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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Playing with letters

We have had a very full week and the studio and I needed to get re-acquainted. So we set aside this morning to go and do some art-related stuff, before other commitments were due, and I had a half-day of playing with letters.

I purchased a set of random lower case type when we were in Tasmania recently. I do love type and one of my eternal quests is to have access to, if not ownership of, a letterpress.  One day maybe…

Until such time as that miracle occurs, and in the interim, I just play with them.  I inked the set up and printed them onto some A4 bond paper. Then because I am a seriously old-fashioned layout type of gal, I photocopied that page and then cut out all the letters, so I could play with different layout options.

Daggy I know, but I do like to do things with my hands!


I had to ink up the 'o' twice because I thought I must have done it wrong the first time; but no, the top and bottom of the letter are set much lower and don't really print even tho they have ink on them.



I had a lovely fiddle and came up with a layout that worked for what I had in mind.  Must admit I kind of fell in love with the layered cut-out pieces as well. In fact Barry thought I should just glue them down in situ and say that was it!



But sensibleness reigned and I tested out a print or two of a Sunday drive in the hinterland…


12 comments:

  1. What fun! I must say, I love every step/incarnation of this letter play all the way to the piece shown in the last image. It's a very playful effect, with the letters' spacing & their overlapping, and I like how they're all contained within the square in the last photo. I noticed the unusual "o" before I read your comment about it, and thought to myself how much I liked it (and wondered if it had perhaps been formed with two "brackets")...I think it only further adds to the quirkiness of what you have done with the letters. I hope you continue to have pockets of time to explore your type, as you dream of the day you acquire your first letterpress (a dream of mine too - when I purchased a "fancy" printer a couple of years ago I found myself wondering if I were going in the "wrong" direction, but I'm sure the right time will come!)...

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    1. Thanks Lisa, I had a lot of fun trying to work out the layout of these - trying fit them into a square was a challenge I set myself. I like the movement and freshness in the way they overlap and merge a bit. The 'O' is gorgeous isn't it? and just like you I turned it over to see if it was actually 2 brackets, but no! I will continue to enjoy playing with my type, waiting for the magical day a letterpress can appear! Go well - the new fancy printer is worth it looking at your work!

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  2. I love using letters in my work,sometimes.
    The last piece is so cool, and I love the gray color!

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    1. Glad you liked them Sue. I love letters and am always attracted to work that includes them somehow. Go well.

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  3. I love the randomness of scale and style of the letters - and especially the gold and the grey prints with their diagonal and square layouts - intriguing to work out what it actually says ...

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    1. Isn't that randomness a delight Charlton?!? I love it too and then adding the regularity of the square to formalise it a bit, but still keeping it less than legible. They are the names of towns up our way...

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  4. I'd love to have a go! Think I might have to find myself some letters. I love the word crowd in the last piece and all those & shapes.

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    1. Annie it is delicious and addictive - be warned! You would enjoy lots of letter play I think.

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  5. As much as I love the stacked letters the printed ones are even better! Liking the irregular as I do I find the mix delightful. X

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    1. Indeed, the stacked messy letters are fun, but I think the printed ones worked well too! The random and quirky nature of them is lovely I think...

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  6. I am drooling from a distance here. Your head is always so full of ideas Fiona. Those final prints are fab.

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    1. Happy they made you happy Lesley - apologies for any drool. It is a great lot of fun playing with them. It looks quite random and quirky, but I also like the challenge of getting them all to fit and work out. Go well.

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