Warmland Calligraphers by Barbara Qualley

OCTOBER 2015

WARMLAND CALLIGRAPHERS

Newsletter Team

Newsletter Issue #62 October 2015 Regular monthly meetings are held on the Second Tuesday of each month from 9am to 12:00pm (no meeting in July and August) Mellor Hall Meeting Room, Exhibition Grounds Duncan, BC (Exceptions are December and June)

Editor

Barbara Qualley

Proofreader

Eleanor Harris

Cover Artist

Judith Lovell

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

Inside this issue

Playtime is held on the Fourth Tuesday of each month from 9am to 12pm Scouts Hall, Exhibition Grounds Duncan, BC Annual Membership in Warmland Calligraphers includes three online newsletters. Dues are C$30 for Canadian residents and US$30 for US/Int’l.

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. 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 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

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OCTOBER 2015

General Guild Information

President’s Message Cover Artist

Pot Luck Luncheon

Popsicle Pop Can Pens

147th Cowichan Exhibition

September Galleria - Haiku

Beautiful Letters of David Jones - Part 1

Jottings from the Library

September Meeting Programme

Passionate Pen Summary

Hermann Zapf Sketchbook

Vancouver Island Regional Library Exhibition

President’s Message This is my penultimate “President’s Message” and the 1999 PenUltima Calligraphy Conference was the first calligraphy conference I went to. I was still very new to calligraphy then, and in some ways I still feel new to calligraphy. There are so many things to learn and explore, and our workshop coordinators Betty Locke and Marilyn Boechler, have done an incredible job of offering us a variety of courses. I feel like this would be a good time to mention how worthwhile it is to be part of our executive, nominations are not until February, but I thought I’d plant the seed now, and let it grow for the next few months! I can still remember my own reluctance when Joyce Gammie first asked me to step up, and it is a learning curve, but so incredibly worthwhile, and you get to be part of an amazing and supportive group. So think about it! Over the past few years I have been on the Executive Committee and think that our Guild works so well because of our mixture of

experience and enthusiasm. We have a lot of people who say “yes”, some are new members (actually quite a few are new members) and some have been involved for a very long time (like, a very, very long time!). We come from a variety of backgrounds, with a variety of skills, and a willingness to share what we know and learn from each other. Over and over again I have been impressed by how open our members are to new people and new workshops. When I first started as President I thought that one big workshop each year would be about all our Guild could manage, this year we have already started a four session workshop with Lorraine Douglas, and have full classes for two more workshops next month. Sometimes it is good to be proved wrong! We also have three venues where we show our work each year. We start in October with our Library Display, then in February there is the Loft Show and Sale, and we have pieces at Sunridge Seniors Home year round. Each venue has a different member organizing it, and

we have noticed that there are more and more members starting to contribute their work. Ria Lewis looks after the Library, Debbie Craig has taken on The Loft Show, and Linda Yaychuk keeps Sunridge supplied. Debbie is hoping to get at least one piece from each of us for the Loft Show, so sharpen your pens! Our Guild works because everyone contributes, with time, with calligraphy, with enthusiasm, (and with coffee and cookies too). I would like to mention that a number of our members had pieces at the Cowichan Exhibition and at the Cowichan Valley Arts Council “Word and Vision” show. I am so impressed when I see familiar “calligraphy” names in the bigger art community. I think part of the reason that our group is so vibrant is because calligraphy can incorporate so many different art forms and so many different people. I am looking forward to this new calligraphy year and getting to see what we create. - Lucy Hylkema

Cover Artist - Judith Lovell Just a line to explain my feelings about writing about my work: What is on the paper must speak for itself. You bring who and what you are to the piece and take away what you will. The other part is how it is made. In this case I used techniques and inspiration from my recent class Maxima Chroma: using Prismacolor pencil crayons with Nancy Culmone at Passionate Pen, the 34th International Calligraphy Conference.

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Pot Luck Luncheon - Brigitte French celebrates her 90th birthday At our annual wind-up potluck luncheon on June 9, once again hosted by Barbara Qualley, we enjoyed spectacular weather, the company of friends, superb food, panoramic views from her deck - and lastly, but by no means least, celebrating with our most senior member, Brigitte French, the grand occasion of her 90th birthday (July 4, 1925). No menu planning goes into our potlucks, but we always - always - end up having wonderful food, and from each gathering we collect more and more favourite recipes, which are on our website.

