper crumbles, glowing in the night for three hundred years, enduring black legalese, these letters.
Grise Nuage, grey clouds of 1943 for Irene Sendlerowa, savior of children from the Warsaw Ghetto, for her heart broken, but never broken, of little ease, these letters.
Bouquet d’Antan, please please don’t leave, words in sorrowful faded rose, desolation unremembered, only watching the rain, writing, sorrow without surcease, these letters.
Cafe des Iles, never say you love me, and if we meet, I’ll pretend I’ve forgotten your face. Faded brown written on leaves, let them blow away in the breeze, these letters.
Violette Pensee, I will bury your bottle in fragrant petals, write by the light of candles on turtles’ backs, pen delicate lyrics of love and loss, plus an occasional tease, these letters.
Eclat de Saphir, flashing blue scooped from the sun-glinted ocean, sign room service for two, “Etouffee d’ecrevisses, Pinot Grigio, Mousse au chocolat,” caprice, these letters.
Lierre Sauvage, shadowed green, forest tree, flow as I copy out Akhmatova, “The glass doorbell rings, don’t touch me,” thoughts Stalin’s shadows could not seize, these letters.
–Tree Riesener has published poetry and short fiction in the United States, Scotland and England. Her achievements include semi-finals of the Pablo Neruda Competition; a double first for the Short-Short Story and the Literary Short Story at the Philadelphia Writers Conference; the William Van Wert Fiction Award, and a Hawthornden International Writers Fellowship at Hawthornden Castle, Scotland. Three short stories have been staged by the Writing Aloud Series at InterAct Theatre, Philadelphia. She has two new poetry collections: Inscapes from Finishing Line Press and Angel Poison from Puddinghouse Publications. Her first chapbook was Liminalog, a collection of ghazals and sijo.
To learn more about Tree Riesener and her writing, please visit her blog here and website here.
Thank you, Tree, for the beautiful gift of your poetry to start the new year.
Artist Inspiration: More of Gentian’s Rhodia Pad Cover Art
Gentian’s art continues to blow me away…. Continue Readering »
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.
Artist Inspiration: Carla Trujillo
Carla Trujillo is a mixed media artist living and working in the greater Cincinnati area. Continue Readering »
Artist Inspiration: Jessica Doyle
Visual artist Jessica Doyle’s whimsical imagery inspires me to doodle. Often. Continue Readering »
Sakiori Memo Pad Holder for Rhodia Pad #11
Image courtesy of Etsy Member Usagiuma
I found the above hand woven Rhodia Pad cover on Etsy – a website to buy & sell all things handmade.
From the website SRI Threads I learned more about Sakiori:
“Sakiori weaving uses a rag weft against a warp of either bast fiber or cotton. Continue Readering »
