October 2009 Newsletter by Barbara Qualley

Logo designed by Judith Lovell

Executive Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at Eleanor Harris’ home from 9am to noon All members are welcome! P.O. Box 2, Duncan, B C, V9L 3X1 Canada http://members.shaw.ca/warmlandcalligraphers

NEWSLETTER ISSUE #45, OCTOBER 2009 Cover artist: Inside Back artist: Titles: Printer: Page Layout: Editor:

Proofreader:

Pat Wheatley Leslie Healy Betty Locke Copycat Printing & Design Microsoft Publisher Charlotte Whiteley and Barbara Qualley Telephone 250-746-9385 Fax 250-746-4580 bqualley1@shaw.ca Eleanor Harris

Regular monthly meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month (EXCEPT JULY and AUGUST)

from 9am to noon Island Savings Centre 2687 James Street Duncan, BC

COPY DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE 12 January 2010 Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley (the Guild) is a non-profit 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. Its membership is open to calligraphers at all levels of expertise as well as those with a love of beautiful writing. 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 Editors to conferences, papers, speeches and other matters of interest to our readers. The Editors reserve the right to make editorial changes in material accepted for publication. These include such revisions or additions as are necessary to ensure correctness of grammar and spelling, clarification of obscurities, brevity and conformity to the newsletter style. It is the calligrapher’s responsibility to obtain permission from the author if/when using copyrighted material. See http://members.shaw.ca/warmlandcalligraphers/galleria.htm

Membership in the Warmland Calligraphers guild includes three newsletters published in February, May and October. Annual membership dues are C$20 for Canadian residents and US$20 for US/International

Pat Wheatley Whatever the weather: howling wind, driving rain, blowing snow or thick fog, out of the back garden gate and up Tzouhalem Mountain I go to walk the dogs in the morning. Once out, I am always pleased to be there on the hillside. In thinking of a cover for this Thanksgiving month, what could be better than trying to explain my love for this tiny corner of Canada. When asked to do the cover, my response was — who, what me, why, golly, gosh, wasn’t it Connie Furgason who did the last one?! I agonized over the lettering to be used, and tried to remember all the things I have been taught over the past 2 1/2 years. It is done with Sumi ink on Fabriano 140lb. cold press paper. Well, for better or worse, after several attempts, here it is. There is so much to learn and feelings of inadequacy sometimes kick in, but Warmland Calligraphers are wonderfully supportive; I feel so lucky and privileged to be counted among the members. Thank you everyone!

It’s October 2009, Warmland Calligraphers is into its 14th year and still going strong. What a terrific testament to all the wonderful members who appreciate calligraphy and have made a commitment to keeping our guild strong. We truly are a remarkable group. Our plans for the 2009/10 year are, as always, quite awesome. We have a number of workshops planned with both international instructors (Lisa Englebrecht worked with us in September, Heather Lee is coming this month and Georgia Deaver is expected in May) and, as always, many of our own guild members will be offering a variety workshops throughout the year. Two major exhibits will be taking place this year, so keep on creating those lovely pieces for hanging. The Telus Lobby exhibit at the Island Savings Centre in Duncan takes place from November 16 – December 21, 2009 and our Loft Gallery show in Mill Bay is in February, 2010. Our Gallerias are always a wonderful learning experience. Each month Betty Locke and Judith Lovell (and sometimes one or two other members) lead us through a positive and informative sharing of work presented by members. Last year we began to worry as it seemed that both Betty and Judith were taking far too many wonderful holidays and we were scrambling to find members who felt confident leading a Galleria. To remedy this concern we convinced Betty and Judith to share their art critiquing skills with a few interested members. So this year expect to see some new faces leading the Gallerias (and be gentle on the “newbie’s”). Marilyn Lundstrom, Marilyn Silver, Marilyn Boechler and Judy Lowood join Betty and Judith in leading the Gallerias.

When I was asked to do the titles for this newsletter issue, I immediately thought it would be good incentive to practice the Celtic Hybrid hand which we learned in Denis Brown's class in Minnesota. Original lettering was done using black gouache. The left hand held the loading brush

By the time you read this you will have noted that this year we have made a change in the format of our meeting programs. The change came about after listening to guild members talk about wanting to look carefully at their work and at perfecting their skills. In order to make a small attempt at addressing this huge question we have decided to dedicate our meeting programs throughout the year to looking closely at one style of lettering – Italic. Betty Locke and Judith Lovell will lead us through a series of lessons that immerse us in the Italic lettering. It is exciting to have the opportunity to look carefully at one hand over an extended period of time. It is a year of “less is more”. Before writing my message for this newsletter I was looking over some previous issues and noted the front cover of the October 2005 newsletter was created by Anne McDonald who penned in the copperplate script this quote from an old Engrosser’s manual: “The desire to express and record in beautiful form the sentiments of mankind has served as a basic motive in developing the art of Calligraphy.” At the time Anne said she felt these words gave her reason for developing the art of calligraphy. This stuck a note with me as I thought about our goal to concentrate on Italic lettering this year. I hope the quote will inspire and motivate individual members in developing their own “art of calligraphy”. - Marilyn Silver

and the right hand held the pen with its large Brause nib. It was good to have a practical and useable result from this endeavour. I was pleased that the lettering began to feel good and have a bit more rhythm as I worked. If a newsletter editor asks you to do titles, DO THEM. It is wonderful practise, makes YOU more able, and helps with the producing of a newsletter. How much easier it would be for the editors to just use a (I hate to say this--"font"). - Betty Locke

