Friday, December 29, 2023

JANUARY 2024

A MESSAGE FROM THE GUILD PRESIDENT 

Onward and upward! Last year was a bit rough for me as is obvious in the lack of content in the 2023 Blog. Hopefully things will be better this year.

I only posted twice last year, and you would think I did nothing all year, but that is not true. Though the year was a struggle for me I was busy taking classes and learning things. Just wasn't very productive. So, this year I will work on that, and part of my problem is lack of organization so that is the first thing I must tackle. 

For the last couple years MCG has gifted the members with a workshop. The only rule was that their membership had to be paid in full. Last year we had a workshop with Sally Penley on the art of Etegami and here is an article written by our own Denise Gooch.

What a wonderful gift to the Michiana Calligraphy Guild members! On October 28, 2023, all the current members were invited to a free zoom class with Sally Penley titled "The Art of Etegami".

The premise of Etegami, which was started by Kunio Koike in the 1970"s, is a postcard with simple painted images and a few words or a haiku to reflect the image that are mailed to a friend or loved one. These are done on 140# watercolor postcards with sumi ink, a sumi brush and up to three watercolors loosely applied to the image, often running off the paper. Each is signed in vermilion ink or cinnabar paste with a chop, which the artist can carve from a white ]plastic eraser. This "chop" is used in lieu of a signature and can be the artist's name, initials or something meaningful to the artist.

What truly resonated with me was the concept of wabi-sabi and that imperfections are ideal. The motto of Etegami is that clumsy makes it better. You don't correct your mistakes! While this seems contrary to calligraphy, it does allow for us to spread our wings. The lettering on an Etegami postcard is to be written in a simple, easy to read style as well as minimal, the fewer words, the better. Allowing the image(s) to speak is key. White space is also important, including within the image.

Sally shared sources for traditional Japanese art supplies, including Akashiya postcards, as well as her choices for materials. She also colored with pastel dust, which are shavings from Faber Castell soft pastel sticks that she applies with pieces of cotton balls or Q- tip type applicators for a softer look. She had a plethora of tips and products to help in our creative process and her freezer paper for tossing brushes when you're too caught up in creating to clean is genius!

Sally created postcards as we watched and did two power point presentations during her class. These included many eye-catching examples from her creations and also others who practice Etegami. And in order for it to be true Etegami, it must be mailed to another person.

I found the class and Sally as an instructor to be refreshing! I prefer a teacher who is open to questions and open to more than just the topic; Sally was resoundingly both. I personally use my calligraphy in card making and I absolutely love to mail things I make. Even if you don't think this is for you because the loose, less precise art form isn't your preferred style (like me), go and watch the video replay that Renee posted for the Guild. I found multiple ideas that Sally shared that I can use for other projects. I ordered the corner rounder she recommended because she hit the nail on the head when she said every other one, she has ever tried didn't cut cleanly.

Going forward, I am thinking that I can easily share this with my ten-year-old niece, who loves to make artwork with her old Auntie. Who can you encourage with some Etegami? Sally showcased a gorgeous postcard that said "Give Joy! Get Joy!". I am running with that idea. Thank you, Michiana Board, for such a great opportunity to learn and grow.

Denise Gooch,
grateful guild member
 




Here are some wonderful examples!
Angie West

Angie West

Ginny VanderHey

Judy Theuerl

Judy Theuerl

Judy Theuerl

Judy Theuerl








 CALENDAR for 2024 
 January 6: Meeting and Demo of simple geometric design by Renee 
February 3: Meeting and Demo by Angie on Versals in pencil. 
March 2: Meeting and Demo by Ginny on Brush Letters. 
April 6: Meeting and Etegami revisited (from our Sally Penley workshop) 
May 4: Meeting and TBD 
 June 1: Meeting and TBD 
 July13: Meeting change due to holiday TBD 
August 3: Picnic TBD 
September 7: Meeting and TBD 
October5: Meeting and TBD 
November 2: Meeting and TBD 
December 2: Christmas Party TBD 

 THINGS OF INTEREST
 https://www.pendragonscalligraphy.org/ 

 UPCOMING WORKSHOPS 
To Be Determined


 P.O. BOX IN SOUTH BEND Due to a lack of much mail at our Post Office box in South Bend we have suspended any mail sent to that address. If you have anything to send to the Michiana Calligraphy Guild, please send to Angie Wesr 1212 Elder Court, Niles, Michigan 49120 or Renee Tuveson, 928 Finch Dr., South Bend, Indiana 46614. 

