November2013 by Barbara Qualley

Newsletter Team Editor Editor in Training Assistant Editors Photo Editors Proof Readers Regular Contributors Distribution Cover Artists

Newsletter Issue #56 November 2013 Regular monthly meetings

Linda Yaychuk Rocke Wightman Ria Lewis, Alane Lalonde Jane Taylor Alane Lalonde Martha Fraser, Barbara Qualley, Denise Rothney Lucy Hylkema, Joyce Gammie, Pat Wheatley Charlotte Whiteley Muriel Heggie Front– Lenore Le May Back– Marion Craig Headings– Times New Roman 26pt

are held on the Second Tuesday of each month from 9am to 12:00pm (no meeting in July and August) Exhibition Grounds Duncan, BC (Exceptions are December and June)

Executive Meetings are held on the First Tuesday of each month At Linda Yaychuk’s home from 9am to noon All members are welcome!

Playtime is held on the Fourth Tuesday of each month from 9am to 12am Cowichan Exhibition Grounds Duncan, BC

General Guild Information

President’s Message and Front Cover Artist

Betty Locke’s Birthday Celebration

Membership in Warmland Calligraphers includes three newsletters. Annual membership dues are C$30 Canadian residents and US $30 for US/International

5/6

May Galleria

Remembering Marilyn Silver

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley (the Guild) is a nonprofit group formed to facilitate the exchange of information between calligraphers, and to promote interest in and appreciation of calligraphy as an art form within the community. Membership is open to calligraphers at all levels of expertise as well as those with a love of beautiful writing.

September Program and Editorial

9-11

September Galleria

Paper Paste Workshop

Jottings From the Library

Exposé

Tool Talk

October Program

17-20

October Galleria

Contents of this newsletter are copyrighted by the authors/artists. Requests for permission to reprint any part must be made through the Editor. The views of contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Guild. Members are invited to submit concise pieces for publication as well as to alert the Editor to conferences, papers, speeches and other matters of interest to our readers. The Editor reserves the right to make editorial changes in material accepted for publication. These include such revisions or additions deemed necessary to ensure correctness of grammar and spelling, clarification of obscurities, brevity and conformity to the newsletter style. Contact us at: P.O. Box 2, Duncan, B C, V9L 3X1 Canada http://members.shaw.ca/warmlandcalligraphers

Inside this issue:

21-22 Pointed Brush Workshop & Back Cover Artist 23

Connie Furgason Workshop

President’s Message will take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month (except June, July, August, and December) at the Scout Hall on the Cowichan Exhibition Grounds, starting at 9 a.m.

Another new season for our Guild has begun after a long and glorious summer. I hope you all enjoyed a break from your usual activities and are filled with lots of ideas to produce some wonderful calligraphy pieces for our gallerias and exhibitions in the coming months. As a result of the questionnaire to the membership last spring, we have instituted a monthly Playtime where everyone is invited to come with a project to work on. It is hoped that a sharing of ideas, tools, and techniques will take place and the participants will go home with enthusiasm to attack something new or complete a piece already in the works. Playtimes

Once again we are displaying our calligraphy pieces at the Vancouver Island Regional Library. This exhibition takes place from November 15 to December 30 and we are hoping to show about 30 pieces. Please plan to visit the library during this time to enjoy the stellar artwork of your fellow Warmland calligraphers. Looking ahead to the new year, our Loft Gallery Show will run from January 25 until February 28. This is our chance to shine so please plan to frame those pieces you have worked on over the past year and enter them in the show. We are planning to devote a section of this show to “first timers,” so if you are a new calligrapher or if you have been reluctant in the past to exhibit your work, this is the time! Decorated

envelopes will again be a feature of the show so please start planning your submissions. The Guild was privileged to receive Marilyn Silver’s calligraphy supplies, a generous bequest she made before her death last summer. The proceeds from the sale of these supplies will go into our general funds for the present, but the executive will be looking at ways to use this money. If you have any suggestions, please contact any member of the current executive. In January a Nominating Committee will be formed to produce a slate of candidates for our annual elections in March. Being part of the executive is a very rewarding experience so please consider putting forth your name for one of the vacant positions. As always, thank you for being such an enthusiastic, creative, and supportive group. Joyce

Front Cover Artist This poem “The Country Fair” was found on the Internet. I chose to use it as my entry to the 2013 Cowichan Exhibition. The use of the alphabet, taught to us by Heather Lee, is rather light-hearted and fun. The rosy colour symbolizes the fun at the fair. The Roman capitals are from an alphabet by Peter Thornton.

Because the poem mentions blossoms and ribbons, I thought of the ribbons of decoration for soldiers and the ribbons for the prizes at the fair. There are beautiful flowers exhibited at the fair and we use the poppy, well known in Canada, to remember our veterans from the military. Apples are sweet and harvested in time for the fall fair and they make me think of home.