Betty Locke critiqued this very challenging subject, and started by giving the meaning of graphics: “The making of a drawing or the use of symbols to indicate a picture.” By not using any graphics it forces the calligrapher to get out writing tools and use just words. Texture – Spacing – Contrast. Text can be enhanced by the manipulating color and size of the lettering. Varying the body height of the lettering will create movement within the piece. Another way could be the compression or expansion of the letters to give a very different feel to the work.

The use of colors and different hands in the work will also create a picture through the text. Borders using only letters such as the “n” line (anbncndn..etc) or an alphabet in monoline caps lend a feeling of containment. There is so much that can be done with the way the words are placed on the sheet and the type of hand used. This gives viewers a graphic but only text is used which is very pleasing to the eye. An elegant flourish well done can make a simple presentation appear grand. - Pauline Thompson

Ida Marie Threadkell Denise Rothney

Marilyn Lundstrom

Connie Furgason-Card

Pat Wheatley

Anne Atkinson

Betty Locke

Judy Dearman

Joyce Gammie

Judy Lowood

Lorraine Douglas

Marilyn Boechler

Marion Craig Marion Kelbrick

Susan Miller

Shirley Johnson

Trudy Kungold Ammann

Robbin Olive

Six pack 1

June gave an amazing demonstration at our January meeting. This took us all into our own quiet world for 15 minutes. In a room full of people you could hear a pin drop. In this new art form there is no right or wrong for that matter no left or right. So take a deep breath, relax and throw away your eraser.

Kari Magnuson

relaxing journey turn your tile so that you are constantly seeing your creation in a new light. Remember the object is to relax and left the mind flow on its own. This is to be done with “no worry or thought about anything else”. When you feel a zentangle is complete sign the front and date the back. The size of theses and need for just one pen make them a valuable relaxation commodity to be carried in small amount of space. Yesterday my car repairs took 2 1/2 hours instead of the promised 1, “we got backed up”. With my little “ZenBag” that long unexpected wait was given over to

Robbin Olive Marion Kelbrick Alane Lalonde

Robbin Olive

relaxation and creativity rather than stress and frustration, and anger. Zentangles can be accessed by June’s Soulistry Website: www.soulistry.com or visiting the creators Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas at www.zentangles.com Brigitte French

- Pauline Thompson

The only things you need are a pigma pen and a tile (3 1/2inch squares of card stock or heavy art paper.) Then just allow your creativity to flow, from you to the pen creating a string. This can be a continuous line that swirls, zigzags or angles around your tile. Now without planning and using a repetitive pattern fill in various areas of your string with circles, squares, lines. As you fill in your zentangle, remember that like life there are some empty areas (white), this is where growth and patience occur. As you continue on this Kari Magnuson

As someone who at times feels disconnected from my creativity, I had a hunch that the Zentangles workshop offered by June Maffin might be just the sort of non-threatening catalyst I needed to regain some confidence and reacquaint myself with the delight that comes from getting “lost in the flow” of something. I’m glad I trusted my hunch.

Pauline Thompson

Alane Lalonde

Brigitte French

The Zentangle concept was created by an American couple, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, who believe that zentangles are metaphors for “deliberate artistry in life.” As June shared with the group who gathered in her lovely, bright studio beside her home near Shawnigan Lake, Zentangles are an art form “where repetitive patterns create wonderful images” that can be used in a variety of projects. They’re “portable, never-fail, meditative, relaxing and fun” – and anyone can make them! Key to the unfolding of the day for me was June’s candid and open sharing about her own path and challenges. To me, she is an example of someone who has honoured her creative spirit, letting go of self-judgment, and is attracting opportunities to share that spirit. And her warm, welcoming space, enhanced by relaxing music and inspiring creations, comprised a beautiful setting in which to learn about the fun of Zentangling.

Alane Lalonde

Marion Kelbrick

We began by using our fine-nib, black Pigma pens to play with patterns in “pre-strung tiles” (pre-drawn irregular shapes), then moved on to create our own unique shapes in which to experiment with any repetitive patterns that struck our fancy. Much of our Zentangling was on white card stock cut into 3-1/2–inch squares. June encouraged us to breathe and relax through our Zentangling, and introduced applications such as card-making, mail art, mandalas and Japanese folded books to house our creations. We eventually added colour to our designs, and even created “inchies,” tiny Zentangles that she “framed” in photographic slide holders. We soon discovered the meditative quality of Zentangling, in addition to being a fun, creative way to pass time while, say, waiting for an appointment or travelling on the ferry. June encouraged us to enjoy the process, instead of focusing on the outcome, and emphasized the fact that we all have creative impulses and can find a way to express them, regardless of whether we consider ourselves an “artist.” For more information, see June’s website, www.soulistry.com, or www.zentangle.com. ~Kari Magnuson

Pauline Thompson Six pack 2

On May 27, 2009 a small but intimate group met at the home of guild member Barb Qualley. Members Pauline Thompson, Pat Wheatley, Denise Rothney, Dinah Cyr and Charlotte Whiteley gathered to attend a glass etching workshop. We were greeted and offered great coffee. The sun was shining. The weather was glorious. What a perfect day. Everyone was anxious to get started.