But when it came to Brig's birthday, there was much planning and conspiring to make this occasion very special for her. She had not the slightest idea of what was in store:

The presentation of 92 beautiful birthday cards made by many of our members and joined together in an accordion-style book by Linda Yaychuk. Linda also printed photos of everyone who had contributed and made a cover sheet from them for a keepsake box for the cards.

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- Janet Peters

Brigitte was stunned! I had taken along my camera, fully intending to make a video, but a short while before the presentation was asked TO DO THE PRESENTATION, so I went to my trusty friend Denise Rothney and asked if she would do the honours. I posted that video to YouTube for everyone to see, and Brig has told me that it has been viewed by her many times because it just makes her feel so happy. And she is not the only one - it makes me happy seeing my dear friend being honoured on that special day. Her daughter Susi Kennedy accompanied her, which was also in the planning. I had written an ExposĂŠ article on Brig back in 2010, and I wanted to have it printed in the form of a small book with a few photographs that would tie into that article. A thankyou to Susi who sifted through her Mum's collection of snapshots while she napped, and to Barbara Qualley for her editing prowess. It was a great pleasure for me to present that book to Brigitte, and when she saw the photo-

Susi Kennedy and Janet Peters - standing Laureen Woodruff, Mieke van der Vliet and Brigitte French - sitting

graphs she laughed and shared some stories with us. It was such a lovely day!

OCTOBER 2015

Brigitte has enjoyed Folk Dancing for many years, and this was how she celebrated on the actual day of her birthday!

Popsicle - Pop Can Pens

by Jim Chin

Here are the directions on how to make a Popsicle pen, hope you can make out my instructions. The Cola Pen was the invention of the late Bill Hildebrandt. He introduced it in 1985 at Letterforum as part of the goody bag! The hardest thing in making of the Cola Pen was the folding of the aluminum around the dowel. It must be a gently curved fold. Once you have creased the fold, the pen will not work properly because it will bend once you try writing with it. I was once asked to do a demonstration to a High School Art Class on Calligraphy. I thought, “What can I use to show a more contemporary lettering rather than show them Italic, which a very hard style to master”, so I came up with the Popsicle pen. I was wrong. They wanted to see Italic. At the end of my demo, I did their name on a sheet of paper using the Italic hand. They were amazed seeing their name written in that way - they were not interested in a more Contemporary style. So here are the things you will need to make the Popsicle Pen and the directions on making it, so bear with me in my description! Please enjoy it and make some great letters with it. I will include an exemplar along with my directions and you have my permission to share this with your guild's publication or anyone who is interested. My disclaimer, I am only working with half a brain nowadays after my stroke in 2006, so I may forget some items, but you will glean it from my instructions. Good Luck! Jim Chin Things you will need: 1. An empty soda/Pop Can to harvest a clean sheet of aluminum. *see my instruction on how to skin an aluminum can. 2. Some scrap mat board to make a 2" x 2". Mark this as a template for a Popsicle pen template, so you don't need to measure that out every time you want to make one, but a news flash, I saw a pad of small post-it, so you can use that instead of the scrap of mat board. 3. A ruler. I like a good metal one and know how to make a perfect square....I know many of us don't even know how to read a ruler.

4. A utility knife is an X-acto knife.

Why I say a utility knife is that it is easier to make your cuts on the mat board, but if you can handle an X-acto knife then go for it. 5. An old pair of scissors or better yet, a utility scissor from the Dollar Store or at Harbor Freight. It costs about 76 cents when it is on sale or with a coupon. You see, I try to be frugal, yes I do cut coupons! You know us old baby boomers who are now retired need to watch our pennies! 5. A Popsicle stick or sometimes they are called craft sticks, where you get hundreds of them in a box. But if you want to go big, you can use the same method to make a tongue depressor pen. The size of the aluminum will be much larger than the 2" x 2", you may have to go 4"x 4"or 5"x 5". OCTOBER 2015

6. 1/2" masking tape or whatever you have, you can always cut down a 1” tape to a 1/2" tape. 7. A quarter sheet of wet/dry 320 grit sand paper. I keep some in my tackle box to sharpen my nibs. 8. Yes, eight is a lucky number in the Chinese culture. Protect your work area. A self-healing cutting pad or on a thick amount of newspaper will do to protect the surface you are cutting on, otherwise, I don't want to be blamed for damaging your counter or table! 9. A fine point Sharpie to draw out the 2" x 2" square on the aluminum.

