2014 BOOKPLATE BEGINS

Family Keepsakes

Each November I create a stipple ink drawing which I turn into adhesive, personalized bookplates for family and friends.  With the Thanksgiving art show and our daughter's fall wedding, I am behind getting this project started.

I love creating a drawing that has some significance and represents an event or experience from the previous year.  I've known for months what I wanted to use for this year's bookplate and I've been so anxious to finish up my series of dictionary drawings so I could start.  I've had all these items sitting on my desk waiting to go and it's been kinda like waiting on dessert....I am so excited to start.

I discovered love letters written back and forth between my parents when they first married in the 1930's.  I had all the letters out and used them as decorations during our daughter's wedding.  I knew I wanted to use those letters in this year's bookplate.

My mother kept everything and while cleaning out her farmhouse, my sisters and I finally just piled keepsakes in boxes to sort through later.  To my surprised I discovered that I had my parent's original marriage license, too.

So with the big wedding in our family this past year I am combining all sorts of family keepsakes for this year's bookplate.

Starting to Stipple

Creating all these letters will be quite a challenge but a personal challenge is part of what I seek when doing these annual bookplates.  I love the textures, colors and sentimentality of these precious letters.

Well, I'm off to stipple away.