Etching compound it added in a very thick layer— but don’t worry you can scrape it off and use again..

Denise has drawn out her flower, transferred the design and is cutting out the stencil now.

Barb showed us some pieces that she had etched using the various techniques that she has researched. It can be simple or quite complicated. We were going for simple at this stage.

seemed to be good for the long straight lines. I had a very small bladed knife that is just like a pen you can click up and down to retract the blade. The brand was “helix”. Another blade that you can pick up at scrapbooking shops is called “coluzzle” where the blade swivels making it easy to turn. Pat Wheatley had a posh knife with a cushioned handle. Whatever blade you were going to use, being very sharp is key. Sometimes you can sharpen up a blade by running it across the bottom of a ceramic cup several times on both sides of the blade.

The technique we are going to learn involves drawing the design out on a piece of paper, measuring, checking the spacing and cutting a piece of sticky vinyl an inch larger than your design, copying that design using carbon paper onto the vinyl and painstakingly cutting out the design, preparing the piece for the etching chemical. Sounds simple enough right? So we get started. Some people came prepared with ideas and designs they had already done that they wanted to create with the glass pieces they had brought. Others were planning to wing it. That was me I’m afraid to say. The first step was to try a couple of practice pieces to just to get the hang of it. We drew the design or created the letters on a piece of paper. When we had something we like we transferred the design to the vinyl we had carefully pressed to our practice glass or mirror that Barb had provided. Everyone came with various cutting blades and I think the general consensus was if the blade was a long pointed type it was harder to control on the tighter design details. It 10

Rinsing off the leftover residue after scraping the compound first.

Barb prepared a great prospectus for us to follow. Pauline actually took time to read it and knew that you are to clean the glass first before sticking the vinyl onto the glass. Some of us used the “forge ahead so that others can learn from our mistakes” method. If there are any finger prints on the glass surface, they will affect the etching solution and will show when you remove the etching cream.

Charlotte, Pauline, Pat, Denise and Dinah

The cream used for etching can be reused so scraping most of it off the glass helped with rinsing and washing the glass off making clean-up more environmentally friendly. Care should be taken when disposing of the sticks and cleaning brushes. Important safety tip is that you should be wearing protective gloves while working with the cream. It is very caustic and can cause irritation. If you tend to touch your glasses to push them up on your nose, wear an old pair. You might start a new trend with etched eyewear. Safety glasses are a good idea too! We all managed to get something finished before lunch. The results were pretty exciting. The weather was warm, sunny and calm, so sitting out on the deck was very relaxing and time went by pretty fast. We returned to start another project or do the final design on our special piece. This time we cleaned our glass pieces, all except Pauline this time. We had a good laugh over that one.

Having the workshop at Barb’s home afforded us some special dispensations that would not have been available at the Island Savings Centre. Barb was able to make copies of artwork, enlarged or reduced designs and even reversed images for us. I was working on a bowl that had sloped side and it kept rolling and tipping. Barb ran upstairs and got one of her buckwheat hull neck rests for support. It worked like a charm! The day was relaxing and filled with lots of laughter and good fun. Glass etching can showcase calligraphy in various ways. Single initials are very effective. Great for labelling glass jars and items. Wine glasses for a hostess or special couple. Use glass etching to create a border on framed calligraphy artwork. The list is endless. Thanks to Barb for doing all the preparation and hosting this workshop. Hope you enjoyed the summer and had a chance to play with more glass etching techniques. And a note to Denise – no I haven’t etched all the windows in my house – yet!!! - Charlotte Whiteley

Charlotte’s Salmon

Connie Furgason’s April class left many with the enthusiasm for another session. On May 11th 17 eager Warmland members met for a one day workshop to learn more techniques with landscapes, pots, and flowers. We started the morning with an exercise to limber up and relax. Connie then explained the usage of the flat brush and had us draw marks with different parts of the brush using left and right hands. This technique could be used for borders.

Connie spoke of how a five minute walk around your neighborhood enjoying the vistas can inspire you for your next project. This led us into our next task. Members were asked to capture the essence of a photo or picture. She demonstrated how you could make a light pencil sketch and then layer on your colors. Simplicity and not overworking an area were most important. The last technique was flowers and leaves. The manner of holding the brush was tricky and you just had to watch how it was done and then practice. The petals are painted first, usually two colors layered, then the leaves, which should be smaller than the flowers and lastly the stems. Remember to leave white space. Next came landscapes. The demonstration looked so easy but the challenge was the position of the brush on the side edge, to leave white space and to blot if you feel you have too much color. Surprisingly the blotting effect can give you great results. Always have that piece of toweling in your other hand! The other important detail is to let the piece dry and go back to it later. You can have a few projects going at the same time. Brushes favored by Connie are the ½ inch flat brush with the acrylic handle and small round brushes to drop in color “the bee sting” effect and to do fine detail. We also used varied papers to see the different results.

