A Week of Kindness

Things are a bit surreal around the store today as we spend time in the gallery preparing for tonight's reception of Picturing Childhood. But the children in the antique photographs aren't the only ones living in a sepia-toned fantasy land. The hawkish gentleman and his catty companion in our window display stepped straight out of such a world.

Here are the cards that inspired our window. They were printed by Charles Overbeck at Eberhardt Press in Portland, Oregon, and they depict scenes from Max Ernst's Une Semaine de Bonte, or A Week of Kindness. Ernst created the scenes by collaging together Victorian illustrations from novels and encyclopedias, issuing the results in a series of self-published pamphlets in 1934.

Many thanks to Charles for reviving Une Semaine as a series of cards. You can visit the Online Shoppe to see all eight images.

Rubber Stamp Carving with Alice

We only stock blank cards at Castle in the Air, because we figure people already know what they want to say when they're sending a message to a friend or loved one. Why use someone else's words? And if this sentiment is taken even further, why even use another person's pictures?

Rubber stamping is the best way to print beautiful, inexpensive cards with a personal touch. We're so lucky to have rubber stamp queen Alice Armstrong as a regular teacher at Castle in the Air, and this fall she'll be in the Studio for the Imagination showing how to transfer found or drawn images to your own rubber stamps. The pieces pictured here are from some of the cards she's made with stamps she's carved herself.

To learn more about this class, which will be held on Sunday, October 4, visit the Castle in the Air Online Shoppe.

Pages and People: Meighan Clough

One of the best things about our blog and Online Shoppe at Castle in the Air is the constant reminders it gives us of the people behind the various products and other items around the store. The web pages are like leaves in a scrapbook that tells part of the story of the shop and all the friends who've made it into such a magical place.

Meighan Clough is one such friend who I was reminded of recently. Meighan was one of the first artists to work at Castle in the Air. She introduced the lively March Hare to our store, and her jester greeting card is on the racks here every Christmas season.

Meighan's in London now, married and following her dreams as a graphic designer and illustrator. It's wonderful to know that while the Castle in the Air family tree's roots dig deeper, and the trunk broadens with each year, that its branches extend all the way to Meighan's new home in England. You can see what she's up to at her portfolio and prints and cards websites.

Up In the Air

If you come in from the cool wind on Fourth Street today, you'll see that even more kites have found their way into our magical breeze at Castle in the Air. John McRae put together a handful of diamond shaped frames and encouraged all of us at the shop to use Italian papers and Dresden trim to make our own kites.

Once I could look down again, I noticed a tiny kite that's been flying off our greeting card rack season after season -- the one in Diva Pyari's Linea Carta alphabet card series. Diva draws, calligraphs, and prints all the cards herself on Fabriano paper using her Gocco press (a tabletop Japanese screen-printing kit). Let them fly!