Somerset Memories Article

First page of the article:


My article titled, "Marian's Memories", just came out in the Dec/Jan issue of Somerset Memories! Just got it in the mail yesterday and it was so cool to see! Looks like there is a lot of great work as always... You should pick up a copy and check it out!

Entry for Cutting Edge--An Exhibition of Papercraft

The Eugene Field House and Museum in St. Louis is holding an exhibition next spring titled Cutting Edge: An Exhibition of Papercraft that will include everyting from calligraphy and books to paper toys and origami. The photos below are the 6 pieces that I am entering in the juried exhibit.

WELCOME
GLORY
STAINED GLASS
PRAYER
DREAM
1000 FIBERS

David Kauffman concert and workshop

This weekend, I was supposed to go to visit a friend but our trip got cancelled. The one thing that makes it a little better is that now I can go to the David Kauffman concert at a church near our home on Friday night. And then the next day, I am going to a journal workshop that he is leading. I really love his Christian music, ever since going on an ACTS retreat a year ago. And last June, I was on team for a retreat, and David wrote our theme song, titled Do Not Be Afraid. I love that theme....and I am trying to live that more each day. The artwork above contains all of the words to that song, and I sent it to David Kauffman last summer, as well as gave it to all of the retreatants. I think he liked it, he did respond with an e-mail, but I hope to talk to him more this weekend.

Artist's spotlight

I was recently in the artists' spotlight in a local newsletter and wanted to share it, below. Deb Weltman is the owner of Terra Art and Frame and Terra Decorating Services, and she puts out a monthly e-newsletter to her clients. Deb works out of her home now, and does professional framing and decorating for people in the St. Louis area. I am including the article Deb wrote, but only one of the pictures that she used. Thank you Deb for including me in your newsletter!


The article:
Art uplifts us. It's the perfect gift! If you're looking for a very unusual personalized gift, turn to calligraphy artist, Kathy Nolte Orf's web-site: www.kathyorf.com or check out the www.kathyorf.etsy.com site for Kathy's work and the works of a multitude of artists. Warning: the etsy.com site may be hazardous to your health! You'll get NO exercise. It is hard to leave your computer screen, there's SO much pretty stuff! But more about our featured local artist: amazing calligrapher, Kathy Orf. First, to clarify, here's the vocabulary lesson: calligraphy comes from the Greek, kallos, which means "beauty" and graphein, which means "to write." So calligraphy is "beautiful writing" and that is definitely what Kathy creates. The other vocabulary I learned from Kathy was the term "hand" meaning a traditional style of calligraphic writing: Italic, Celtic (or Uncial), Gothic (Olde English), and Roman Capitals are some examples of various calligraphy "hands". Kathy says that while she can letter all of these styles, she has developed her own variations of these "hands". What began for Kathy with a decorative arts class in high school, one semester of calligraphy at college, an art degree and a career in graphic arts, eventually led her back to calligraphy when she was home with her first child. She decided to create a product to sell at local art shows. Kathy says she was "catapulted" from basic black ink on parchment to much bigger work, using many styles, and a wide variety of tools, materials, and papers, by Reggie Ezell, a wonderful teacher and her major influence. Kathy says Reggie took her "light-years" ahead of where she had been. He gave her technique, ability (lots of practice helped there) and mega-confidence! I asked Kathy a few "Artisty"/ "make you think" type questions and she was gracious enough to answer them, so here goes: D: "What sparks your creativity?" K: "Going to the Botanical Gardens, taking a walk, looking at magazines." D: "What artist do you most admire?" K:" Georgia O'Keefe, for her art, but I was also fascinated by her marriage to Alfred Steiglitz, who's photographic work was one of my first loves." D: "What do you think is the enemy of creativity?" K: ""Too much thought, not enough action." D: " How do you get past perfectionism?" K: "I know that things rarely turn out the way I imagine them in my head. I just see where I end up." D: "Anything you are very proud of that you'd like to share?" K: "I will be featured in the December/ January issue of "Somerset Memories". The article is called "Marian's Memories and is about a memory book I created. I painted the pages, did the calligraphy, and then hand-bound it. It is a book of my mother's child-hood memories." : "What do you wish you had known when you were younger?" K: "Not to waste my time comparing myself to others or worrying about what others think. Mostly, they're not thinking about me. They're focused on their own life and their own problems. Also, to believe in myself. Currently in Kathy's new line are many personalized items: name frames, travel mugs (including St. Louis's favorite question, "Where'd you go to high school?" with your high school's name as well.), signs that can be personalized: "Princess", "Soccer", "Grandkids" to name a few. And then there are some awesome T-shirts: "Nurture your inner artist", "Chocolate, its cheaper than therapy". Kathy has family trees, "Bless Our Home" signs, and note cards. Most of the letters are photographs of found objects in St. Louis: the Arch, turned up-side-down, as a "U". You get the idea. Check out the photos here. Check out Kathy's web site. Support your local artists! Contact Kathy at:
Blog: Kalligratographer.blogspot.com
ETSY: www.kathyorf.etsy.com
Website: www.kathyorf.com