Our class had many members that have experience in watercolor. I am sure that the few of us that were novices have learned a few tricks that can encourage us to continue in this medium. Two books by Marlene McLoughlin were most inspirational. ACROSS THE AEGEAN – An Artist’s Journey from Athens to Istanbul ROAD TO ROME – An Artist’s Year in Italy

Pots were reviewed after lunch. Connie had a few pallets of paints but three colors used frequently were burnt umber, yellow ochre and Naples yellow.

- Gillian Mouat

Remember our May meeting when each member of the executive gave a report on a book chosen from our library? It was an entertaining 45 minutes and certainly encouraged the general membership to sign books out for the summer. Along with this big increase in lending, the sale of older newsletters and books and the storage of a few seldomasked-for volumes in Eleanor's expandable basement, the library now has a few bare spots.

So if you have suggestions for books to purchase, tell the librarian (me, Judy Dearman). Remember we are limited to calligraphy books and possibly books on journaling and book-making. Painting and drawing, although an integral part of many calligraphic works, are just too large a subject for our small shelves. Visit the Warmland website and click on Library to see a list of all the books and view Barb Qualley's brain-child: a list of books by subject matter. - Judy Dearman

Summer's over, but the season's fun is well documented in the six editions from our sister guilds. It seems to me that there is MORE colour, MORE examples of calligraphy and generally MORE 'stuff' going on than usual. All the newsletters feature work-shop write-ups -- like a trip down Memory Lane, the names of familiar teachers bring back fond memories of when they came to Cowichan: Carrie Imai, Ewan Clayton, Cheryl Tasaka, J.J. Bainbridge, Georgia Angelopolous, Thomas Hoyer, Gwen Weaver, Carl Rohrs, Lisa Engelbrecht and Gina Jonas. Well, they haven't ALL come here but are familiar nonetheless. Instead of listing the contents of each newsletter, let me just say they are all well worth reading, with lots of ideas, how-to's and hints. A few SPECIALS: * the covers of ILLUMINATIONS (Westcoast Calligraphy Guild) and the EDMONTON CALLIGRAPHY SOCIETY. * a great profile of KIRSTEN HORTEL (Bow Valley newsletter) * a picture of our very own president attending Letters of Joy (Uniquely Ours) * a quote from BARB FULLER, President of the Bow Valley Calligraphy Guild: "Don't you love the term 'election'? In the history of the Guild, have we ever had two volunteers for the same position, requiring us to actually 'elect' one? And finally, a couple of websites gleaned from the Bow Valley newsletter: Julian Waters - www.waterslettering.com Gemma Black - pcug.org.au/~gblack - Judy Dearman

Our second calligraphy show in the Vancouver Island Regional Library has been on display since early July. Hope most of you have had a chance to see it. Contributors were Betty Locke, Judith Lovell, Ria Lewis, Pat Wheatley, Laura Griffin, Marian Craig, Marilyn Boechler, Gwyneth Evans, Judy Lowood, Pauline Thompson and Judy Dearman. Twenty-seven works of art are on display -the librarian said they were all very good! Betty and Duncan made the accompanying cards; Pat Wheatley and Laura Griffin helped put up the show. My thanks to these four enthusiastic volunteers. - Judy Dearman 13

Calligraphy Connection, Collegeville, Minnesota St. John’s College, 2009 The class was comprised of people who were beginners to those of us who had done calligraphy for years, We were ALL challenged!!! Several of my classmates were known to me from previous conferences. My seat mate, Cathy, was from Washington state. We had been in class together in Virginia. We got along well as we both work extremely hard and we do not talk. Perfect seatmates!!! There was no time to talk! Denis Brown is a task master and he makes you want to do well. He is not long on compliments either so if he even says that it is “coming along” that is significant!!!! Denis demonstrated often. I was impressed with his huge knowledge. He visited us all personally and often sitting at our place and using our tool. He suggested the Brause 4mm or 5mm (very large pens) for our work. He was clear and concise in what he expected of us. Pumice and sandarac were introduced to help make his marks more concise and the paper more acceptable to the gouache.. He encouraged us to use gouache (he prefers ivory black) for our work. A coarse brush was held in the left hand in such a way that a rhythmic movement was all that was needed to keep the pen loaded with gouache. This was a first for me and it is something that I will try to adopt for my work. These were some of the things I noted. Sometimes I have used direct quotations from Denis. It was certainly gratifying to have some of my beliefs confirmed and to have some of my teaching strategies verified.