 POLICY FOR MCG WORKSHOPS

Our workshops seem to have people sign up and then decide not to attend. We have been very generous in returning monies paid for the workshop if someone decides not to attend at the last minute, but we are going to have a change in this policy. There will be a nominal fee if you drop out of a workshop. If there would be an emergency, for instance the birth of a grandchild, illness, etc., then the board will take this under advisement to decide on a course of action regarding a refund. Also, if the workshop is filled, and there is someone to take your place, that would also qualify for a refund. So please, if you want to sign up foe the workshop, make sure that you put that date on your calendar as a commitment. We have a small calligraphy group and we struggle to fill workshops at times. We need all of you to attend as many as possible so that we can continue to have quality instructors. 

 ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK? 

If so, look up your favorite calligraphers, because they are on Facebook also. I like to look at Barbara Blose, Reggie Ezell, Julian Waters, John Stevens, Rachel Yallop, Pendragons, Capital City Scribes, Yukimi Annand, etc.. 

AMERICAN FRAME 
Just a reminder that if you order from American Frame, please mention MCG, and they will give us a small stipend. 

 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP 

Annual dues of $20 are due at the July meeting. Our annual dues have not changed in many years and are put to good use for supplies for our Make It/Take It at meetings and our annual raffle in August, and in December our donation to local charities. Please remember to bring your dues to the July meeting or send to Angie West, our treasurer, 1212 Elder Court, Niles, Michigan 49120 

 OFFICIERS 
 Renee Tuveson, President and Blog 
Angie West, Treasurer 
Judy Theurel, Secretary
 Ginny VanderHey, Advisor

Friday, August 11, 2023

 

JULY  2023 SCRIBNOTE

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE GUILD PRESIDENT

 Since it is August you all can see I am very behind in this posting Everything is going well just can't seem to find enough time. Too many rabbit holes in my life, can't seem to avoid them. Almost afraid to look at anything for fear that I will want to do that too!

I opened my home the 5th of August to guild members and had a wonderful turnout. We will continue with the zoom meeting, but on meeting day anyone that would like to come over to my house for an "in person" visit is welcome. At least until the weather gets bad again or covid rears it's ugly head.

I won't go over all the meetings since April (shame on me) but I will post an assortment of pictures from our "Show and Tell". Our July meeting, I am sure will go down as a "CLASSIC" as Judy T. did an outstanding job of dealing with clutter and she has written an article for the blog, posted below!!!! Anyone who has lost the link or would like to revisit that meeting please email me and I will send a link. Our youtube channel is private (to protect our members privacy, therefore can only be accessed with a link to each video.  I recommend that you put a folder in your email or on your computer and save these links if you want to view them again)

Please anyone who would like to contribute to the blog send in an article!


 DECLUTTERING WHILE DOING ART!

 At the July 2023 Michiana Calligraphy Guild Zoom meeting, I had the pleasure of being asked to lead a discussion on the advantages of decluttering and organizing our studio work areas. The issue was brought up by Rose, who was looking at all her supplies and wondering why they did not offer her joy and inspiration as they once had. She wondered which items she should get rid of and how to organize the rest of her things so she could quickly find them to work with. She has been feeling held down by the amount of stuff she has. She is like many of our MCG members in that she is very artistic and talented. Rose is interested in several types of creating art and she needs help to get her direction back. Sound familiar? It did to many of us!

I had already put myself on a crazy declutter/organizing journey for our home, however, I had fully intended to leave my worst area for last. My crafting area also tends to be my collection area for all things with no home.

We started our discussion on purging and decluttering. Both considered “dirty words” to hobby crafters. I was a little nervous that my guild friends would think I was trying to talk everyone into changing the way they do things. However, Tina made a comment that she could use some help, I started feeling more confident about the presentation. Tina is not only a guild member but also has spent several years practicing Fodder School challenges and making beautiful journals, books, paper and fabrics out of all the extra things she can find. I stressed not feeling forced or under pressure to do it any other way but your own way. As I called it, “You do you” and what makes you happy. But one thing I mentioned was to not think about the money since it is already gone. Think about what you want going forward.

