December 2016: The Skinny
Every outing I make a commitment that I fail to keep. November came and went without a newsletter. The websites barely received attention. Progress on the fonts was much less than hoped. The idea of posting my woes on social media holds little appeal, but I flatter myself that ours is a closer connection, readers of Stikmantica, one deserving an explanation. Since April I have been undergoing complementary series of procedures with two surgeons to address circulatory problems in my legs. The courses have been marked by general background discomfort punctuated by episodes of pain. About a month ago, I aggravated an old back injury, increasing the discomfort greatly and limiting a range of activities. Work on a Dvarsh typeface has taken a huge hit. This is especially frustrating as the first font, Dvarsh Book, is about one solid eight-hour session short of an appeal for beta-testers. A couple of days, I have worked for about an hour before retreating to hot pads and recliner. More often, twenty minutes defining kerning pairs is as much as I can manage. November's newsletter was a casualty. Do not worry, please. Prognosis is excellent. It's just a matter of living through the changes, and learning again that nothing about The Hidden Lands of Nod conforms to arbitrary deadlines.
A particle of song as it looks today: Dvarsh Book up-to-the-minute.
Weirdly, at the same time as these other bizwacks, the Dvarsh project suddenly drew negative comment, in one instance on social media. Lately, small gains are the positives I cling to, and I have enthused too much perhaps over achievements invisible to others. At least, I have done so enough to irritate three people into going out of their ways to tell me this work is pointless. The jabs came in a cluster at a low moment. One person looked me in the eye and demanded, "What kind of person even does this?" I took "this" to mean the project in its entirety. The criticism was all the more deflating because it felt hostile and unnecessary.
In answer, I do not know what kind of person does this, but whatever kind it is, I am that. Good or ill. There may be no unassailable point to developing a typeface for a made-up language attributed to fictional people. I know this, and I have never shoved Dvarsh at anyone. Superstition claims that bad comes in threes, so after the third barb, as a way of tossing salt over my shoulder, I opened a test file that included the lyrics to a Dvarsh song. If it requires defense, there is none, but to me, even in its unready state, it is beautiful. As the parts take shape, you with me here will have first chance to judge each on its merits. In the meantime, I am determined to continue as I have begun. Tomorrow will find me again defining kerning pairs for as long as I am able.
(Thomas F. and Rose V., thanks for standing up for Dvarsh on FaceBook. I was baffled.)
dvarsh.org
One can go off the deep end listing facets of Martin McCreadie, among them composer, multi-instrumentalist, designer, visual artist, gadgeteer, and, happily, my friend. He is also the kind of person who does not think Dvarsh is pointless. Quite the contrary. Over the past year, Martin has worked to improve functionality and stability of my twin websites, robertstikmanz.com and stikmantica.com. I cannot begin to detail all his handiwork. More recently, he has created a third site, dvarsh.org, which will soon be the center of all things Dvarsh, both cultural and linguistic. The site is poised for official launch, but not yet launched, as I have not yet finished populating initial content. It is, however, open for visits, and if I know some of you are checking to see when it trundles to life, I shall make an effort to get under it and push.
Check out some of Martin's other stuff here and here.
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A new print available in the Market!
"Waiting (study)"
from an original by
Robert Stikmanz
Printed offset on 8″ x 10″
13 pt. recycled matte cover.
Illustration dimensions are
4.75″ x 7.5″
Each copy is signed by Robert.
Ships flat in a rigid mailer.
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I have not been to the mountaintop, but I have been to the bank, less for Caesar than for Stikmantica, and now the Market on stikmantica.com is fully enabled to process checks written to the business instead of to me. May those of you uncomfortable with PayPal find this a useful innovation.
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Also, I need a new gig
Cast into the cloud with all honor due chance, a fact that grows plainer by the day is that I have no future in my current position. I need new employment. A new job doesn't have to be much, as long as the pay approaches dignity and it leaves energy for all of this. Tips or taps, whichever you may have to share, are welcome.
Wishing you
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