1. He insisted that his “examples” are NOT exemplars just work that was current. His approach is rather flexible and can change. I liked this. “I change ways of doing things.” 2. Learn to deal with MORE ink in the pen. He called this the “MORON” principal. His was very, very full. He even uses a corner of the pen in a blob to start a stroke occasionally. Not easily done as most of us are absolutely new to this concept. I have not tried it yet. I believe one really has to know what to do, have the right weight and direction already implanted in your head before this would work well. Perhaps I will never be confident enough to adopt this. 3. He likes to use flicks. “Flicks make your calligraphy more lively. There is a risk involved which gives it adrenalin.” When he spoke of the last stroke of ‘Y’ he said “When you get in your flow, you just don’t miss it.” Pressure is a dynamic in your writing. 4. When asked about caps he remarked that there is no standard capital. I was pleased with this. It gives one the power to invent what seems to be appropriate! 5. For some strokes “rotate your page. It helps.” 6. Better to “allow” rather than “control”. This was reassuring. 7. If pumice or sandarac is used, the residual can be taken off with a kneadable eraser. 8. He used to sharpen his nibs, now he blunts the corners. He lets the paper do the preparation of the nib. 9. Speed within a stroke (acceleration) makes energy in your work. Accelerated strokes become thinner. 10. “A perfect letter is dead”. I like this as it celebrates our humanity. 11. Music and sport are related to calligraphy. “Learn to play the pen”. 12. Work on good structure and freedom–good flow AND sound structure. He claims that enjoyment of flow makes you want to do more. 13. He works flat. I appreciated this as I had always preferred it to a slant board. He can control his ink flow in this way. The slant board controls you.

14. “It takes discipline to know what freedom is”. 15. Most of us have learned our calligraphy from “structure”. He likes to teach from “ form”. 16. “Good spacing is more important than good letter form.” 17. “K” “X” and “Z” are “eccentric” letters and do not crop up as much as others. “Much like an eccentric person, give them some more space.” 18. He does not add gum arabic to gouache. Gum arabic is already the binder in gouache so it is not needed. (I was pleased when he said this as it refutes what is generally known.) 19. He feels that Italic at 45° pen angle is a weak structure. 20. Make serifs with a quick movement of the left corner of the nib rather than the whole nib. It makes a much finer serif. 21. The more slanted the Italic, the flatter the pen angle. 22. There is an infinite range of possibility with Italic. Many different flavours can be developed. Foundational does not have the range. These things were things I noted as he demonstrated and lectured. My week with him was a week of being with a master. He is always moving onward with his projects and ideas. He credits good teachers and mentors. Ann Camp was his mentor. He mentioned Edward Johnston, Donald Jackson, Hermann Zaph, and Edward Koch as having influenced his work. The busy week included enjoyable evening events in a very comfortable venue. We were treated to an evening in which three of the scribes and artists (Diane von Arx, Thomas Ingmire and Suzanne Moore) talked about their experiences working on the St. John’s Bible.. Another evening the people who are going to do limited edition prints of the bible told us of what the trials and considerations there were to do the fine printing job on special paper and with special effects like foiling to emulate the pages which were filled with gold. It was most interesting to me as I used to own a printing company. How things have changed since our little operation in Calgary from 1980 to 1984 compared to the technology employed today. Randall Hasson presented a most enjoyable program one evening which took us through the steps taken to do a very large work. To see the various photos as the work progressed was very revealing of the thought process. A one time Evening Market was held on Wednesday night after dinner in the cafeteria. I looked at the wares only briefly as the night was so very warm and the place so very crowded. I was impressed with the variety of lovely things available but managed to spend only 12 dollars.

There were no excursions planned but there were many things to do on campus. There was a swimming beach on Lake Woebegone and wonderful walking paths around the lake. (Some people said that Garrison Keilor had been spotted at the lake early in the week). We could visit the pottery shop. I did not have time to do this. Many of us took time to return again and again to view 16 beautiful pages of the St. John’s bible displayed at the museum store. We could enjoy the calligraphic work of Anne Hechle housed in the library.

People wanting solitude could avail themselves of the many times a day when services were being held in the church. Some visited the cloisters in connection with the church. Some lucky people were able to sign up for very limited viewing of the St. John’s Bible. We were shown the vellum pages without the deterrent of the glass. Each of us got a chance to feel the corner of the page with our very own fingers. Eventually the pages will be trimmed so no harm was done. Others could visit Brenda Broadbent and her Paper and Ink Books or John Neal and his wonderful store. Still others could see the video and memorabilia from the very first conference. I attended a spirited performance by Scott Cleland who is an artist in residence for schools in the Minneapolis area. His performance introduces children to how writing began. A funny, factual historical presentation that had huge appeal. What a pleasure to have that on our day off. - Betty Locke

Acts of Hope Lisa Engelbrecht spoke to a group of 45 quilters and calligraphers on the afternoon of September 21. She kept us engaged with her uplifting and encouraging message. The following are a few points that stood out for me, they are random thoughts as I was so busy thinking about the things she said and enjoying the wonderful art on the walls that organizing my notes was not on my mind. Lisa was influenced by Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way and this was obvious throughout her talk as she spoke about finding her own path to creativity by learning to recognize, nurture and celebrate the artist within her. Art makes us whole, there is an artist in all of us. At times it is necessary to get rid of all the “shoulds” so we can experience our art. Lisa talked about the “should-free zone” where somewhere every day we put aside the daily tasks and spend at least 30 minutes in our studios. As she so aptly put it, be in the studio every day, if you’re not in there nothing will happen. Art will not happen unless you are making art. She talked about the importance of being present in the moment and learning to start “reading the world” around us. Everyday actions can be made into those divine artistic moments.