Lenore Le May

Happy Birthday Betty Locke Submitted by Linda Yaychuk On August 18th Betty turned 75. At Anne Atkinson's suggestion we decided to help her celebrate by creating a card book made up of seventy-five cards. We notified the Bow Valley and Fairbank guilds of our plans and waited. I was the lucky one who received seventy-five beautiful and creative birthday cards in the mail. Some contained short notes commending the idea of a card book for such a wonderful person.

I approached Marilyn Lundstrom and asked her to create a page of calligraphic letters in different hands. After printing it off, I cut the sheets into five inch strips and used them to bind the outer fold of each card thus creating some continuity for the spine of the book.

I gathered together as many pictures as I could of the people who sent 4

cards and made them into a collage. Then I printed the collage onto some sheets of paper and used them to wrap the card book.

After some searching I came upon a super photograph of Betty wearing her button necklace. Using pictures of pen nibs I was able to create a crown for Betty's head. 'Queen of the Quills' was printed under the picture which was used on the front of the book and transferred onto a cake which we ate during the presentation.

Betty was completely surprised when a number of us showed up at her door to present the book which so many grateful calligraphers had created for her. The following are some of the comments Betty made while looking through her book. “This is so unexpected.” “Oh isn't that lovely. It makes you want to cry.” “Seventy-five cards! I'm really glad I've lived long enough for this.”

Happy Birthday Betty and may you have many more.

May Galleria Submitted by Jane Taylor The theme for this month’s challenge was ‘Let’s Stirrup Some Fun’. The critique was led by Judith Lovell.

Pat Wheatley

Marg Kells

Marilyn Boechler

Judy Lowood

Ruth Rutledge

Denise Rothney

Joyce Gammie

Betty Locke Marion Craig

Anne Atkinson

Remembering Marilyn Silver I came across this beautiful quote the other day by W.S. Merwin and it spoke volumes to me. “Your absence has gone through me like a thread through a needle. Everything I do is stitched with its colours.” My mind goes back a few years when I first joined the Guild. I was introduced to another calligrapher from Ladysmith! Little did I know that it would be something of a special friendship that grew from taking courses at the Guild and partaking in card making classes taught by Marilyn and Trish Peebles. It accelerated when Carolynn Dallaire moved to Ladysmith and all three of us connected over coffees at the 49th Parallel. Shortly after this meeting we formed the small but intimate group we called the CCM group, taking from the first letters of our names. (Others who will remain nameless had inserted the word coven in there). We explored book making, card making, alternating lunch making and snack making. We tried to do various arts and crafts and went on excursions into the communities to explore local sites always guided by Marilyn with her vast local knowledge. . Marilyn talked us into joining the “Sing for Pure Joy” group and culturally we grew by attending Fringe Flicks and Plays in Nanaimo. There were always lively discussions following the shows and I especially

A day exploring Vancouver and getting lost because I planned the trip!

Submitted by Charlotte Whiteley

dealt to her and her attitude to her illness. As she lost her hair and her strength began to diminish she remained beautiful inside and out. It was such an honour to take this last journey with her. And just like the play “Ride the Cyclone” we all attended in Nanaimo in April 2013, the ride has been a blast and I will treasure these memories forever.

Marilyn with Trish Peebles at one of the many card making sessions

remember some gut busting laughter following a coffee shop evening at the United Church. Marilyn’s unique sense of humour had us doubled over with laughter on more than one occasion. “Namaste” will always make me smile and chuckle inwardly as I remember the event. This relatively short friendship was rich and full of so many wonderful experiences, lessons, sharing, laughter, great food, special projects and some tears and I feel truly blessed to have met this wonderful woman. Helping Marilyn realize her vision for the Mask will always stand out in my mind as an example of her strength and acceptance to the fate that was

Marilyn’s radiation mask project is waiting for a home with the BC Cancer Agency. The decorations are from charms that represented her interests, activities and travel. It was very important to her to complete this task she had set out to accomplish.

Having lunch with Marilyn, Margot, and Carolynn on July 25th 2013

September Program

Submitted by Linda Yaychuk

the process she went through to create it. Sheila's book is now in Britain in a private collection of prized bound books.

During the September program, Gwyneth Evans recapped some of the background information on Sheila Waters, including the fact that Sheila and her husband Peter went to Florence after a bad flood to help repair damaged books in the city's library. Sheila was commissioned to create a book based on the Dylan Thomas play Under Milkwood. Gwyneth described the book in some detail and recited some passages. It took fifteen years to create the book which had an embossed cover. The colours and layouts change every four pages. At the end of the book she writes about