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Instructions: 5. Now take the utility knife and start removing the top portion of the can, that is where the pop top is or where the crimped edge is. Take the utility knife and puncture the can, rotate the can while cutting the aluminum with the knife, go all the way around until you have cleanly cut away the top.

Make your 2" x 2" templates and skin your aluminum can! I love how the British pronounce aluminum! Take your template and place it on the sheet of aluminum and draw out the 2"x 2" square with the fine Sharpie, then cut the square out with your utility scissor or if you have a bench hook, you can use that to cut it out with a utility knife. Now take the 2" x 2" square and lay it down flat on the self-healing cutting mat, flatten it out as much as possible, then take your 1/2" masking tape and place half the tape on one edge of the 2" x 2" aluminum.

How to skin a soda/pop can

Now take the popsicle stick and place the masking tape on the stick, then start folding the aluminum over the stick, go in at least one inch from the end of the stick it around the stick as many times as possible, then put a piece of tape over the last fold to secure it to the other folds. Make sure that some of aluminum is past the stick, so you can now make your cut.

3. Some old newspaper or an old magazine to use to protect the surface that you are working on. I don't want to be responsible for you damaging your kitchen table or worse, your dining table!

Now carefully take the can (and be careful not to cut yourself with the sharp edge) and take the utility scissors and cut all the way down to about one inch from the bottom, slightly fold back one side of the cut side. Now use the scissors to cut the sheet of aluminum away from the bottom. And you now have a nice clean sheet of aluminum. It will curl on you, so be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges.

4. An empty soda/Pop can depending on which part of the country you are from. Rinse the can out with water and empty the water to let it dry out.

You will notice that you have a nice container now too and can use the bottom of the can to mix paint or to hold water!

I usually will cut it on an angle or any shape you want, my exemplar is based on an angle cut. Take your sand paper and sand the end of the pen to remove any sharp edges. When you make the cut, it will compress the aluminum together, use your utility or X-acto knife blade to separate the folds, so it will take the fluid you are using. I find the best fluids to use are ink, like Higgins Eternal, or any of the Asian Sumi ink or stick ink. Gouache may be too thick to use on folded pens, watercolor will work, too.

To get a nice sheet of aluminum to use in making a cola, popsicle or tongue depressor pen.

Things you will need:

1. A pair of utility scissors

2. A utility knife

I hope I am clear on how to make it, if you have any questions, my email address is artfulpens@gmail.com Enjoy! This may be copied and shared, with the exceptions of anyone making money on using this information publishing this.

My intention is to share within the calligraphic community and no one should profit from my ideas.

- Jim Chin 6

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If you are a fan of Facebook, you might be interested in two sites that member June Maffin has created. https://www.facebook.com/cyberscribes https://www.facebook.com/groups/scribesmemorial

The original, longstanding Yahoo Group, Cyberscribes can be found at this link: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cyberscribes You do have to sign up and ask to be a member of the Group, but there are some excellent discussions here which do not appear on the Facebook page.

147th Cowichan Exhibition Betty Locke reports: I entered the Fine Arts/Calligraphy section and won the Guild offered prize of $20 for first place.

the stamp. PTOOI. Teaches a person to follow instructions. Other than being totally wrong, I enjoyed doing it. I also entered the ‘Cartoon presented as art’ and I think I was the only one who did and they managed to give me second prize????

June Maffin entered Hobbies & Crafts: Leather and won First Place, and she won Second Place in Watercolour, Critter Cards and Bookmaking.

Barbara Qualley entered two pieces which each garnered 3rd place ribbons in Calligraphy and Mixed Media. Judy Lowood entered both Theme and Watercolour. Hans van der Werff entered Pastels and won First Place and Judge’s Choice. Ruth Rutledge won three First Place ribbons: Mixed Media, Watercolour and Colour Challenge: Blues. The latter also won People’s Choice, Outstanding Exhibit and a $20 Gift Certificate from Just Framing.