Your best work will be that which speaks to you because your heart is engaged. Lisa creates Memory Memento Art where she incorporates photos and mementoes to celebrate a memory. Examine the rules that govern your work and ask, do they expand or diminish your work? You can decide to abandon the rules in order to be in the flow and respond to the world around you. Lisa has taken a special interest in the art of graffiti. Although she does not condone defacement of private property, she does see the talent that goes into this work and recognizes the need to invest in art programs to give these artists places and opportunities for this creative and talented expression. Lisa creates wonderful mixed media pieces on fabric that convey very thoughtful sayings. A few that I think illustrate the essence of her talk are: - Be fearless. Fortune sides with she who dares. - Doing & making are acts of hope and as that hope grows we stop feeling overwhelmed by the troubles of the world. – Corina Kent - Be yourself, you are your own magic. Lisa’s positive attitude, curiosity about the world, encouraging manner and incredible talent make her an inspiration to all of us. - Marilyn Silver

The workshop got off to a rip-roaring start with the participants ripping their canvas and muslin into workable sized pieces. Lisa kept emphasizing to “enjoy playing and don’t worry about your destination.” We started with an introduction to the fabrics we were using and the possibility of other choices. Natural fabrics are preferable as synthetics cause inks and paints to bleed. When using light weight fabrics, such as muslin or silk, ironing onto the shiny side freezer paper stiffens the fabric so printing is easier. This process also makes it printer-ready if you want to photocopy onto the fabric. NO FLOW can be brushed onto fabrics to make them user friendly, especially if using walnut ink.

Connie Furgason-Card

The emphasis on our first day was getting to know our fabrics, acrylic inks/paints and tools. We played with many techniques such as wet on wet, dry surfaces, layering, splattering and spraying. Sprinkling metallic powder (Schmincke) onto our pallets of inks/paints or directly onto wet surfaces added bling to our pieces. Many of the techniques we used were similar to those used with watercolour, such as lifting colour and dropping in colour. Gesso was also used to give texture and could be etched with letters or designs when wet. It is a plastic medium which remains flexible on fabrics without flaking.

Judy Dearman

On our second day we learned more techniques, such as stenciling common objects (doilies, silk flowers, sequin waste) using spray bottles with diluted acrylic inks. Stamping and rubbings are also possible.

Suzanne Cannon

A quick review of Lisaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simplified italic lettering got us ready for writing on fabric with a variety of tools. Wide broad edged pens, parallel pens, automatic pens, flat edged and pointed brushes and calligraphy markers as well as monoline pens (gel, pigma, copic and t-shirt markers) were tried. A valuable hint was to use purple quiltersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; disappearing ink pens (air soluble) to draw lines and plan your lettering. It is essential to remember that acrylic ink and paint must be removed immediately from tools and utensils before it dries.

Lorie Rogers

Now we were ready to design our art quilt using our larger colour washed canvas. Using some of our samplers we cut out powerful words and images and arranged them on the canvas taking into account a focal point and secondary images. Lisa emphasized 3 important elements of design in our piece. SHOUT being the focal point, SPEAK being secondary components (words, pictures, stamps and stencils) and WHISPER being the soft background colours, words, fabric 17

and embellishments. We played with the elements rearranging things until we were satisfied with their placements before gluing and sewing into place. Walking around the room at the end of the day looking at each artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation made one aware of the range of possibilities combining calligraphy with fabrics. Now we know why we were saving all those special tiny mementos of family, travel, and hobbies embellishments for this hand lettered art quilt. - Marilyn Boechler and Joyce Gammie

Barbara Qualley

Susan Miller

Lisa Engelbrecht

Nylon stocking shaker tops on Schmincke powdered gouache

Liz Moss

Joyce Gammie

Lisa Engelbrecht

Trudy Kungold Ammann

Judy Lowood

Susan Smith

BORDERS Betty Locke led this galleria critique, begging us to "fight her" if we disagreed with comments, and leading us through a lively discussion. Having Connie Furgason-Card's input was also a bonus! Some key points emerged. We were generally having greater success handling spacing, by doing the background to the whole piece first, then the lettering, then the border. Borders need not be regular: a suggested border such as a gentle line of leaf prints, or perhaps a weight at the top and bottom, or a coiling line can also work. Our major challenge for the year is to do a fifty word piece (yikes! fifty words!) in three separate formats, to be presented at three different meetings. Several brave souls presented their first pieces, and some points emerged that may help all of us. On a long text, consider putting the title at the end, in a smaller hand, so it does not overwhelm the text. Also consider keeping ascenders and capitals a bit smaller

than usual, so they do not become inadvertent focal points. Leaving more white space at the bottom of a large block of text than at the top can help prevent it from looking "weighty". On the other hand, in a piece where the theme is dark, significantly lowering the placement of the entire text on the page can be quite effective. Odd teaching moments arose and Betty flew with them, pausing to give us a quick lesson on lightly "beefing-up" Roman Caps, reminding us that an Exacto knife can be used to gently scrape away an awkward bit of a letter, that a dash of colour between capital letters can enliven a piece, and encouraging experimentation. Anne McDonald's use of a new product, "Perfect Pearls" powder, had added a rich lustre to her dark background, and she could write over it. And finally we were reminded that "YES, legibility always counts!" -Shirley Johnson