Gwyneth also described another of Sheila's masterpieces. It is called Roundel of the Seasons which is pictured on the cover of her book Foundations of Calligraphy. The piece was originally created with gouache and watercolour on calfskin vellum. The roundel, which consists of circles within circles, is set in a rectangle. The four corners each hold a quote or poem pertaining to the four seasons. These quotes are drawn from ancient literature, the Bible and seventeenth and twentieth century pieces. Around the outside of the roundel, Sheila has written a quote from Ecclesiastes using graceful, high, Italic ascenders. The next circle has the two solstices and the two equinoxes placed in their proper positions. Then comes a circle with the names of the months done in Roman letters and separated by circles containing the Roman numerals for each month. The next circle consists of a series of circles containing illustrations, dates, names and signs of the zodiac. Separating the circles at the top are beautiful illustrations of flowers and the bottom holds small

roundels containing the letters for Sheila's name. The next circle contains the names of the seasons in Roman letters. Each letter is nestled in tiny pictures of things pertaining to the season. The second to last circle contains an Egyptian quote from fourteen hundred B.C. and a quote from the bible describing the creation. The center of the roundel is a Rose Compass made up of complementary colours. This piece is made up of a collection of quotes from different times and cultures. It took Sheila ten months and an estimated one thousand hours to complete. Gwyneth described Sheila as “a remarkable woman” who likes to use progressions of colours in her works. As a result of Gwyneth's presentation, we now have a better understanding of Sheila Waters' background, methods and the composition of two of her major pieces. Our thanks go to Gwyneth for a very informative program.

Letter from the Editor I recently received an email from June Maffin, one of our members. I thought you might be interested in the information she sent to me. Warmlanders who are on Facebook might like to know about the Facebook “Cyberscribes” group. Facebook's “Cyberscribes” is an international list whose membership includes many well known calligraphy instructors as well as countless calligraphers at various levels. It can be accessed with this URL: www.facebook.com/cyberscribes 8

By joining the Cyberscribes Facebook group, Warmlanders can access instructional, calligraphic videos, photos of calligraphically-rendered quotations and so much more by scrolling through previous postings / questions / videos / photos and be inspired, challenged and encouraged in their own calligraphy The “ScribesMemorial” page on Facebook was created to remember calligraphers from around the world for posterity. It can be accessed with

this URL: www.facebook/com/scribesmemorial

September Galleria Submitted by Jane Taylor The challenge for this month was to create a happy piece a child would like using vibrant colours. The critique was led by Betty Locke.

Margaret Kells has done a lovely piece in a beautiful hand. She used capital letters which are easier for a child to read. It was suggested that if she had used a little red in each illustration it would give it an artistic oneness and make it more cohesive. Betty said the pig was delightful!

Pat Wheatley’s illustrations are very whimsical. She has used a ‘bastardized’ Roman hand. Giving the piece a border demonstrates good use of white space.

Marilyn Lundstrom used a common children’s joke for her piece. She made great use of bright colours that would appeal to a child. Her lettering is a variation of Neuland. The overlapping of some letters connects them. The letters, done in watercolour, were difficult as the paper was coated paper stock. The last line written in pencil is very effective, as it makes us look closer.

Marion Craig created her piece using a combination of Gwen Weaver’s hand and her own. Her drawings are lovely and sweet. The differences between the text for Peter Pan and the text for Tinker Bell were felt to be appealing to a child, as well the rainbow. Betty liked the ampersand and the way the lettering comes and goes into the illustration.

Lenore Le May has included great detail in her illustrations. Her piece is done in a lovely bookhand or foundational. She used Betty Locke’s handout to help her create bouncing letters.

Betty Locke drew her clown out of proportion and chose the words of this song to appeal to children It evokes memories of the circus and parades. Her drawing was done using watercolour pencils and primary colours.

Betty thought Linda Yaychuk’s decision to cut and paste a larger version of the word ‘mighty’ over her original, smaller word made the piece. It looks intentional. Betty loved the way the alphabet falls down, bringing the eye around the piece. Linda’s use of bright colours and the rainbow effect in ‘mighty’, as well as the alphabet theme is appealing to children .

Betty loved Anne Beren’s illustration and her use of Fisher Price colours. The drips down through the lettering are very effective in drawing the eye down into the quote.

Shirley Johnson’s piece is the first verse of a poem by A.E.Houseman. She left out the second verse for simplicity’s sake. Betty said she had created a oneness with her similar style for the lettering and illustrations.

Judy Lowood’s picture makes us laugh. She has incorporated the colours of the rainbow in her background and the sun in the upper right hand corner is reminiscent of children’s drawings. The little dog upsets the cart beautifully.

Ida Marie Threadkell used free hand cutting to make her letters. Betty said that she had created cohesiveness with her repetition of the colour orange which also moves the eye around the piece. Betty liked Ida Marie’s depiction of the word ‘jump’ which she said was an explosive word getting all over the place. In her piece entitled Vermiculture, Brigitte French loaded her pen the way Betty taught her and was pleased to discover that she could write a whole line without reloading. Betty said it was well done and liked her italic hand.