Artstravaganza

This is my booth at the ARTstravaganza show this past weekend. It was a fun show, had good neighbors to talk to and people seemed to appreciate my work (which I don't always get).
But unfortunately the weather was so nice in St. Louis over the weekend--and believe it or not for all of the October weekends!---that the crowd was really thin. I did pretty well for the crowd though and it was the first time I've done this show. I will give it a try again next year! There was a lot of nice artwork, and as usual alot of jewelry and my work was definitely different! I'll just keep pluggin along. Did get an idea to contact alumni associations of St. Louis high schools for my "Where'd you go to high school?" mugs. I have one on my etsy shop and will post more soon. If you area not from St. Louis you wouldn't know that for some reason, that is the question everyone asks when meeting someone new...."Where'd you go to high school?" One man bought the CBC mug and said if he had known about them before his reunion 2 weeks earlier, they would have bought one for everybody! It is worth a shot!

Army of Women for Breast Cancer Research

A few weeks ago I heard Dr. Susan Love speak about trying to form an "army of women" to fight breast cancer. The idea being that if they can get a million women to volunteer for research, they can beat breast cancer. I am all for that, as my mom died of breast cancer almost 6 years ago, and I too am at high risk. If they can learn something from me now, while I am well, maybe I can avoid it altogether. So today, I finally signed up and I hope you will too at www.armyofwomen.org

I think they will send me e-mails when they are looking for certain groups and then I can volunteer and show up at my local hospital or wherever they need me and give blood samples etc. Sounds easy enough and hopefully will have an impact. Go to the website and read more about it even if you are just curious....

Thinking ahead

I am already making plans for what I need to do after ARTstravaganza this weekend. I should be working on a few things for the show, but am already thinking what I need to do next week--when I won't have a show for a few weeks..... I need to start some serious artwork for a calligraphy exhibit that the STL Calligraphy Guild is putting on in February. We are holding a members exhibit at the Creative Gallery in STL. We want all members to submit a bunch of work and I need to get started! I have a couple of small things that I can put in, but I would love to do a good sized piece of calligraphy, a small piece of furniture, and a layered glass piece as well as a window frame. Big plans but will I have the time? I also put on my list---Christmas shopping, adding 2 items a day to etsy, shopping for living room furniture and catching up on my photo albums and my sons's scrapbook. All this before Thanksgiving! Can I do it????

ARTstravaganza

Click on the image so you can actually read it!

My next show is October 24 - 26 at the St. Louis Artists' Guild in Oak Knoll Park, hosted by the Best of Missouri Hands. It is a show of juried BOMH artists and has a variety of art! I will be on the second floor in the children's gallery so don't pass us by! I am going to list the other artists that will be on the second floor as well: Mary Barge Hoar-jewelry; BlackPurl fiber;Rita Seif & Lori Fish, pottery; Catherine Mahoney, painting; Shari Walton, jewelry and collage;Matt Keim,wood; Cecilia Labora-jewelry; Shirley Nachtreib, painting; Gail Kelley,fiber; Linda Green/Metzler, painting; Mary Mosblech, watercolor; and Vivian Gaston, jewelry. We hope to see you there!

Five from Four

The following photos are details of artwork from 5 calligraphers from four countries who put on an exhibit in Louisville Kentucky.
Steve Skaggs from Louisville, KY: Yves Leterme from Belgium:
Monica Dengo from Italy:
Laurie Doctor from Louisville, KY:
Maya Huber from Germany:

Luckily, I received an e-mail about this exhibit Five from Four 2 weeks before I was driving to Louisville for a retreat. I knew I just had to stop and see it! The exhibit was created from artwork by Five calligraphers from Four countries--hence the name....It was at the Cressman Center for Visual Art in downtown Louisville, part of the University of Louisville. The exhibit was amazing. And inspirational. Made me want to get back to some real lettering, and to try some new media. If you are in the area, you should stop and see it. I have tons of pictures, and may post more, but I also plan to do a presentation about the exhibit for my fellow guild members at the St. Louis Calligraphy Guild November meeting. Because I know they'll love to see it and I want to share it with those who will appreciate it (and that's not necessarily my family!).