Jim Wisnia Judy Dearman

Joyce Gammie

Marilyn Lundstrom

Anne Bernes

Pat Wheatley Trudy Kungold Ammann

Shirley Johnson Betty Locke

Gwyneth E

vans

Denise Rothney

ra Marion C

Anne McDonald

CONNIE FURGASON-CARD: While attending her first calligraphic workshop at Langara College in 1980 in Vancouver, Connie sat back during an evening presentation by Thomas Ingmire on Dylan Thomas’ poem, Do Not Go Gently, and thought, “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.” So let me begin with this wonderful account of Connie’s early exposure to the world of art and the path she has travelled to this point. For those who don’t know her, she was a long-time, long-distance member and friend of our guild whilst living in her hometown of Lethbridge, Alberta. In fact, she was the cover artist for our first newsletter. Last year she remarried, moved to Vancouver Island, and is now residing in the Town of Sidney just a few feet from the marina. Her studio is a bright space, with its own balcony, housed on the top floor of their cozy home; her vista is the ocean and nearby San Juan Islands - a truly spectacular view. Connie, the only girl in a family of four, was raised on a large dry-land farm (wheat/cattle), and at one time her father was farming five sections. Her mother was an artist extraordinaire, and listening to the list of talents she possessed made me realize there was nothing she could not turn her hands to, even down to building furniture. At one point her mother was working with clay and would roll it out on the kitchen table while she built and designed murals to be displayed in many public places. Connie loved to be involved and received much encouragement from her parents. She would spend hours drawing horses and houses, at first with pencil, and then moving on to pen and ink, which she thinks was a precursor to calligraphy. During her fifth grade she was awarded the Silver Spoon for Penmanship, and she mentioned her drawings won the attention of the teachers too, which she thought definitely helped her achieve much higher marks! 24

I cannot help but talk about her mother because the environment in which Connie was raised has obviously had a huge impact on the style she has developed with lettering and watercolours, especially when one thinks about her beautiful flower and garden scenes. Her mom loved to garden, knew all the names of the flowers, trees, and whatever else they came upon, and each year during their holidays through the mountains and out to the coast of Oregon she taught Connie just by how she saw these living forms. Her father was always busy with the farm, but she told me he had exceptionally beautiful handwriting, and when it came to writing a cheque or jotting something in his journal he would always swing his arm and wrist before putting pen to paper so he could bring about a nice flow. He encouraged his wife in all of her endeavours. During the late ‘70s Connie took university courses in English and Art, but had not made any decisions about what she wanted to do. In 1978 she married and continued with independent studies, and in 1980 was approached about teaching calligraphy when her mother, who was on the Lethbridge Arts Council, divulged to fellow members that her daughter did that, and that she had won a prize for her handwriting skills! Connie confided to me that she really hadn’t a clue when it came to Italics or any of the other hands, but they were impressed by her work – so impressed that they paid for her to fly to Vancouver and take the three-day workshop I mentioned previously. She laughed when she told me the arts council’s intention was for her to teach five alphabets in five weeks the following September. So, off she set for Vancouver with her fountain pen and a pad of parchment paper in her briefcase. She had initially signed up for a beginner’s course the first day, intermediate the second, and advanced for the third, and didn’t know what she was doing until her first class with Martin Jackson working with the Foundational hand. It was during that class she met Betty Locke. Both Martin and Betty could see her struggling, and Betty, being the kind and helpful soul she is, just sort of reached under the table and helped her find the correct pen angle. Connie remembers being in tears, thinking, “Why am I so foolish, what am I doing here?” The next day with Thomas Ingmire they learned how to analyse the Carolingian alphabet. It was then that things started to fall into place and she could see that perhaps her own creative writings could be put to good use if she pursued this art form. Once home practising became the routine most nights as soon as the children were tucked up in their beds. The following September she started teaching – and admitted that she was actually learning at the same time. Further, that the five alphabets idea had been dropped and the class would concentrate on just one! Connie said she was really rigorous about imparting the correct information to her students.

Connie’s husband was encouraging and supportive, looking after their four offspring while she attended whatever classes, workshops, and conferences she could manage and afford. For many, many years her focus was on letterform only, though she desperately wanted to play with her watercolour paints.

mercial printing companies. Sometime after that she approached Joanne Fink, a calligrapher in the Vancouver area, to critique her work. Joanne eventually became her manager, lining her up with many companies who offered contracts. Further, her work has been published in ABC Canada, The Spirit of Calligraphy, Speedhall Handbook 23rd Edition, and The Art and Craft of Hand Lettering.