Paste Paper Workshop Submitted by Ida Marie Threadkell and Lorraine Hoy There was no work involved in this, just play! And play we did, in the fabulous new Studio G which was bright, spacious and very well equipped. Our day started with a very inspiring show and tell and slide show and then we jumped right in to mixing acrylic paint or ink into our home made paste and applying said paste to paper (B.K. Rives, Arches Textwove, rice paper, cloth or almost anything). Swooshing through the paste with credit cards or carved rolling pins or anything that would give texture or pattern was exhilarating! Janet's handout was comprehensive and clear and she was able to gently lead us from our tabula rasa state into a tabula decorated state. Not everything we did was museum quality but we did prepare enough paper to make a box (which we constructed under Anne Atkinson's direction), a journal, some cards and/or an accordion pleated book and a magnet.

Studio G is a great place for a workshop.

The look on Anne Atkinson’s face says it all. Everyone smiled through this workshop.

endless and I definitely want to play more with this new art form. It was also very nice that Linda Yaychuk had been doing some baking and that Lorraine Douglas had been learning a new hand which she used on our name cards.

Marilyn Boechler, Joyce Gammie and Denise Rothney enjoyed making their creations. Anne Atkinson showed us some of the books and pieces made from paste paper.

The most challenging thing for me, other than stamina, was mixing up the colours I wanted and so I was very glad that Janet let us use her array of paints and that others shared theirs too. The possibilities for colours, texture, patterning and projects are

Janet demonstrated the ways of adding colour and texture to the paste.

A great class! Thank you, Janet! Ida Marie Threadkell One wonders how any more creative juices could be extracted after a previous full day of paste paper and paint. Somehow even more ideas came forth, perhaps because we were now more at ease with the medium. Many women tried glitter, threads, drywall tape, coloured tissue and even fabric. The outside patio where we hung our wet paper danced in colour.

The paste papers were hung from a clothesline to dry.

During the last half of the day a sixteen page journal was sewn together from 3 x 10 inch strips of BFK Rives paper, previously decorated by coloured paste. This is a Teesha Moore invention and can be seen on YouTube. Anne Atkinson showed several of us the lotus card and variations on the Tcut which results, after many folds, in a little booklet otherwise called a Flutter or Meandering Booklet. Information on these little booklets can be found in the book Cover to Cover by Shereen La Plantz located in the Guild library. Near the end of the day we were taught how to make an origami card using our paste paper. Clear fridge magnets were given to everyone to decorate our paper, and finally two “frame” cards and envelopes were passed to each of us in a final bit of generosity. There are so many people to thank, not the least of whom is Janet—her preparation, patience, generosity and unflagging energy abounded. Anne Atkinson was always available to show us her techniques for using paper. Linda Yaychuk baked enough delicious goodies to last many more days than we had…so much sharing and so much fun. Lorraine Hoy

The gang’s all here. What happy faces.

Jottings From the Library (I dragged myself from the garden to write this one) There has been quite a bit of change going on in libraries recently. As a child I felt I had to tiptoe in and whisper if saying anything and apologize if I sneezed. It was full of old ladies and men who wore rimless spectacles and disapproving expressions. I always tried to escape quickly back into the real world. The school library was filled with the brainy kids who were never seen on the playing field. Later on libraries were definitely work places where you didn’t really want to be seen spending too long. But now it’s much more fun. Libraries are “action” places—somewhere to meet people, to find out what’s going on, to see some art work, to get entertainment stuff—no longer shadowy, sombre tombs, but kid-filled with lots of energy. It’s wonderful! Anyway, I was wondering what to write about in this newsletter because we have had two months off when nothing happened, right? Notes from newsletters received: In every newsletter there is always something interesting: reports on workshops, tips, interviews with clever calligraphers. I cannot include everything, so feel free to take a handful home and browse through them. They do not have to be signed out and it doesn’t matter how old they are! The Hamilton Guild (April) had a wonderful article on “Decorated Letters”. The Westcoast Calligraphy Society (spring issue) included more experiences from the North West conference highlighting workshops with Yves Leterme, Harvest Crittenden, Marilyn Reeves, Thomas Hoyer, Gemma Black and Pamela Paulsrud. There was also a workshop on Proverbs.

Submitted by Pat Wheatley

The May edition from Bow Valley featured workshops on “Texture,” “Magical Mapping” (a journey into your imagination), and another on “Logos”. The Letter Arts Review Vol. 27 No. 2 is the Annual Juried Workshop issue—this is a must-see. The Broad Edge from Langley (summer edition) has some neat quickie layout exercises and an experiment with pointillism. This ties in with the March Fairbank newsletter which had an article on George Seurat. Bound & Lettered Vol. 10 No. 3 contains an article on collaborating— preparing vellum, choosing words, writing and gilding (of use to future Warmland cover makers). Also contained in this issue is a detailed description of “paper cut calligraphy” using the principles of yin/yang and exhibited to make use of wind and light. It must have been an amazing display. Uniquely Ours from Washington has a report on “Letters of Joy” and the Kelowna Guild discuss their Portland experiences, show two gallerias, one with borders and another featuring textures, and they have a page full of pangrams so that you can practise lettering without it becoming boring. The library received five wonderful new books this summer. I will discuss three in this issue of the Newsletter. Celebration of Calligraphy. 75 Years of the Society of Scribes and Calligraphers and Illuminators. This book records the exhibition held in 1996. With a historical and contemporary section it covers changes in style and fashion which prove fascinating. Within this book is shown a progression of top quality calligraphers whose names are all familiar to us and whose work is of the finest. I always find it rewarding to read “forewards” and