Fingerprint Friday

Okay, so it isn't Friday and I am way behind the curve on this. But I just ran across PamperingBeki's blog and she was asking for photos that you feel show the fingerprint of God. This was taken on our vacation this summer as we sat on the shore of Lake Ontario just before dark. We kept hoping that the storm that was brewing wasn't coming our way since we were camping. But it did! And boy did we have rain, and winds and thunder crashes that shook the ground and even hail! It started at midnight and lasted over 2 hours.....pretty scary but it makes a good story--and a beautiful picture.

Finally finished!

I finally finished this table that was ordered last spring! A woman from SLUH had bid on a table similar to this at the school auction a year ago, didn't get it, and then found a smilar table to have me letter on. The saying is a prayer by St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits who founded St. Louis University High. She gave me the table at the end of the school year and I finally got it done! I should never let anyone tell me "No Rush" because this always happens. I put it on the very farthest back burner and it sits there! But I think it turned out pretty good, despite some paint issues..... I am delivering it to school tomorrow so she can pick it up there. And we start painting furniture for this year's auction, so I guess I finished just in time!

Fall shows

Click on the postcard for a larger version that you can actually read!

Had a great show yesterday at Art in the Park. The weather couldn't have been nicer--sunny and 80! Saw all kinds of people that I knew, was busy all day and had great sales! But I have to get better at this blogging thing because I should have taken a picture of the fair--set in our park around a lily pond with tall beautiful shade trees. I would love to have been able to show you the setting--but I didn't think ahead. Took my camera, but didn't take it out. Guess I was too busy to look for other things to do! Which is a good thing. And I already got 2 more orders this morning. Yay!

So my next show is a ShowMeEtsy team show at SqWires Restaurant in Lafayette Square in St. Louis. The postcard is posted above, and was designed by fellow etsian Haley Ping. It is also listed in the column at right. I hope that we have a good showing--if you are in St. Louis come on by!

Black Magic

Thought I would upload a couple of pics of some things I did at the Black Magic workshop I went to this past weekend. We used Pearl Ex pigments and Twinkling H2O's on different black papers. It was a fun class and I'm glad that we had Roann Mathias come teach it. But now I have to get down to business and get ready for the Art in the Park. And pray really hard that it doesn't rain, cause of course the forecast this morning was for a beautiful week with a chance of rain on Sunday!!

Roann Mathias Workshop

I am excited about a calligraphy workshop this weekend. Roann Mathias (who did the lettering above) is coming to St. Louis to teach a workshop entitled Black Magic. We will learn to write on black paper with many different tools and media. Roann used to be a member of the St. Louis Calligraphy Guild, so it will be great to have her back for a visit. She is an amazing calligrapher and I can't wait to see her and more of her work. You can see her work at her website by clicking on her name, or her blog at roanndesigns.blogspot.com

I'll hopefully have some pictures and more to tell on the flip side!

A new step

I've taken a new step today...finally signed up for a ProPay account so that now I can take credit cards! A friend of mine in the ShowMe Etsy team gave me a link to the site (http://www.propay.com/?refid=ETSYOLCM ) so that I could get the premium package for $29.99 for the first year! This gives you the opportunity to call the credit cards in from your cell phone while at a fair! I hope that it helps sales, and that calling in the card numbers doesn't take too long... of course, that is just wishful thinking that I could possibly have people waiting in line at my art fair booth to buy my art with credit card in hand! But it should also be handy if anyone wants to buy something from my website via internet without using PayPal. I'm kind of excited and would love to try it out before the first art fair....anyone?

SLUH donation

This is a donation for my son's school's card party. It is done with my Sign Language letters--love that upside-down arch--and is framed with a 12" x 18" black metal frame. I'm hoping they can use it as an attendance prize. They also have a ton of handmade stuff for people to buy--not sure why they call it a card party since hardly anyone plays cards. Most of the ladies just shop and eat lunch. I just needed to get this done so that I can try to get organized for my show on the 28th. I'm not doing a whole lot better since my last post, I just kind of took the weekend off from worrying. But it's all back now!

