Tag Archives: layout

La vie soferet – fun and games at the NYPL

August 26, 2010 – 20:12

The New York Public Library is having an exhibition this winter, about Three Faiths And Manuscripts, or some such. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and their various adventures with calligraphy. I’d link you to the relevant Library page, but the exhibition is not on the website yet, not even under “Upcoming.” Anyway, part of the exhibition […]

By jen | Posted in feminism, La vie soferet | Comments Off on La vie soferet – fun and games at the NYPL

Ketubah drafting part 4 – fitting to shapes

June 16, 2010 – 19:14

Fitting text into shapes, the bane of ketubah artists everywhere. First thing with funny shapes is to check them out with the officiant. Some officiants are DEAD AGAINST funny shapes – anything that doesn’t have four sides and right-angled corners. Others are okay with it so long as the lines are horizontal and any added […]

By jen | Posted in calligraphy | Comments Off on Ketubah drafting part 4 – fitting to shapes

Ketubah drafting part 3 – word processors

June 1, 2010 – 17:34

In an ideal situation, then, you have your .doc file, with the names and everything neatly filled in. Next to the portable drafting board, the most awesome tool in the ketubah artist’s kit is – VARIABLE MARGINS! Yes. You open your .doc file in Word*, and you mess with the margins. It’s great. I’ve learned […]

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Ketubah drafting part 2 – on ketubah texts

May 31, 2010 – 17:23

Ketubah texts come in three varieties. The most common variety up until just a few years ago was a tenth-generation photocopy from the Rabbi’s Manual, the text so blurry you could barely distinguish the letters, and GIANT DOTTED LINES whose giant dots rendered semi-invisible the names, scribbled in pencil by a rushed rabbi. It didn’t […]

By jen | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)