Shandy

Hans van der Werff

Betty Locke

I also entered the Theme (Blue Gold: Water and Agriculture) and came in

Carolynn Dallaire won First Place in Bookmaking, Second Place in Calligraphy, and entered Theme.

Colour Challenge: Blues

Ruth Rutledge

fourth. I entered the stamp category and did not follow instructions by leaving out the word Canada and the denomination of

Laureen Woodruff won Third Place in Theme and Fourth in Calligraphy.

Congratulations to everyone! - Barbara Qualley

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September Galleria - Your own Haiku about oceans or beaches

Charlotte Whiteley

Betty Locke

Mieke van der Vliet

Gillian Mouat

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OCTOBER 2015

Ruth Rutledge

Laureen Woodruff Laureen W oodruff

Trudy Kungold Ammann Pat Wheatley

Marilyn Boechler

Jane Taylor

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Marion Craig

Judi Hopewell

ald June MacDon

Judy Lowood

Pauline Thompson

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June Maffin

Lax Linda

Linda L a

Margaret Kells Ria Lewis

OCTOBER 2015

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The Beautiful Letters of David Jones - Lorraine Douglas Part 1 of 2 There are many nuances of David Jones lettering, often quirky, nothing like Trajan, as well as his choice of multiple languages in an inscription. At first glance, one might think there was no particular planning to any of it and that he did not care whether it was legible, but there were patterns and rhythms in both spacing and height of letters, white space to balance, as well as small decorative elements such as a star or a diamond to help move the eye through it. He would scratch out the letters and then paint them in with a rounded brush - never used a nib or ink. His inscriptions were composed without pencilled guidelines allowing for "movement" of his lettering rather than "bouncing," and he often took his letters to the edge of the paper. Further, he made much use of ligatures, sometimes would flip the bottom line so it appeared upside down, or write the final words from bottom to top on left side ... sometimes continuing all the way around a piece creating a roundel. I think there were no rules in his mind when it came to an accepted form of layout. He was the artist! - Janet Peters

Lorraine Hoy

Judi Hopewell Marilyn Boechler

Denise Rothney

Ruth Rutledge Judi Hopewell

Lorraine Hoy

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Judy Lowood

Susan Miller

Judy Lowood

Marilyn Boechler

Irene McGeary

Judy Lowood

Laura Erickson

Geri Arkell

Denise Rothney

Janet Peters Lorraine demonstrates proper thickness of gouache

Anne Atkinson

Carolynn Dallaire

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Jottings from the Library collected wonderful examples of artists On reading the various newsletters that arrived during the summer I learned that: working in their own studios to fulfill projects. Each of these varied under• Gamsol is an odourless solvent that takings are unique. His theory is that melts wax in colour pencils and the studio is a privileged place of toil blends to resemble water colour. and exploration, we are invited to (Broad Edge, Langley, Summer witness some of these works unfold. 2015) • A paraprosdokian is a familiar say- We are treated now to a huge variety of ing with a manipulated ending, e.g. nibs – the choices are endless. The bane of the 18th century writer was the Where there’s a will – I hope I am in it. (Kelowna Calligraphy Guild, quill. Some bird quills were better quality than others, but all were disposJune 2015) able and a constant supply was • A Shelfie is a book shelf required. Crow seems to have been the constructed from your favourite cheapest available, but they ran the books (Bow Valley Calligraphy gamut of turkey, goose and swan. The Guild, June 2015) most expensive were swan and goose • Do you know what Scraffito is? quills supplied by the Hudson Bay Read Westcoast Calligraphy Company. Britain imported 20 million Society Illuminations May 2015, a year from Russia, Poland as well as to find out. Hudson Bay. Beginning in 1774, I also found out about Yupo (paper); imports rose to one and a quarter and if anyone wants to compare our million peaking in 1837, from the Guild By-Laws with those of the single source of the one Company. Edmonton Calligraphic Society, June Quill cutting was gradually mechanized 2015, they have theirs printed in full. and nib making was taken over by the Christopher Calderhead the editor of steel mills when they came in to operaLetter Arts Review (Vol. 29 No. 2) has tion around 1819. As late as 1898 14

