October Meeting Program / November Meeting Program

October Meeting Programme - Cuneiform letters

The October Zoom presentation by Violet Smythe, was titled ‘Cuneiform with a Twist’. Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumarians of Mesopotamia around 3500-3000BC.

Though cuneiform inscription began as pictures, it became increasingly abstract, eventually becoming the world’s earliest form of writing. The writings were made by inscribing wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, with blunt reeds used as a stylus. The clay tablets were eventually kiln-fired in order to preserve them. Cuneiform writing was replaced by alphabetic writing during the Roman era. For this presentation we received an exemplar of cuneiform writing. We had previously been asked to acquire appropriate wooden pieces from the dollar store to enable us to make the cuneiform shapes on paper, using Sumi ink. Violet demonstrated how to develop cuneiform shapes using the flat wooden pieces, and encouraged us to do the same. She created a block of alphabetic text, then turned the page 90 degrees, writing the alphabet again over the first block. She recommended doing this twice more to create a dense pattern. We used different thicknesses of tools to add interest to the texture of the piece: as an art piece, texture is more important than legibility. The use of colour pencils in specific shapes within the text added an interesting dimension to the work.

Violet referred us to “Calligraphy - a book of contemporary inspiration” by Denise Lach, as a valuable reference, should anyone wish to follow up with this form of writing. (A copy is in our Library - 0.028)

- Margaret Kells

Barbara Qualley

November Meeting Programme - Brush Stuff

This program was presented by Betty Locke who demonstrated the use of a 1/4” flat brush to create various decorative strokes.

For the first stroke Betty started with a small dot on the page. The end of the brush was moved to the dot and after a slight turn using the thumb, the tip was moved away from the dot creating an arrow shape. Various arrangements of this shape in different colours and sizes can create lovely decorations for cards or envelopes. The next stroke started by placing the tip of the brush at 0°. As the brush was moved down the paper we turned the brush slightly with our thumb and then returned the brush to its original position. This created a stroke with a narrowed waist which could be used for making candles.

The “ballet slipper” as Betty called it was a bit more difficult. The tip of the brush moves up the paper and around at the top with a turn of the wrist and then returns to the beginning. Another shape can be made by placing the brush in an erect position. It is then moved down the paper and pressure is put on it and then released. This creates a petal shape. Next, we lightly drew a letter (heart) in pencil and with our brush and various colours of paint created small squares around the shape and radiated them outwards.

Then we moved on to Christmas trees. After lightly drawing an outline we used the shapes Betty had shown us to fill it in. What a beautiful result!

Betty finished the program by demonstrating the strokes needed to create a poinsettia. The first strokes (petals) were made with a wetter brush. A deeper colour paint was used to make the next layer of petals and the leaves. This was definitely a fun program with members able to ask questions as we went along. Betty did a great job of clarifying the more difficult movements of the brush.

Once again Betty, thank you for a great learning experience. - Linda Yaychuk