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pen is mightier than
BrownLines The
From Ken Brown
Issue Fifteen-1
TM
BLOG & NEWSLETTER
For the love of letters...Calligraphy with a variety of tools.
the sword...
...but the drill
makes it classier.
A knight who is part of the entertainment at MEDIEVAL TIMES in
Dallas, TX. He’s holding a sword I engraved for Gail several years ago.
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958
Issue Fifteen-1
Calligraphy
*
IS NOT DEAD. IT’S JUST DONE WITH A DIFFERENT TOOL. AND....
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958
Issue Fifteen-1
Engraving
MACHINES IN THE MALLS & JEWELRY STORES CANNOT DO WHAT WE DO WITH THE DRILL!
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958
Issue Fifteen-1
From Ken Brown
BrownLines
TM
altogether. It has been this way for several years now.
He is realizing that his ability with the pen and ink can
A prominent Dallas
calligrapher called me not long
ago and was bemoaning the
easily be transformed into making his gorgeous letters
with the dental drill pictured here. He is absolutely right.
I relate completely. I still do an occasional job with the
fact that doing
Calligraphy on an endless list of non-paper
Calligraphy for
items. It’s a whole new world from the one I
the public had
knew so long with pens, markers, and
just about dried
up.
brushes.
This
everything from a rodeo arena sign to the
The
doors of a taxicab to a wooden chair pad
computer with myriad calligraphic fonts,
the laser printer that can print them, and
any 9 year old can produce envelopes and
letterheads and wedding invitations that
are pleasing enough to most eyes to
I’ve
painted my letters with a flat brush on
had a thriving business doing work for the
No more.
I literally grew up with a flat
instrument of some kind in my hand.
gentleman has
public for decades.
pen, but my days are filled with putting my
This is the business end of a lab
handpiece...a dental drill...used by
dental technicians.
It’s also an
incredible tool for calligraphy. This
one has an inverted cone bur (bit).
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958
that I rolled around on at my drawing board
for about 15 years.
I’ve done the wedding
invitations and the proclamations and the
certificates by the thousands. I’ve done
Issue Fifteen-1
From Ken Brown
BrownLines
TM
signs and posters and scrolls and all the other
new tool have never formed a calligraphic letter with
things we’ve all seen forever, done
ANYTHING.
by hand, with some writing
So, who can learn this amazing
instrument that, with dedicated
skill? Anyone who WANTS to learn
practice, anyone can master.
it and has good hand-eye
This may sound like a closed
coordination. It’s like anything else
circuit message to calligraphers. I
you learn to use....it takes
certainly wish they all knew about
dedicated practice and some
the way I do calligraphy now. They
specific muscle memory that will
would find an entirely new world of
come with time and patience.
opportunity when they can apply
Calligraphy with the dental drill
their skills with hand-lettering to
will get no interference from
almost any surface with a dental
drill. No doubt, calligraphers learn
faster but that skill is NOT a
requirement. The vast majority of
my students who have learned this
Here I am with lots of hair and a flat brush lettering THE
TWELVE RULES FOR SUCCESS on a particle board chair pad
in 1970. With 9 years of calligraphy under my belt, the
engraving of calligraphy was 23 years in the future. I still
wield a wicked brush moving at a silky-smooth and slow pace
but the money comes from my lettering with the dental drill
at 300,000 rpm on everything from wine bottles to
cremations urns. The earnings are about that much different
too.
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958
computers, laser printers, and the
machines in the jewelry stores and
malls.
They can engrave only
objects that will fit into their jaws
and that’s quite limited in our world.
Issue Fifteen-1
From Ken Brown
BrownLines
TM
Speaking of brushes, at right are a few
dozen I engraved for an art association a
couple of years ago. The ferrule of each
had the name of an art teacher and their
specialty. The brass engraved beautifully.
Below is a sampling of four styles, all done
with the inverted cone shown on page 3.
By holding the flat edge of the bur at a 45
degree angle to the base line, you can
duplicate the effect you get from a flat pen
or brush used for traditional calligraphy.
The word Copperplate below was also
done with the cone, though ROUND
carbides are used routinely for that style of
lettering, used exclusively in my work and
teaching.
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958
f
From Ken Brown
BrownLines
TM
FREE DVD SET
WORTH $300.
Issue Fifteen-1
Here’s how:
1. Have a serious desire..or plan…to come to our Seminar. (There is no obligation to do so.)
2. Pay the $7. PRIORITY MAIL FEE ONLY, by credit card, by phone, for this $107. DVD set. Order now at 214.250.6958. (USA ONLY) Seven dollars
total for the set!
3. We ship the DVD set immediately. You’ll have it in 3-5 days.
4. Watch the letters being made. See and hear how they’re made. Get the fever. Sign up for a Seminar.
5. Enroll in Feb, March, April, or May Class, any day prior to 2/5/15. See class details here.
6. IF you decide to enroll, three hundred seven bucks is deducted off the $1600. class fee because you ordered the discs. Your total class fee: $1293.
See video snippits
Ken Brown Studio of Calligraphy & Engraving • McKinney, TX • kenbrown.com • 214.250.6958