“introductions” to books—whatever else I don’t read I find that beginning helpful. Bound for Glory—Celebrating the Gift of African American Spirituals through Expressive Calligraphy. This book is like no other book in our library. Timothy Botts says, “This is the most difficult art work I have ever created.” As a Western European he bridged the gap into the AfroAmerican world superbly. His aim: “to continue the work of healing and reconciliation.” The design, colour and movement in this book is inspiring. I was captivated. Historical Scripts: From Classical Times to the Renaissance by Stan Knight. It is really a history book giving information on how, why and when changes came about in putting pen to paper. This book contains beautifully illustrated and photographed manuscripts. It is so detailed that the variation between individual scribes is recognized. Take time to read it; it has huge depth of information for the calligrapher. The other two books purchased: Scribe: Artist of the Written Word by John Stevens and Kunstraum Kalligraphie by Joachim Propfe I will discuss in the next Newsletter. I have to admit that my intention to play around with coloured dots to colour code our library books did not materialize this summer, but I still intend to make it happen. Two tips from Peter Thornton: the longer the line of writing, the more space is needed between the lines and “flying white” is space that your eye completes. Now I am back to the garden!

Exposé

Submitted by Ria Lewis In the 1970s, John took their daughter, Margaret, to Wales for his father’s 80th birthday. While sitting around the table with family members, she said, “These are all my aunts and uncles, and I don’t know any of them.” At that moment, John and Marion decided that it was important for her to get to know her family. They spent a year in North Wales on two different occasions. Vacationing in North Wales as often as possible while John’s parents were still living has been a priority. Marion says, “It is better to visit them while alive, than to see their gravestones.” To this day, they visit friends in Wales.

Marion Kelbrick was born on July 12, 1935 in Winnipeg. She has one sister and four brothers. Her sister and one brother have since passed away. Marion lived in Winnipeg most of her life, but on two occasions she lived in North Wales for one year. In 1990, she retired to Shanagan Lake which is to date her favourit place to reside.

In her retirement, Marion enjoys all sorts of crafts like knitting, crocheting, painting, woodcarving, gardening and reading. She enjoys reading historical fiction and mysteries. Presently she is reading books by Lauraine Snelling about Norwegian immigrants settling in North Dakota in the late 1800s. She also enjoys watching old movies. Taking a course in copperplate from Betty Locke through Elder College was the beginning of Marion’s interest in calligraphy and subsequently she joined the Guild.

In May 2011, Marion and John boarded a ship in Harwich, England, for a Baltic cruise. They visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Talinn and Gothenburg. The highlight of the cruise was a visit to St. Petersburg. Last July, Marion and John traveled to Winnipeg to visit their daughter and family.

Marion attended the University of Manitoba and earned a Bachelor of Arts and Education degree in 1971. She taught elementary school for 30 plus years in Winnipeg, mostly grade four. Marion later specialized in library teaching. However, that meant she was always involved in two different schools. Eventually she began to teach French from grades one to six which meant she was able to stay in one school. In 1959 while attending a wedding, Marion was introduced to the man who became her husband, John Kelbrick. He and Marion have one daughter, Margaret. Margaret and her husband Fred have built a very successful e-learning computer company called Werdermann e-Learning. They develop teaching programs for businesses. Their son, Rhys, is in his fifth year of engineering at the University of Manitoba.

Seniors Activity Group. For several years they volunteered with Speed Watch.

The most memorable event has been the celebration of Marion and John’s 50th wedding anniversary at Arbutus Ridge. There they were married for a third time, the second time being on their 25th anniversary. Her future endeavours are to brush up on her Welsh and German language skills and to learn Spanish.

A nasty fall on ice in Winnipeg and being off work for two weeks because of it made them think that a move to a milder climate might be in their best interest. After visiting friends in Victoria, they decided to move out west and settle in Shawnigan Lake. Marion and John attend Sylvan United Church and belong to the Young

As always, it is fascinating to learn a bit about the background of one of our members. Thank you for sharing that with us, Marion.