Next, we got into what I consider more fun, organizing our treasured supplies. I enlisted the help of Renee, Rose, Ginny, Denise, Pat, Anna, and Susan. My idea was that we have all tried to find the best way to organize our supplies. We have seen far too many advertisements from companies telling us what we need. However, are we not the experts on how to store our own supplies? Yes we are! Especially if each of us has an area or topic that we feel we have found to work best for us. That is what all eight of us did. Everyone that was present, or who watched the video later, got to enjoy the ideas,see pictures of how they work and offer their own questions and suggestions.

I want to thank all of my friends who help make this discussion helpful and fun. Later, I was so impress by lovely comments about how much many of you enjoyed it and felt inspired by the presentation. I can say now that I am energized to keep going on my crafting area. I have a long way to go but intend to keep working at it a little at a time.

This did develop a couple of fun ideas. At our August 5 th picnic, we decided to include a table for anyone who has been purging and has gently used items to pass on to someone else. Yes, send your clutter home with someone else! It might have been something someone else has been looking for. Anyone present can bring or take these items. Also, our September meeting we are encouraging anyone who has “fixed” even a little something and organized an area, to please include a picture for our Show ‘n Tell.

Thank you, Judy Theuerl-MCG Secretary

 

April Show and Tell 

Laurie Heyden

Angela Michielutti

Susan Kavanaugh
May Show and Tell

Angela Michielutti
Pat West

Rose Kopec
June Show and Tell
Denise Gooch
Kristi Ryan


Ginny VanderHey




 
July Show and Tell

Paste paper by Ginny and Pat

August Book Exchange


Anna Schlemma

Barb Walsh

Ginny VanderHey

Judy Theuerl

Laura Fuderer

Pat West

Renee Tuveson



Rose Kopec


Angie West



CALENDAR for 2023

September 9  : Labor Day is Sept. 4

October 7:

October 28: Sally Penley Zoom Workshop

November 11:

December 2: Guild Christmas Party, Exchange TBD

 THINGS OF INTEREST

https://www.pendragonscalligraphy.org/

 

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

 October 28, 2023 – Sally Penley “The Art of Etegami” Free to current (dues paid) members via Zoom Noon to 3PM


 POLICY FOR MCG

Our workshops seem to have people sign up and then decide not to attend. We have been very generous in returning monies paid for the workshop if someone decides not to attend at the last minute, but we are going to have a change in this policy. There will be a nominal fee if you drop out of a workshop. If there would be an emergency, for instance the birth of a grandchild, illness, etc., then the board will take this under advisement to decide on a course of action regarding a refund. Also, if the workshop is filled, and there is someone to take your place, that would also qualify for a refund. So please, if you want to sign up foe the workshop, make sure that you put that date on your calendar as a commitment. We have a small calligraphy group and we struggle to fill workshops at times. We need all of you to attend as many as possible so that we can continue to have quality instructors.

 ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK?

If so, look up your favorite calligraphers, because they are on Facebook also. I like to look at Barbara Blose, Reggie Ezell, Julian Waters, John Stevens, Rachel Yallop, Pendragons, Capital City Scribes, Yukimi Annand, etc.. There are lots of beautiful

 

 AMERICAN FRAME

Just a reminder that if you order from American Frame, please mention MCG, and  they will give us a small stipend.

 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

Annual dues of $20 are due at the July meeting. Our annual dues have not changed in many years and are put to good use for supplies for our Make It/Take It at meetings and our annual raffle in August, and in December our donation to local charities. Please remember to bring your dues to the July meeting or send to Angie West, our treasurer at 1212 Elder Court, Niles, Michigan 49120

 

OFFICIERS

Renee Tuveson, President and Blog,  rtuveson@hotmail.com

Angie Wesr, Treasurer, angi360985@gmail.com

Judy Theurel, Secretary, judy@theurel.com

Ginny VanderHey, Consultant, gvanderhey@hotmail.com

 












Monday, April 10, 2023

April 2023 SCRIBNOTE

 APRIL 2023 SCRIBNOTE

A MESSAGE FROM THE GUILD PRESIDENT

 It has been a while! Due to health and related issues I was not up to posting on the blog. Hopefully that is behind me now and we can move on to bigger and better things in the calligraphy world.