In the early 1990s, Connie and her mother opened Baahouse Gallery in a little building on their property where they exhibited local artists’ work. As well, they saw an opportunity in the area of rubber stamps, but that venture was not so successful. At some point she had attended Betty Locke’s Edged Brush Workshop, but was really struggling. As she put it, “I just was not having fun.” However, the old cliché, “Practice makes perfect,” proved to be true, and after her third Edged Brush class with Betty she was on her way to producing up to 50 hand-painted cards a week which she would sell at a local artists’ market, and it was something she did for several years. Connie’s teaching career at Lethbridge College spanned 22 years, mostly evening classes, some weekend workshops, and sometimes in little outlying communities through continuing education classes, as well as accepting invitations from other guilds as word spread of her talents and skills – and, of course, she continues to share with others to the present time. Her passions are lettering arts, line drawing, and watercolours. Interestingly enough, if you look at our first newsletter you will see a write-up on a class Connie gave to the founding members.

This year Connie taught at the international conference, The Calligraphy Connection, in Minnesota. She told me attendance was down due to economic times and one of her classes was cancelled. The class Versal Variations was a “go,” and here the students worked on “very free versals.” For the remainder of the week she enjoyed being a student in Suzanne Moore’s class where they worked on a book project. While on the subject of international conferences, she taught at our own Island Magic in 2007, and at Legacies in Texas in 2005. Connie’s favourite letterforms are Capitals, Foundational, Compressed Italic, Italics from very formal to informal; she is always working on the variety and texture she can manipulate out of one alphabet. She also likes brush lettering, and said her intention is to paint more canvas boards and panels. I think it won’t be long before we see Connie’s work displayed on Beacon Avenue in Sidney during their summertime evening market, and classes being offered out of her home.

I marvel at her stamina! While in Lethbridge she was instrumental in founding the Chinook Calligraphy Guild, and organized Kalligraphia, a “mini” conference. In 1999 she was the director of PenUltima, the 19th International Calligraphy Conference, and last, but not least, the Regional Calligraphy Conference Kalligraphia in 2004. Through the years she accepted private commissions, and then in 1996, while attending Soundings, the 16th International Calligraphy Conference in Seattle, her busy lifestyle got even busier as she accepted offers from two small com-

In closing, let me share this with you. Her present husband, Kevin Card, used to be her mailman 30 years ago in Lethbridge! Years ago, when Connie had been out to the Island teaching, Betty Locke had taken her to Sidney-bythe-Sea, and she thought at that time it would be a lovely place to live. When she met Kevin she joked that he lived in the right place, at the very least, and that he had a real nice stove in his house! This year they have had time to use their kayaks, bikes, hiking boots, and pull out the Scrabble board. I noticed large bags of organic flours and whole grains sitting close to the kitchen, and I suspect she is getting ready to hunker down over the winter months and get her hands covered with something other than ink and paint! - Janet Peters

This hand was developed in the late 14th century. It was also called “Italian Humanist”. Characteristics are its oval shaped letters and its slant. Vatican scribe, Arrighi, published the first writing manual La Operina, which featured Chancellaresca (Italic Script). Today, in the world of typography, italic generally refers to a type-style which has a right slope. After this brief but important outline of the history of the hand, it was down to work. For most of the 34 present, it was a review – to get BETTER, emphasized Betty. Betty led the group through the finer points of the miniscule letters l, i, n, h, u and y – stressing that slim oval forms, with consistent branching create grace and rhythm in text passages.

• • •

So, with that in mind: Keep letters sloped at about 5° off the vertical – this may vary slightly Keep letters consistent in size and in the branching. 2 flat pen widths in counterspace and 5 pen widths for ascenders and descenders. (This can also vary.) In this lesson we were using formal italic, in which the ascender is the height of the descender. • Think: down strokes with pressure – upstrokes light (no pressure) • Entry to letters are important and should not be overdone • Use a large nib to practice so you, as well as the instructor, can see what you are doing Do not practice more than three of the same letters at a time. Throw in something to change your mindset. Connie Furgason-Card added some valuable comments and Marilyn Lundstrom kindly helped where others needed further assistance. - Trudy Kungold Ammann

Leslie Healy Leslie joined the guild one year before Island Magic 2007 and could not believe the undertaking they were planning for the next year!!! These were truly amazing new friends she had inherited. After struggling through the past year and a half with personal problems, this is the piece she has created to focus on the hope that there is after any tragedy. We must learn to believe that no matter what comes in our lives there will be good that follows if we choose to "see" it.

On Our Cover - Pat Wheatley

President’s Message Newsletter Titles

May Galleria—No graphics

Zentangles

10 Glass Etching 12 Letters, Lines and Watercolours II Connie Furgason-Card 13 Library News Newsletter Exchange Library Show and Sale 14 Calligraphy Connection 2009 16 Calligraphy on Cloth Lisa Engelbrecht 20 September Galleria—Borders 23 Bulletin Board 24 Exposé - Connie Furgason-Card 26 Meeting programme — Italics Back Cover Artist -- Leslie Healy

ISSUE NUMBER 45 - OCTOBER 2009