Tool Talk Submitted by Charlotte Whiteley Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Your Tool Box? Whether this is your first workshop or your thirty-first, the fact remains that finding the right tool box can be a dilemma. You might find yourself sitting between a person that has everything neatly tucked into a 10" x 6" plastic case and another who seems to have brought everything but the kitchen sink. Whether you are new to calligraphy or a seasoned pro, the evolution of the tool box continues. Most people have a good sense of what calligraphy basics they will need. There are plenty of websites that can guide you. The bigger question is what to store them in. When I started on this path I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a clue and I now have three different tool kits and various pouches and containers to transfer pens and such back and forth to meetings and workshops.

All tool box contents change depending on the workshop you are attending, but pay close attention to partitions and lift outs. It is so nice to have everything in one place all organized. Some great kits I have observed are fishing tackle boxes, makeup and jewellery cases, and scrapbooking cases. This is one time that a bit of research will save you money in the long run.

This craft box is quite convenient. You will find it comes in a larger size. It is light and compact with various trays but the biggest drawback is that the trays have too many compartments and it does not have enough storage for longer items. I left out two of the trays and then inserted a pencil case, which makes it a little more user friendly.

This blue tool box (shown below) is big enough to store most of the items listed. It has a removable pencil case

This fishing tackle box has a lot of merit. It has plenty of various size trays, deep storage areas and a nice flat area in the top. You could even store some paper in the lid. Its biggest drawback is the size, making it harder to cart around.

on the outside and a tray that lifts to accommodate more storage underneath. But when the tray is lifted out, the box keeps tipping over. I find this very frustrating. So how do you determine what will work for you? The main factor that determines the tool kit size is to see if it will accommodate the calligraphy items you have chosen such as the longest pen you have, your straight edge ruler, watercolour palettes and the height of the container you store your ink in. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget a container for water! You might think about having some flat trays, wide trays and deep storage spaces. You want to keep tools handy and not at the bottom of your case.

You will want to be able to pack it all up for travel, store it in your workspace area and consider its convenience. Whatever you set as your priority, this will determine what you need for storage. It is not as simple as it sounds. Happy hunting! Members cool tip: cut the head off an old toothbrush and glue it, bristles up, to the bottom of a plastic container with a good lid. I use a Rubbermaid square container about one inch deep. I used a hot glue gun to attach it to the bottom of the container. Now you can add water and use it to clean nibs and brushes as you go. It is small and can be stored in most tool boxes.

October Program

Submitted by Linda Yaychuk

During the summer Leslie Healy had an operation on her foot which meant she had limited mobility for at least two months. Betty created sixty assignments or challenges to help Leslie get better as well as busy, thoughtful and creative while recovering.

Do your name in Roman caps. (Leslie) Letters should be at least an inch high. Attend to good Roman spacing. This may be a little bit of a challenge as the letters in your name are all members of the half width group. Colour the spaces created between each of the letters leaving a very tiny margin of white between black ink letters and the colour. The colours must be analogous (colours that lie beside each other on the colour wheel). Have at least three inches of white space above the word and at least three inches of space below the word. White space creates more importance to the thing that is surrounded by it.

During the October program Leslie presented the pieces she had completed while Betty critiqued her work. Leslie then demonstrated one way to center a piece.

Use a B nib (makes monoline

The following are some of the assignments Betty created and the pieces Leslie produced for each one: You said that you loved the lower case Italic A. Make a composition using only the lower case Italic A. You must use the A at least ten times in the total composition. You must use black ink. The A's can be different sizes.

presentation as strokes are all the same width). The quotation you are to do is Centaurs like to horse around. Use black ink and Roman proportion capitals only. Determining the height of the capital for this pen is to pile the “ball” shape made by the end of the nib on top of one another to make about eight balls high. You may include a change of size if you have several sizes of B nibs.

Make up a limerick about your toe and write it out using a bouncing Bookhand. This came to mind and you can use it if you cannot think of anything else. My toe is causing me woe I just hate to feel so low The pain is not nice Is the remedy “ice” There's a lot more healing to go.

Using the numbers of your birthday and year of birth make a composition. If I were doing it, the numbers I would be using are 08(Aug.) 18(Day) 1938 or just 38. Using all your numbers, make a lovely composition of numbers. Numbers could be turned or angled and nicely drafted at various sizes. Please do this as a drawing and painting piece rather than using calligraphy pens. It may include colour.

All sixty assignments that Betty created for Leslie will be available on-line if you would like to use them for practice. 16

October Galleria Submitted by Jane Taylor The challenge was to create a piece using gold of some kind—gold ink, gold leaf, gold gouache - anything that gives a touch of gold. Betty Locke once again led the critique.

Anne Atkinson’s italic hand is well done in this piece. There is enough bounce in the letter D of the focal point word to make it look wonderful! Connie Ferguson is ‘a master of wonderful letter forms’ Betty proclaimed. ‘There is a power there, no hesitation.’ Putting the decorative work on the right is a deviation from where we usually see it. Connie purposely used a black pen that would bleed. Lettering was done using Schminke gold gouache.