Just a little nuts today

I'm trying to get organized and figure out what I need to do for Art in the Park in 2 weeks and I'm going a little nuts. Too many things to consider, too long of a list, not sure of the best strategy and I'm not feeling that great. One thing I am thinking about is getting a credit card account--hoping it would boost sales! Seems most people just walk around with a credit card and no cash or checks anymore, so I guess I have to join the new millenium. Anyone have any favorite credit card services I should check out? I've been told ProPay is good....

Change happens

Barack Obama said this in his acceptance speech at the DNC and I kinda liked it. It's true....you can't stop change. And we need a little change right now! But I thought it might work well as a small 4 x 10 print using the graffiti letters. I seem to be hooked on them lately. I am getting ready for Art in the Park on the 28th, and am trying to come up with some new things. You just never know though--what will sell and what won't! I really need to take inventory and think about what needs to be done and what things to leave out! Sometimes I think I don't give items a chance, and pull them if they don't sell right away---kind of like network TV!

Meida Works name frame

This is a special order that I got recently for an anniversary celebration of a company in Maryland. It was a rather large piece (12 x 37) and I was worried about shipping it with the glass. I ended up sending it UPS, but after talking to them, I think I can do it myself now! The key, I think, is to shrink wrap it to a piece of cardboard after wrapping it in bubble wrap. It arrived there safely when they sent it, so I hope I can do this in the future. Does anyone else have any tips on shipping?

I is for Iannazzo

My friend showed me an article she found in a magazine about monograms on canvas and on walls. I told her I would do one for her (this was back in May). I finally got around to it! Her last name is Iannazzo, so the initial (I) was going to be a challenge--to make it interesting, that is. I would love to know what you think! I am thinking, of course, of trying other letters and colors, and they could be special ordered. This one is on an 18" square canvas. Not sure I can get enough $ for them, considering this one took a couple of hours, and it was a simple I!

Alex's place

One of my ideas for the graffiti letters was to use them on painted canvas--this one is recycled canvas. I bought this painting of boats at a garage sale and then painted over it leaving just a bit of the color showing through. The letters are the graffiti letters and then I lettered the rest with white acrylic paints, adding a balck drop shadow. I made this one for my son Alex who we just took back to school in the Bronx. It was fun to do, but I doubt he will actually hang it on his wall....

I was gathering a lot of stuff for a care package--things he didn't have, like an ice cream scoop and aluminum foil and things I know he likes, like dried mangoes and chai tea. Whether he hangs this up or not, I like the way it turned out!

KEEP OUT

Been working on some ideas for the graffiti letters... I feel like they need to be used on sayings that are not so nicey nice. So I thought something like this, could be used on a kid's room door. I like the background which is a photo of some of the graffiti on the St. Louis flood wall, and I love the skulls at the bottom. It is 4 x 10 and would have a glass clip frame, but I think I want to use some old looking wire--not shiny stuff--so that it fits the look and still helps it hang well. Thought about black ribbon, but I think even black ribbon would be too cutesy. Saw some rebar tie wire at the corner hardware store that might work, but it was a lot of wire (but not a lot of money) and I'm not sure yet if I will use this idea. Anybody got any thoughts?

New York, New York

New York, New York! Just got back from dropping my son at college for his sophomore year! He is actually in the Bronx at Fordham University. We combined the college drop off with a vacation and made a loop through Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls, Baseball Hall of Fame and then spent 4 days in New York! Had to get him moved into his tiny apt that he will share with 3 other guys. His rooom is about 7 x 9.... barely big enough for a bed! But the neighborhod right near his apt is actually kind of cool--alot of italian restaurants and delis--but on a college student budget, I doubt he will see the inside of most of them. After dropping him off, we drove through Gettysburg and spent about a day in DC. Whirlwind tour! A little crazy, but that's a typical vacation if I plan it!

Georgia O'Keefe look?

I know that this looks like the same photo as before, but if you look just above the Francis Park words, you can see an insect's wings..... I used this version for the cover of the Art in the Park program cover. I was going to wait til after my vacation (coming up soon--yeah!) to do the cover design, but decided to run out yesterday and take some photos cause the weather was gorgeous--finally! When I took these pics I was too excited to wait and the fair committee is equally excited with the results. They said it looks like a Georgia O'Keefe! But my husband wants me to say that he made the same comment first!

Gilding the lily

Took this photo this morning of a water lily in the park near my house. We are having an art fair here in the fall and I am designing the cover of the program. Really think I have to use this. I just love it! It's God's art in the park.... I may also make cards, notecards and prints from it. Doesn't really go with my Sign Language letters but I'll just have to take a detour.....