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quills were still being used by businesses. It was around this time when handwriting was largely made with a pointed pen, that Edward Johnston came to understand that the square edged pen was responsible for the design of nearly all the shapes of letterforms. from Roman to Renaissance. The square edged nib naturally made the thicks and thins of a letter depending on the angle at which the pen was used. Weight, angle and form – each letter of the alphabet belonged to a system of related forms. Johnston realized that there was a central core pervading through the ages - Sheila Waters termed it “a golden thread” and this became the title of Ewan Clayton’s book about the history of writing. I wanted to lead up to this book, because it has huge information, it cannot be digested at one meal, but is a wonderful addition to our library. The Golden Thread is a bit daunting, but take it out for a month and read a few pages at a time. It is has so much to interest all calligraphers. - Pat Wheatley

Our thanks to

Pat and John Wheatley for hosting our annual Christmas Pot Luck Luncheon

Tuesday, December 8, 2015 10:30am - 2:30pm(ish)

2230 Tarn Place (off Lochsyde on Lakes Road)

Duncan, BC

September Meeting Programme: What I Did on my Summer Vacation The programme presenters were Betty Locke, Judith Lovell, and Judi Hopewell who all attended the 34th International Calligraphy Conference "Passionate Pen" at Sonoma State University in California. They gave highly amusing anecdotes of the two-day drive to arrive at a 'top notch' facility where they were welcomed with goodie bags full of art supplies.

Logo by Yves Leterme

They described the Conference as a very enriching one from the opening ceremonies, the world-class instruction, the interesting and inspirational show of faculty work, to the poppy auction at the end of the conference which raised funds for sponsoring young calligraphers to attend future conferences. We then viewed a slide show of the Sonoma experience.

They also found time for shopping (as attested to by Betty's highly colourful shirt) and a visit to the Charles Schultz Museum. As for the workshops themselves Judy, Betty, and Judi best describe their experiences in their own words. - Margaret Kells

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Passionate Pen Recap My experience at the Passionate Pen was excellent! This year, those attending the International Calligraphy Conference were asked to select a oneday class and a four-day class. The offerings were many and varied making choosing very hard. In the early spring I got a message saying that a place had come vacant in Pat Blair’s pointed pen class called ‘Leaf and Petal’. I was next on the waiting list so snapped up that available space with delight. How lovely it is to take a class from the White House calligrapher. Pat Blair has been a professional calligrapher for 29 years, and currently holds the position of Chief Calligrapher at The White House in Washington, DC. The International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting (“IAMPETH”} recently awarded her the honor “Master Penman” for her work in this area.

Appropriate warm-up strokes built our confidence for the challenges of the day. I appreciated this very much as rhythm, spacing and pressure are musts for good management of the pointed pen. Her nine page handout beautifully decorated individually for us with our names and her wedge brush florals, is full of valuable information and examples. This will remind me of things learned in the workshop and will be a guide to future practice.

We used a “cartouche” to begin a series of flourished movements of the pen. I recall using such a thing in a class by Heather Held. Pat’s cartouche differs from Heather’s and is equally useful. Cartouches act as “sources” for pointed pen flourishes. Flourishes must start from something.

Another workshop component was to create medallions with a variety of strokes. Dividing a circle in segments and doing the same things in each seg16

ment resulted in magical wonderful and intricate medallions. Some were created on black paper with metallic effects which added elegance. I have since used this concept in greeting cards so feel that I have a very useful strategy as a result of this class.

Pat introduced us to her “wedged” brush florals. I found this challenging. Making that unwilling brush jump to my commands was frustrating but I was glad to have a chance to try a new brush and I plan to work with it to become more conversant with it.

Following the class I prepared offerings for the Friday afternoon show and share. I was pleased with what I produced. This workshop was a great contrast to next four days. To return to the dormitory and do some pointed pen after a day working in another way was most peaceful.

My recollections of my day with Pat Blair and her generous teaching will be very pleasant memory as I continue to use what I learned.

Sonoma University Located in the heart of the wine making area in California, this university was established in the 1960s. The campus is pleasant. It eventually became easy to locate the various venues in which the classes and evening events were held. Dormitories accommodated us well. Judith Lovell and I shared a room which contained two beds and two desks and a bathroom. Closet space was plentiful. Our dorm unit mates hailed from New Jersey, Oregon and Calgary. We rarely saw each other and our use of the communal space was minimal as our days were long and tiring.

