A Master Calligrapher and Zentangle

{video via newsletter of Zentangle.com}

The folks over at Zentangle, Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts are good friends of ours, and when I received this newsletter I had to share. LISTEN to the pen. SEE the penstrokes develop. LEARN the art of Zentangle...it's so easy to create amazing pieces of art in little time, even if you have never drawn a thing in your LIFE. I love watching them teach and inspire.

If you get on their email list, you will be rewarded and inspired EVERY time you see it in your inbox. Their blog and content is so very wonderful and creative. You will see your surroundings in a whole new way as they take you on pattern seeking explorations of their own. Look on their site for cool workshops all over the world. Zentangle is spreading like wildfire, no wonder why. Thank you Rick and Maria for this inspiration. More please!

Visit their website for more information and materials for learning the art: http://www.zentangle.com/

A little Zentangle for you

{image via the zentangle blog}

If you have not been introduced to Zentangle yet, I would love for you to meet! Without further ado, Zentangle is the creative expression developed by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. The image above caught me eye and made me take a deep breath. This is Maria's blotter from her workspace, where she is a master calligrapher. I am sure there is a story behind this blotter. There is always a wonderful story. One day while working with them, I had the pleasure of sitting with Maria and Rick in their home studio for a photoshoot. If you know Zentangle you may know about their home. A story in and of itself, or many stories of a lifetime of unbelievable art, work, life and creativity. Their home studio is their workplace and their home, filled with incredible visual inspiration and quirky interesting artifacts. So, we were there in Whitinsville, Massachusetts and Maria was doing some freestyle writing for us to capture on video. While writing and chatting, Maria tipped her ink and it spilled on to the blotter. I immediately looked for something to clean with, while Maria sat me down and told me to watch it. "No, no, watch what it does", she said. So I did. In my amazement she continued to work with the ink spot and create the most amazing drawing from it. She created a Zentangle mixed with her free and whimsical flourishes. I was in heaven just watching her hands and seeing what came from her imagination to the blotter in mere seconds.

When they are not spreading wonder around the world in the form of Zentangle, Maria and her company Pendragon create beautiful invitations. They have been a colleague of our's for years. We have been lucky to watch little Zentangle grow into a worldwide phenomenon in a very short time. Please take a minute to visit their site and take in some of the amazing creativity. Their new blog is growing so quickly, no doubt every person nipped by the Zentangle bug around the world is waiting everyday for a new post. {Take a peek.}

Write me a letter...

{image of Maria Thomas in her home studio shot by Adoniram Sides}

This stunning collage was created for our friends at Checkerboard by insanely gifted calligrapher, Maria Thomas as a promotion for Escargot Stationery. She is a lifelong letter writer herself who has shared wonderful stories of lifelong pen pal writings that took her to London to meet her friend that she had been writing to for years. She is a renowned letterer who collaborated with Checkerboard for the stationery line that features 8 exclusive alphabets designed by Maria.

To watch her work is amazing. To hear the pen on paper is extraordinary and to receive her work in the mail is a gift. I am sure everyone at the post office goes a little slower when her envelopes are processed. The personal feeling of receiving a handwritten note in the mail is pretty tremendous. Now more than ever, taking the time to write and craft a letter or a note makes so much impact on the recipient. No, we don't all have the skills of a calligrapher, but letters brought by mail are savored and cherished. The gift of your words on paper are priceless.

If you are a parent, try sending a note to your children, big or small. Encourage them to write to their grandparents and friends. The excitement of receiving mail is such a thrill to them, no matter what their ages! Not only is this Universal Letter Writing Week, but you know that red, hearty holiday is approaching and the world of consumerism will undoubtedly pressure you into spending and thoughts about what to give to your loved one...why not your words with that little something? That brings me to ...

I am so excited to have ordered the Greatest Love Letters of All Time this morning {yes I am a little dorky}, as I was thinking about letter writing and expression. Some of it looked pretty juicy, so maybe some pointers/exerpts are coming your way for the perfect Valentine's Love Letter. Some of the letters that caught my eye were Franz Kafka to Felice Bauer, Voltaire to Marie Louise Denis, Anne Sexton to Philip Leglar, Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, Frida Khalo to Diego Rivera, and Kahlil Gibran to Mary Haskell. {I don't know how George Bush was included in this mix, but there is a one in there to Barbara...random.}

This little note card , also from Escargot is so cute for an adult valentine message.

Networking with style

Invest in yourself, spread your wings, open your mind and work your web of contacts. These days networking and personal connections are huge. Consumers, employers and job candidates are wiser and savvier than ever. Relationships make a big difference in getting ahead in the world or even getting your child in the elite preschool when others are waitlisted. It's all in who you know. These days this old adage takes on alot more meaning. Viral networking on the web is gaining so much ground, not just the kids are using Facebook and Myspace. Linkedin says 30 million people are professionally networking through their site. Personal branding is a must.

I say, do it personally and with style. eInvite is now offering calling cards by Checkerboard with ultimate personal style, featuring handlettering by world renowned calligrapher, Maria Thomas. So, whether you are meeting mamas in the park and planning a playdate, or you are launching a new company, refresh your personal brand with a touch of originality. You are sure to get noticed.