Besides finding this photo, I received good news this morning! Somerset Memories called and they are going to use my submission of Marian's Memories–a book of my mom's memories of growing up in St. Louis–as a featured article in their Dec issue! See my July 22 post for a picture of the book. Now I have to write the article explaining the ideas behind it and the techniques I used. This will be my first article so it's pretty exciting.

Artstravaganza

Since I became a juried member of the Best of Missouri hands this past June, I am now eligble to be in the Artravaganza show, October 24-26, at the St. Louis Artists Guild. Just got an e-mail that I will be on the second floor. Wanted to be on the first, but I guess since I am a newbie, I am relegated to the second.... But on the list, I did see names of some ladies that I have met before so that will be nice to see them again. One is a jeweler that I met at a VERY slow show last fall and she is one of the people who talked to me about BOMH! Her name is Mary Barge Hoar and her beautiful jewelry can be seen on her website at www.charming-designs.com You can also see her featured artist page at BOMH. The other is a lady that I have talked to at shows many times in the past and I love her hand-made snowmen! I try to buy one every year that I see her booth, but sometimes it is hard to buy just one! Her name is Gail Kelley, and if you've seen her snowmen I guarantee you love them! Her work can be seen on the Best of Missouri hands featured artist page.

So I am not going to whine that I am on the second floor! I am just going to pray that there is a great crowd and they don't forget to look up!

More blogs to check out!

No art this time, just a couple more blogs to check out-- the ShowMe Etsy blog, which has postings from members and info on upcoming shows. And the etsy mini blog--which has a mini etsy store for etsy shops that request to be included--I'm under photography--on page 8....

Graffiti art

These are my new graffiti letters that I took at the graffiti wall in St. Louis. I think they are really cool, but am having trouble coming up with sayings or ideas to use them for. I don't think they will fit for cute mats that say best friends or something. I am looking for something with a slight edge, but not too rude. I thought about using a canvas and making a room sign but saying something like Alex's CELL(for my son's small apt in NYC). Or maybe coffee ADDICT......Does anyone have any ideas?

Marian's Memories in Somerset Memories

From the calligrapher side of my life:

I heard last week from Somerset Memories Magazine that they liked the article and files I sent them of my book about my mom's memories of growing up in St. Louis in the 20's and 30's. I had entered it in the Remembrances column of the magazine and they like it and want to use it--maybe for a feature article. This is a first for me! I hope it actually happens, I just shipped it off on Friday. Have no idea when it will get in, they work so far out. I will post if and when it actually happens!

Show Me Etsy Street Team

Went to my first meeting and joined the Show Me Etsy street team last night! This is a group of St. Louis artists who are all currently selling on Etsy . I found a great group of energetic ladies with a ton of ideas to promote Etsy and Etsy shopping. Everyone seems to pitch in and help out with the planning and I look forward to being part of such a forward thinking group! Just from one meeting, I will have some of my work in a booth that they are having at CoolArt/Hot Jazz at Queeny Park the weekend of August 15th. Then the Show Me Etsy team is planning a trunk show at Sqwire's Restaurant in Lafayette Square on October 16th from 5 to 9pm. I am going to be there as well. Any St. Louis artists interested in doing the trunk show or being part of this team can contact me (see sidebar for e-mail). This is an exciting group with alot going on. Check out the ShowMe Etsy team webpage and you can find the links to all of these St. Louis Artists' Etsy shops. And my shop is at www.kathyorf.etsy.com

And as always, if you post a comment here, I will post your name in Sign Language letters.....

Best of Missouri Hands

Just found out that I am now a juried member of Best of Missouri Hands! That's pretty exciting. And it gives me more of a network, more great people to learn from, a chance to exhibit in "Juried members only" shows, I can hang a banner in my booth that says I am a juried member, which hopefully will be helpful! And I will have a page on the BOMH website that will link to my website. Can't hurt, right?

The BOMH letters above are more from the graffiti wall in St. Louis. I found a ton of them! Thinking now of other ways to use the graffiti.....more on that to come. But if you want to see your name in graffiti letters, post a comment and I will post your name--like Stephanie did below!

For Stephanie

This is for Stephanie---anyone else want their name in graffiti letters???