The various dorm areas were appropriately named for varieties of wines.

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Ours was in the Sirah section. Conservation of water is important on this campus as Sonoma is an area of drought. Toilets used grey water as did the watering system for the landscaping of the campus. More places should adopt some of the cautionary measures employed there. It was impressive.

The student union building, a three story structure located in the heart of the campus, became the hub of the conference. Conference offices were on the second floor. The third floor housed John Neal, Paper and Ink Arts and the Scribe Store. These three enticing areas flanked the large room in which most of the evening events were held. The cafeteria on the main floor was called “the kitchens”. Food was plentiful and delicious. I particularly liked the salad bar which was available for lunch and dinner and was stocked with many delicious components for salad. People using the hamburger and fries station were cautioned by a sign which said that food served in this area was not considered to be the most healthful choice one could make.

There were 22 Canadians in attendance. Included in this number was Isabella Chang Fong from Ontario who has attended every one of the 37 conferences. She is the only one left of a group of calligraphers who prided themselves on having attended all of the conferences.

Though there was no air conditioning in the classrooms, the basement location for my four day class was comfortable. Seating was not good. The chairs were far too low. I was glad I had stuffed my high cushion into my suitcase “just in case”. I needed it badly.

Evening events were varied. Particularly enjoyable was a performance piece by instructor, Loredana Zega from Slovenia. Her balletic expressions of a day in the life of a calligrapher were thoroughly enjoyed by all who

attended this lovely performance. She began with some ribbon movement work which produced beautiful flourishes. Even a broken light bulb during the performance did not stop her and her lively feet. I can now say that I have seen calligraphy done on stage in flour!!! Another evening brought tears as Carl Rohrs narrated a slide show of the prolific work of the late Georgia Deaver. Georgia will be missed by the entire calligraphic community.

Participants had an afternoon off midweek. Many had booked trips to San Francisco or visits to wineries. We hopped into Judith’s car and headed for Santa Rosa, the home of the Charles Schultz Museum. It was fun to see those little characters again and to see the situations they found themselves in and to learn a little about Schultz in this fine museum. We stopped for refreshment in the lobby of his arena which is part of the complex. Schultz was a hockey fan of the utmost degree. In this arena children were engaged in a summer hockey school. This pleasurable afternoon was topped off with a trip to Ross (a discount store where the three of us managed to make many purchases) and a lovely meal at a Mexican restaurant. This visit to the Ross store started a chain of similar shopping events as we wended our way back to Vancouver Island.

European lettering to be “cutting edge”. I’d like to be more edgy in my work. The class was advertised as “advanced” and the description was most apt. There were no exemplars except a formal Roman alphabet if we chose to use it. We were shown pieces she had done and we spoke a little bit about what had been done but we literally had to come up with letters we personally found useful for our pieces. One hint she had for us was that when we created our letters for each piece, they needed to look as if they were members of the same family. This was a tall order.

We set to work with the short quotations we had been asked to bring. We were cautioned that we should not be too pleased with our first thought. This was quite a leap for me as I am the person who gets an idea and does it. After two and a half days of wondering what should be done and trying things and making new arrangements and changing forms, I wondered if anyone in the class would even have a piece to show at Friday’s show and tell.

Design and Interpretation for Extraordinary Letters Liesbet Boudens was born 1957 in Bruges, Belgium. She specialized in art from age 16 and trained as an art teacher. She studied painting with Dan Van Severen at SintLucas Art Institute in Ghent. Liesbet currently teaches art in a secondary school in Bruges and teaches workshops in Belgium and abroad.

This was the title of my four day class with Belgian, Liesbet Boudens. I was delighted to be studying with a European calligrapher as I consider much

We photocopied our very small rough blackened letter sketches so that they were 150 to 200 percent larger. This OCTOBER 2015

allowed us to look critically at the letters, the spaces, the overall appearance of the work and to rework places which needed attention. This was exacting frustrating work. We looked critically. We decided on changes. We worked and reworked. What was done was critical to the totality of the design. Liesbet made her way around the room making comments and doing some work with our sketches if needed and talking to us about other things we might try. Much of what we did was on our own, using our minds with much redoing, sharpening up lines and making our designs better all the time. It got to the point that she would ask if anyone was “desperate”. We then started calling ourselves desperados which she caught on to and began to ask which of us were “desperados”. This class was not for the faint of heart. It was taxing. We are so used to having exemplars and used to copying or being told what to do. When you have to find your way yourself it is quite different and extremely challenging.

