Carol DuBosch
B204 Monkey Bar Capitals
Monkey Bar Capitals are letters that stretch, crush, join, reshape, and judiciously break the rules where needed. Designing a text with these renegade, non-traditional capitals is like playing on the monkey bars at the schoolyard: reaching for the next bar and plotting a path forward with a goal of as much connection as possible. The challenge is to maintain legibility while adding interest and communicating a feeling that reflects the text being written. We will work with pencils, Speedball B nibs, ink and watercolor. Exercises in layout and design with tracing paper will enable us to fine-tune each idea until it sings.
Supply List
- Pad of layout bond for drafts and sketches (I like Gilbert 25% cotton from John Neal Bookseller)
- Tracing paper: 3 – 5 sheets
- Canson Mi-Teintes 19" x 25": 1 white and 1 deep color or black: okay to fold in quarters
- Arches 90 lb cold press watercolor paper OR Arches Text Wove; full sheet: okay to fold in quarters
- Speedball B series nibs: the full set of 9 sizes
- Fine line black pen: Micron Pigma 005 or similar
- Hunt 512 drawing nib in a handle
- White gel pen
- Higgins Eternal black ink
- Dr. Martin's PenWhite plus a small, safe, lidded container to transfer the PenWhite into.
- Watercolor paint box: Prang is a favorite
- Water container
- Mixing brush (most Prang paintboxes have a mixing brush)
- #4 pointed synthetic watercolor brush
- Artist tape or drafting tape
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Cotton rag
- Portable light box, if you have one. There is a free app for the iPad (Lightbox Trace) that works quite well also. If you are in the market for a small lightbox, I recommend Litenergy Portable A4 Tracing LED Copy Board Light Box, $19.95 Amazon.
Any day that she can open a bottle of ink, is a good day for CAROL DUBOSCH. It gets even better if she can create art, make a mark-making tool, or teach what she knows to someone. Words are her muse and she loves being able to use them as a lettering artist. It is absolutely the best job ever. Carol has been a calligrapher in Portland, Oregon since she was first introduced to nibs and ink in 1959 as a high school art student. In the 58 years since, she has gained a degree in graphic design and has studied with every major calligrapher in the U.S. and Europe. She has been teaching college level and private classes in the Northwest along with workshops throughout the United States and most recently in Italy. Carol has directed three international calligraphy conferences in Portland, bringing 500 scribes together for a week of studying and sharing. She is interested in every aspect of the field of calligraphy, from the formal invitation to writing on walls. She enjoys seeking out ways to stretch the boundaries of her art. As a lifelong learner, she is always looking forward to the next new thing.