I will begin with a recap of the things that should have been posted in the January Blog.  Concentrating on our Show and Tell.

October 2022 Meeting

We did not have a meeting in October instead the Guild was given a FREE workshop with Suzie Beringer. Just for reinvesting in the guild and paying your dues all members were treated to this very fun workshop. Suzie Beringer is a very gifted and giving teacher and everyone loved the class. Making more and more Dirds!

Angie West

Judy Theuerl

Pat West

Rose Kopec

Suzie Beringer

Suzie Beringrer

November 12, 2022 Meeting

Quote: "The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave it to neither power nor time - Mary Oliver

We now have a Youtube Channel where our meeting videos will be posted. This is a completely private youtube channel which can only be accessed through a link that you will be sent every month along with the monthly minutes. No one can see our meetings by searching youtube. You must have a link to a specific video. 

As always we are looking for people to do demos, share what you know. We have many talented and knowledgeable members who can share their abilities with all of us.

Show and Tell:

Angela Michielutti

Angie West

Ginny VanderHey

Ginny VanderHey

Pat West

Rose Kopec

December 3, 2022 Meeting

Quote:
"Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago." - Tom Baker

We did our annual Christmas book and/or ornament exchange. Anyone who missed the video please email me for a link to see this once again.

Show and Tell :
Angela Michielutti

Anna's Cards

Anna Schlemma

Anna Schlemma

Ginny VanderHey

Judy Theuerl

Lucia Leonardelli

Tina Cronkhite




 January 7, 2023 Meeting

Quote: "You don't get into the mood to create....It's a discipline." - Twyla Tharp (Thanks Ginny)

We are still using Padlet, but will go back to having our "slide shows".  We did add a new tab called "Quotes" where Judy will post our monthly quotes. Please continue to use and enjoy Padlet. 

Rose did a wonderful demo using graphite watercolors (Gansai Tambi Graphite Watercolors), truly inspiring to all of us, as many of us had never tried these very dramatic paints!

Show and Tell:

Angela Michielutti

Ginny's cards

Judy Theuerl

Judy Theuerl

Laura Fuderer

Lucia Leonardelli

Tina Cronkhite

Tina Cronkhite

Tina Cronkhite

Tina Cronkhite



 February 4, 2023

Quote: "Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo deVinci (Thanks Anna)

Angie West treated us to a demo of the Pilot Parallel Pen, great demo Angie! Using the techniques of Alice Young who is a real genius with the Pilot Pen.

Show and Tell



Angela's Birthday Cards

Angela Michielutti

Anna Schlemma

Anna Schlemma

Anna Schlemma

Anna Schlemma

Diana MacKenzie

Judy Theuerl

Judy Theuerl

Kristi Ryan

Kristi Ryan

Denise Gooch

Renee Tuveson

Renee Tuveson

Renee Tuveson

Renee's cards

Renee Tuveson

Rose Kopec

Rose Kopec


March 4, 2023 Meeting

Quote: "Art is a spiritual function of man, which aims at freeing him from life's chaos". - Kurt Schwitters (Thanks Ginny)

We discussed envelopes and making our own vs commercial envelopes. I gave a short demo using a 12 x12 piece of scrapbook paper. Next month we will show some of the decorated envelopes we have received from others

Show and Tell

Anna Schlemma



Anna Schlemma

Diane Collins BD cards

Judy Theuerl

Judy Theuerl

Laura F's card to Diane C

Laura F's card to Diane C

Pat West

Pat West's Cards

Renee Tuveson

Tina Cronkhite

Tina Cronkhite

Tina Cronkhite

I must apologize to Ginny for the lateness in posting her article!

 THINGS NOT TO DO WHEN I MAKE MY CHRISTMAS CARD IN 2023

BY GINNY VANDERHEY

I have been making handmade Christmas Cards for the last 25-30 years and usually enjoy knowing that they will be appreciated at Holiday time. If I were smart, I would go to the Dollar Tree and buy a box or two = for $1.25, make labels and send them out. Every year I say "Why do we torture ourselves every Christmas".