Graffiti

Just spent all afternoon cropping my pictures from my trip to the graffiti wall in St. Louis. I went with the calligraphy guild in mid-May, but haven't had the time to go through the pictures. I knew I could find letters in all of the designs. I avoided any actual writing and just photographed the design images like the one below.


I looked through all of the images picking out the alphabet and even got a few of each letter! They will be made into a new set of Sign Language letters soon.... I just love the look of them and think they will be fun for scrapbooks and cards!

If you want your name in graffiti letters, just post a comment and I will post your name here.

ACTS retreat

One of the other reasons that I have been so busy, is that I was on team for an ACTS retreat at our church, St. Gabriel the Archangel. What a great experience! 30 women leading 21 on a retreat to grow closer to God and as a church community. I was on the music team with 3 very talented women, which was a lot of work but a lot of fun. I also did all of the nametags, signs and graphics to go with our theme "Do Not Be Afraid". Below is a sample of a name tag.

The song for our retreat was writteen by David Kauffman, titled "Do Not Be Afraid" and I'm hoping it shows up on one of his future CDs soon.

If anyone has been on ACTS and wants to share, I would love to hear your story!

Happy 50th

I can't believe it has been 7 weeks since I made an entry here! I have been so busy getting ready for my in-laws 50th anniversary party that all else fell by the wayside--including my etsy shop (www.kathyorf.etsy.com) I also went on a retreat since then but more on that next time. I hope I am back to staying connected now....

My in-laws are Don & Judy. They are great people and we had a great weekend! It was just party, party, party for 3 days....

The letters in their names (shown above) are as follows:

D is from City Museum O is the symbol for Heaven and Earth at the STL Art Museum (SLAM) N is a Tiffany railing at SLAM & J is from MOBOT U is from a church in Maplewood, MO D is the roof at MOBOT Y is from Country Club Plaza in KC

If you want to see more of my Sign Language letters visit my website at www.kathyorf.com
You can also post a comment on my blog and I will post your name in letters!

Your Name Here --for Lois

Thank you, Lois, for your comment on my blog! Here is your name in Sign....

The L is from the MO Botanical Gardens... O is a sculpture in Washington DC...I is one of the benches at the St. Louis Art Museum...S if from a cello (?) in Branson, MO.

If you want your name posted, just leave me a comment. And if you are looking for merchandise using these letters, visit my shop at www.kathyorf.etsy.com or my website at www.kathyorf.com Thanks for looking!

Visit my new ETSY shop!

Just set up shop on ETSY--the place for handmades. If you haven't been there yet, you really need to go to www.etsy.com The work there is unbelievable! It's kind of fun, but seems it may be a lot of work to get people to see your shop since there is so much to see! I've been told that it is all about making connections in forums and chats and many other ways on ETSY. So I may be tied to my computer even more than I have been! I've been browsing on ETSY for an hour already and really need to get to work! But I'd love it if you would visit my ETSY shop at www.kathyorf.etsy.com I have a few things on right now and am adding more items every day or so. Something else to keep me here...at least I have a nice backyard view from my window!

Your Name Here-For Mary

Mary left a comment on my blog, so here is her name in Signs... Thanks, Mary!

M is from a mosaic wall at Country Club Plaza in KC...A is also from KC...R is from a giant sculpture at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis...Y is part of a chair on display at the St. Louis Art Museum.

If you want to see your name in Sign Language Letters, just leave me a comment!

Your Name Here-for Phil

Phil left a comment on my blog, so here is his name! The P is from a forest in British Columbia...H is from Ripley's Believe it or Not in Branson, MO...I is from a railing at the St. Louis Zoo...L is also from the zoo. Thanks, Phil!

Your Name Here

If you comment on my blog, I will post your name in these "Sign Language Letters". And if you like that, you can visit my website at www.kathyorf.com to find tons of personalized gifts to order for weddings, and babies and special occasions... But for now, I will tell you where these letters all came from! Y is from a Kansas City lantern...O is the Chinese Symbol for Heaven and Earth at SLAM (St. Louis Art Museum)...U is, of course, the Arch upside down...R is from a City Museum mosaic(also in St. Louis)...N is a Tiffany railing at SLAM...A is from a Pablo Picasso painting at SLAM...M is from a Vlastislav Hofman vase at SLAM...E is from a Monet painting at SLAM...H is a railing in Webster Groves, MO...E is from a City Museum railing...R is a letter laying on the floor of a closed shop in Maplewood, MO...E is from a parking garage in Country Club Plaza, Kansas City. I hope you enjoy hearing where these letters are from. I would love to hear from you!