T Stands for Tee Shirt

This weekend was the last weekend for the year long class, 26 Seeds. It's hard to believe the year has gone by so quickly, and yet not really a surprise. The class was fast paced and intense. So much to learn and process.

Pictured is my work station. This last class focused on Blackletter. On my table is the sample sheet we would be creating. There are spaces on the Nidegan paper (tan) to letter a basic Blackletter and a bunch of variations. My lunch for the day was a cup of soup and the white paper cup was to hold M&Ms, nuts, and raisins so I could snack while working or listening to Reggie. My travel mug of tea is just out of frame.

During lunch we would watch a slide presentation of works by some of Reggie's other students or a video about how powdered pigments are turned into paint, or how gold is beaten into sheets of gold leaf for gilding.

Traditionally, each class created a tee shirt to be presented to Reggie at the last class. Early on one of the co-coordinators coined the phrase Boston Reggiement as the title for our class. During the afternoon break, we were presented with our shirts. Each member of the class received a shirt. Each shirt was rolled and had a tag with our name. Isn't the shirt a pretty color?

For our class shirt, we decided we would letter phrases Reggie repeated to us all year. He would wrangle all us little ducks into line by reminding us to keep Time on Task. If we asked questions before he got to that point in a lesson he would say You're not old enough That was the phrase I chose to letter.

My tablemate lettered In class, fast is better than good. Something I had to remind myself constantly. As a Southpaw and a (proud) hooker,  I usually have to wait a bit for the ink to dry or I'll smear my writing as I write over the line and not away from the line as a right-handed person. No time to worry about that. The technique was more important than neatness. Other Reggieisms included:

Time for a gum arabic rub down Gum arabic, sap from the acacia tree is used to clean a nib of oils and residue before lettering

Up for shape and down for weight A reminder to thicken down-strokes slightly to give them a little more weight for balance

Snap shake and microdrag The technique for loading a pen with a brush

Keep calm and grind on To remind us to enjoy the zen of grinding stick ink

Cease and desist when we got to chatty and loud

We're fixing to get ready a prompt for the next lesson

Pressure release pressure a technique to give a waisted appearance to a down-stroke

Besides giving us his knowledge and experience, Reggie also presented each of us with a gift. He gave us a packet of Magic Seeds (morning glories) and inside the folder, a beautiful quote and a personal story as to how the seeds came to be a part of his teaching.

Now that the class is over, time to  process everything and to let the 26 seeds grow. I'm old enough now. Reggie told me so.  In the Spring, I'll look forward to planting the morning glory seeds. They will be a reminder of time spent with an amazing teacher and group of artists.

Reggie will no longer be teaching the year long 26 Seeds class. Boston 2017 was one of the last cities for this intensive class. Reggie will still be teaching at conferences and workshops in Chicago. If you get a chance to take a class from Reggie Ezell, don't hesitate.

 Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.