Illuminated Manuscript

Marian Bantjes induces rapture. Her monograph, I Wonder, brings illuminated manuscripts fully into the modern age. Marian gives a glimmer here in her TED video clip. But I recommend you buy your own copy and experience it yourself.

This volume will sit squarely with Fraktur Mon Amour in my new design as scripture bookshelf.

Full Bleed

Held at the Mandate Press in Salt Lake City, here is a synopsis of a recently-attended exotic AIGA event: Full Bleed.

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On Thursday, October 28, the world of contemporary art and body art will merge as AIGA joins with professionals from the Yellow Rose and Cathedral Tattoo shops for 'Full Bleed: The tattoo and design experience.'

Tattoo culture has seen an influx of new artists, many of whom have impressive technical and fine arts training. From drawings, prints, and paintings to skin, the art and culture of the tattoo industry crosses traditional boundaries by telling life stories. Using the iconography of experiences, from classic Tattoo Flash to the Old West, from Asia and Polynesia, each design carries it's own special meaning.

Join AIGA Salt Lake City as we explore the graphic perspective on today's global tattoo culture. Entry gets you two drinks on us, access to top local artists, local artwork, and plenty of ink!
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A Bible to Swear On

Fraktur Mon Amour is one of those book-as-art objects that just screams across whatever room it’s in. The patent black cover with pink edges instantly provokes curiosity. What a lovely valentine to calligraphy we have in this tome. Featuring more than 330 blackletter scripts—150 on a companion CD—Judith Schalansky has created a compendium as rich with history as the Holy Bible itself.

Gallery Stroll

Any time I can use Zaner—the lush Spencerian script by P22—I will. Same goes for shiny paper. (In this case, CTI's Aspire Petallics Silver Ore.)

This past Tuesday we had an event for University Hospital benefactor's to unveil the new portrait gallery as well as our wall of engraved donor names. We needed to represent both giving levels, but that made for a lengthy event title. The solution: a type treatment for each exhibit split by a flourish evoking: the unveiling of draped art; strolling; and even a lyrical quality. (It looks like a violin to me. Someone else told me it makes them think of Phantom of the Opera.)

The event was a fine affair, attended by people with interesting relationships to the University of Utah. A recent heart transplant patient spoke about his experience here and that really helped crystalize why we give. From the generosity of an organ donor's family, to the financial gifts that keep our institution a pioneering one, to the time commitments of our volunteer staff, it's always heartening for me to see the underlying passions that keep people connected.

Flourish

Having coveted Thomas Paul's Flourish pillow for two years, I finally decided to buy it. Naturally I decide to do so even as it gets discontinued. Having made not one but two online purchases, only to be contacted later by both shops to say they can no longer fulfill my order, I panicked. But persistence pays off. Thomas Paul connected me to the Gilt Groupe for a one-day sale and I was able to get the pillow. For half price. Bonus: it's reversible. The black side was a dramatic surprise.

I adore Spencerian script, and the ornamentation from that era. Thomas Paul exploited that enchanted penmanship into a modern aesthetic. The emotional allure is inescapable. I have an ancestor who taught that style of writing and ornament. I learned it in elementary school. And now I seem to be sucker every time it turns up: in Martha Stewart Living magazine, in Alejandro Paul & P22's typography, and now ... in my living room.