When we finally were given permission to transfer our designs to good cold press paper we were relieved. It had taken a long time! The transfer method of blackening the back of the paper with a soft graphite pencil and tracing the image so that it would register on the paper beneath was used. We then cleaned up the drawing being sure that all lines were there. The use of a small clear ruler was very comforting to me as I did the letters. Liesbet works in gouache for the most part as it is more forgiving than watercolour. We painted in our letters using Speedball C nibs filled with paint. The reason for this is that the speedball nib can cover a large area or give a thin line and both were needed to get the proper presentation of the letters. This was exacting work. When the colouring was done we then used a pointed pen and the same colour to further clean up the images. Sometimes the finished painted letters are given some further embellishment with pencil crayons. The finished products were truly “finished” and looked finished.

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After having completed one piece we displayed them and talked about them. This gave us incentive to try some more. A few class members were quite prolific after the initial two days but others were quite slow continuing the exacting process. Our display table had very finished and professional

work on it which seemed to be admired by many. Will I continue in this way? Perhaps not, but as a result of my four days working in this way, I have a true respect for PROCESS. Before taking this class I was a product oriented person. This has been an eye opener for

me. I have had a chance to step back and look at lines, spaces, letter interaction and variation of form in a very critical way. This was a drawing course. It made me very respectful of serifs as design elements. It was a course in “finishing”. - Betty Locke

Hermann Zapf: Thoughts & Sketches 1941 - 1945 A new book has just been added to our library! Zapf contributed much to our lives, and yet we may not realize it. He created many type fonts that we use on our computers today. The list is extensive.

Palatino (Dingbats)

In 1935, Zapf attended an exhibition in Nuremberg in honour of the late typographer Rudolf Koch. This exhibition gave him his first interest in lettering. Zapf bought two books there, using them to teach himself calligraphy. In 1939, just as he was beginning his career as a graphic artist, Hermann Zapf was conscripted into the German army. He started working on a series of sketchbooks, small enough to keep in his uniform pocket at all times, and continued them throughout the war years. Although a handful of the pages have been reproduced previously, only 18

a very few people have ever seen the contents of these three clothbound volumes in their entirety. Now, with the cooperation of the artist himself, the Hermann Zapf Sketchbook Facsimile Project has made the complete work available for the first time. Seventy-one compositions—each a small masterpiece—indicate the breadth of Hermann Zapf’s artistic abilities during this period. Watercolor paintings, pen and pencil sketches, and, above all, gems of calligraphic art, exhibit his wide capabilities and formidable skill. A treasure trove for lovers of the letter arts, the notebooks are key to understanding Zapf’s future achievements in calligraphy and typography. MASTERFUL CALLIGRAPHY These sketchbooks – and the fifty or so other manuscript books Zapf executed from 1936 to 1948 – attest to Zapf’s skill in “pure” writing with a broad nib pen. Examples of the blackletter hands prevalent in Germany at the time dominate in the sketchbooks. Some of the texts run to hundreds of words, written over multiple pages; others are just a

WARMLAND CALLIGRAPHERS

OCTOBER 2015

few words beautifully written and arranged. These deceptively simple compositions rely on the careful placement of extremely well-made letterforms for their effect, which would become a hallmark of Zapf’s work. This video is well worth watching: https://vimeo.com/5385464 - Barbara Qualley

Annual Vancouver Island Regional Library Exhibition Thirty-three pieces produced by Warmland Calligraphers members have been hung in the Public Library. The Exhibit can be viewed from October 1st to November 15th. Please, go and have a look at the fantastic and varied work of our members. - Ria Lewis

Pat Wheatley

Betty Locke

OCTOBER 2015

Ruth Rutledge

Ria Lewis

WARMLAND CALLIGRAPHERS

OCTOBER 2015