Personal Inscriptions
Onto the back of our challah boards
Calligraphy is made up of thick and thin lines
I learned to love pen and ink at the beginning of my artistic career. I found drawing or writing with such high contrast, to be challenging and exciting. Years later, I burned a typographic design of mine into wood and never looked back. With wood I was able to maintain the high contrast paper offered, while conjuring a new tactile experience to the piece. Rather than this being a piece of art which is off limits to touch, letter carvings often encourage the viewer to reach out and trace the grooves with their fingers, creating a sensory connection to both the material and the message it conveys.
To engrave the wood, I first sketch out the inscription in pencil. I’ll then use ink and adjust my calligraphy as necessary before using my small laser engraver to transfer my calligraphy to the wood. In the past I would use a ‘V’ gouge and a mallet to carve out the thicker parts of each letter. Then, a wood burning pen was used to darken the letters. The board is oiled, with a food safe beeswax, and ready for Shabbat!