Lenore Le May has done beautifully drawn letters for her piece. Betty enjoyed the little wisps that accompany the letters and felt she had beautiful italic form. Lenore has been working on learning the letter forms in the book Dancin´ Pen by Carrie Imai. Lenore used Quinacridone Gold watercolour to outline her letters, keeping them wet to make the paint bleed and avoid any hard edges. The background was done using Finetec Gold paint.

Denise Rothney’s beautiful piece is a Christmas present for her son Jamie. It has evolved from a piece she started working on at our guild’s new playtime sessions. She found the jaguar very difficult to do. Members loved the tail coming out onto the background and the jaguar standing on the letter J. Denise researched to find authentic plants for her background. To create the dots on the ˋJ ´ she used an empty ballpoint pen. The white dots were done with the end of a darning needle. Denise did much of her work with the aid of a magnifying glass.

Marion Craig has used a Speedball B nib for most of her lettering. In order to make her message ‘art is universal’ the focal point she changed the hand to uncial and used gold.

Marilyn Boechler has created a classic piece using beautiful copperplate letterforms. She wanted something light for her lettering. Her leaves were printed using real leaves and print making materials. The haiku is her own words. Betty felt that Marilyn’s placement of the text close to the leaves ‘gives it a oneness’. The black sets off the gold nicely.

Carolynn Dallaire’s works are excellent examples of the pointed brush technique. She recently taught a class on this for the guild. The stretching out of the name Emerson gives the piece a wonderful border. Betty especially liked the letter G and the punctuation mark. It was felt that the extra stroke on the L of Live was very effective.

Betty felt that Pat Wheatley had chosen a wonderful hand and she loved the arrangement of the text in this piece. ‘It has a lovely quietness to it’ Betty stated. The lettering was done with a pointed pen which was challenging as the paper is textured.

Margaret Kells was inspired to create this piece after seeing the sun shining on a dewy spider web on her morning walk. Her italic lettering is well done and Betty loved her illustrations. We enjoy the insect coming towards the web.

Betty Locke used Finetec Mica Watercolour Paint with her pointed pen for this piece. She designed her own alphabet used in the Shakespeare quote. She didn’t really like her L.

Judy Lowood has created ‘a very artful piece,’ Betty said. Judy has made a lovely interchange of positives and negatives with her letters. Judy expressed that she had difficulty with the placement of the words. Betty suggested that she could bring the word ART down a little further. Connie Furgason liked the contrast of the letters in ART and thought perhaps there could be a little more black space at the top. Judith Lovell suggested matting it in black.

Barbara Qualley’s piece was done using gouache. Her transitions from burnt orange to yellow are very well done. The dark blue adds richness to the work. Barbara has been learning how to do shading. Betty enjoyed the turning of the acanthus leaf and felt the openness of the piece reflected the freedom of the bird.

Joyce Gammie has done a wonderful piece. She has used both the gold and the black in the best places. The contrast in hands shows power and the fragility of nature.

Ruth Rutledge decided to ‘go for gold’ using a quote by seven time Olympic gold medal winner, Michael Phelps. Betty advised that when a letter has an ascender it is hard to have it look lower than one that has a descender. The ˋO´ could have been bigger. Since we want to read from left to right it is hard to go to the ˋO´ because we naturally want to go to the ˋL´ and the ˋD´ . Ruth noted that it is much easier to see your mistakes when you put it up and view it from a distance. Ruth is going through all the different learning curves you need to experience as a

Anne Berens completed her piece using a gold pen. Betty felt she had great letter forms and that the little bit of bounce suited the idea of youth.

Shirley Johnson’s piece was inspired by her husband’s family history with Syria. She shared artifacts which were seals for scrolls that were made of amber and believed to be 3000 years old. Betty loved the counter spaces and thought it looked like a stained glass window. Shirley used a variety of the Finetec metallic watercolours to create this lovely effect.

Charlotte Whiteley has done her piece using pointed brush . Betty especially liked her word silver. Charlotte used old pieces of jewelry and some gold leaf to embellish her work. She added some highlights in gold and gray pencil crayon, as well as clear glitter gel pens. The members loved the sentiment expressed. Could it have anything to do with our ages?

Pointed Brush Lettering With Carolynn Dallaire This class is about finding your ease printing the alphabet with a brush and watercolours. The brush should be somewhat springy, keep a point when wet and hold paint well...natural fibres are best. Brushes recommended are Opus Series 101-#6, Raphael 8404Kolinski Sable, American Painter 4000-Round-Takion #5, Loew Cornell 7900 #5 or 759 #4, or anything else that might suit you!

Submitted by Lorraine Hoy and Janet Peters

style in this hand and that there were few hard and fast rules, but rather general guidelines to achieve a more attractive hand. Our homework required us to write out a phrase, quote or word for the class the following week. Check our library for Brush Lettering by Eliza Schulte (Holliday) and Marilyn Reaves for more information.

This work is by Pat Wheatley.

With great patience and a cheery attitude, Carolynn led us through the entire lower case alphabet on the first day. She demonstrated the downstroke of each letter, holding the brush as if it were a pencil, creating a thick line. At the end of each letter an upward flick prevented puddling at the base of the letter. The upstroke was a line, ever so fine, by holding the brush vertically. A shorter serif or decorative flourish could be used to complete the word or letter.

The start of our class was a review of homework assignments - always interesting. Carolynn decided we should work a little more on our miniscule letters, and she brushlettered some alternatives as well as a number of variations covering height, slope, light to heavy. She reminded us to keep our lettering “edgy” rather than “cursive style.” (See example in photograph showing various “a’s.”) I found I had to exercise great control over the amount of pressure to maintain any continuity. I also discovered I could write with a #6 or a #0 and achieve pretty similar lettering depending upon the pressure I exerted.

The majuscules are another kettle of fish! There was not enough time to devote to these during lesson two but with the help of Elmo and Carolynn`s expertise we were able to see the technique clearly. Partway through the morning, Betty Locke asked who would be interested in a follow-up class, and there was a unanimous show of hands. However, to qualify for registration we have to do a little brush lettering on an envelope containing our cheque to be sent to Betty! Next session will run January 15 and 22, 2014, and is only available to those who have attended the beginner’s class. We have been reminded to put in daily practice and to use our lettering on envelopes to everyone. Respecting paper, a good quality bond or heavier photocopier type can be used for practice with gouache, watercolours, walnut ink, etc. It is fun to work with these mediums, especially being able to drop in other colours or a bit of gold or silver. Once reasonably proficient, one would then move on to hot or cold press watercolour paper, or textured, dark surfaces, and even mulberry. By using an acrylic ink, one could letter on a natural fibre; i.e. cotton, linen, or silk. (Fabrics which have had the paste paper treatment added to them, or gesso, would be fine with watercolours or ink, but perhaps test first to be safe.)

Once we had the general idea, we were encouraged to give the letters a little bounce or interest by extending the ascender or descender, or perhaps changing the shape or angle. It was made clear that each participant would eventually develop their own look or 21

but encouraged us to practise with our regular brushes first.

Then came the “Ahhh” moment where we were shown how to tidy up ragged letters by using coloured pencils or watercolours, either tone-on-tone or complementary, as well as highlighting with a fine-tipped Pigma pen. I am not sure whether this will reproduce from Photograph B, a piece done by Carolynn (The earth smiles in flowers), where she used her pen to outline the right-hand side of her lettering and then the underside of letters such as ‘a, e, o,’ and ‘s.’ She also pulled out her Pentel Colour Brushes, which she likes very much,

I loved this class. Carolynn is a wonderful teacher, sharing so much of her knowledge and expertise, as well as giving us individual help. If you have the opportunity to sign up for a class with her, do not hesitate for a single second to register.

Back Cover Artist I have an interest in art history; particularly in classical literature.

people during the Napoleonic War.

While watching a program , I came across a poem by Wordsworth entitled On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic. It dealt with Napoleon's destruction of liberty and freedom not only for Venice but for the French

The saddest outcome was the end of one thousand years of Venetian trade, culture, peace and political commonwealth. This event was devastating to Wordsworth who wrote his poem as a reminder of an important loss to the world.

We Did Very Well at the Fair

Lettering on the Dark Side With Connie Furgason Submitted by Linda Yaychuk others' pieces and discussed which techniques and medium we liked the best.

This workshop dealt with using different tools and mediums when working on black paper. .

We started the class by examining different kinds of black paper. We zeroed in on Strathmore 400 which has a very smooth surface and Canson which is smooth on one side and textured on the other. We cut the papers into small sample pages and began to experiment with different mediums by brushing on small squares of inks, gouache and watercolours. The shimmering paints such as Fine Tek worked very well while the dark watercolours were not as effective.

We then moved on to writing letters and words by applying paint to various sized nibs. While we â&#x20AC;&#x153;played,â&#x20AC;? Connie demonstrated techniques and showed us samples that she had created.

As well as pen and watercolours, we worked with coloured pencils (some metallic ones worked well while others didn't), gel pens, acrylics and bleach. The bleach was quite interesting as it worked well on some black papers (Strathmore and Canson) but did not react at all on others such as certain cardstocks.

Connie provided excellent handouts on letter and number formations as well as charted examples of different professional mediums. We came away with a wealth of new information to add to our bags of tricks. Thank you, Connie, for two wonderful days.

We experimented with bleach on other coloured cardstock and were delighted to see it turn different colours such as pink.

Connie demonstrated how to use fabric paint to create texture on drawn letters. Thin swashes of the paint remain raised on top of the letters creating a pleasing effect.

Here is a happy group after a most enjoyable workshop.

After playing and experimenting with all these techniques and mediums, we used them to create a piece. At the end of the workshop we viewed each