After taking a Bone Lettering class with Carol DuBosch in 2021, almost 2 years ago, we formed a Bone Study Group with the participants of that class and meet approximately every 3 weeks with a challenge. We are blessed that Carol herself joins up and inspires us with her lettering and designs. If it weren't for her, I don't know if we would have continued to try to produce any cards or broadsides. She has taught us Bone, circular and spiral writing, books, etc. We have loved it all! 

In November, we all had our Christmas card designs in the works and Carol critiqued them with what we should do next and guided us through the printing process. She even sent us envelope sizes to fit. Carol is a wealth of knowledge!

I had a couple designs in mind for my Christmas card and started with a spiral with different sized pencil lettering and a bit of color. It was okay, but didn't really have the Christmas spirit on it. Then I watched the Texas Lettering Guild offer a free demo featuring several instructors like Heather Martinez, Holly Monroe, Heather Held, etc. Holly Monroe really caught my eye with her design for a Christmas card and I played around with that on black paper with Dr. Martin's Bleedproof White. I loved that design, but unfortunately, when I wanted to print it, they can't print black to black, so I redid my design on white paper and took it to the printer to see if they could reverse it. Nope. In the end, it was printed on white paper and I had to color in the wreath, add green to the leaves and red for the berries. Also put gold dots between the letters and glued a small paper bow onto the wreath.

Here are the things I will NOT do next year:

1. Proof Read your work carefully. I forgot a letter on one of the words. Luckily it was at the end of a word, so I could add it. Most won't notice it, but my calligrapher friends will!

2. Find a good printer that understands what you want to do. I took my design to a Staples here in Ft. Myers, Florida because I didn't know of anywhere else to take it. She didn't like my paper either and used Staples paper, which turned out to be fine.

3. Don't go the printer with anyone else who is not interested in your Christmas cards. My granddaughter was with me along with her boyfriend so I was in a bit of a hurry. Take your time and don't go when 25 other people are waiting in line to get something printed.

4. Decide on the size you want before going to the printer. I had the printer put two of the design on one page so that I could cut it in half and have two cards. What I didn't do was decide on the size of the envelope so I didn't think about that when printing was being done. I looked at a few sites for envelopes and couldn't find anything that would fit it, so I wound up making my own envelopes out of paper that we use for printing out our Christmas letter.

5. Print in color. I should have colored the wreath on my card as well as the leaves and berries so that I didn't have to sit and color 80 cards! That would have made things a lot simpler. My husband had a tax seminar to go to in Orlando and I took my cards and pencils with me to work on them.

6. Glue vs double sided tape. While sitting in the lobby of the hotel in Orlando, I worked on gluing the card to red paper behind it with glue I brought with me. After the glue dried, I noticed that it made the paper buckle so there was another NOT to do in the future. I had a few more cards that I didn't finish and when we got back to Ft. Myers, I used double-sided tape to adhere the red backing paper to the card which worked much better and didn't leave marks or buckle.

7. Envelopes again... I found a few envelopes that I could use, although they were a little big for the card, I felt that the envelope looked better than the folded paper with washi tape on it to hold it closed. OY! And, hey, when lettering your envelopes, make sure that the flap is in the right position so it doesn't have to be opened upside down (like I did on Lucia's card!)

In the end, the cards all went into the mail on time, but making the cards this year should have been simpler and taken less time. In between making cards, there is always Cinderella Chores (as my dear friend Anna always says), baking biscotti, having lunch with a few friends by the pool, making an exchange book or ornament (or in my case, both) and those wonderful Zoom meetings with MCG and Kalamazoo.

Okay, everyone. Get out your calendars and put my name on it about September 1 to remind me NOT to do all the things I did this year. Now I will have to proofread this letter! Thanks, and Happy New Year!

 

THINGS OF INTEREST

https://www.pendragonscalligraphy.org/

 

 

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS - TBD


P.O. BOX IN SOUTH BEND

Due to a lack of much mail at our Post Office box in South Bend we have suspended any mail sent to that address. If you have anything to send to the Michiana Calligraphy Guild, please send to Angie Wesr 1212 Ekder Court, Niles, Michigan 49120 or Renee Tuveson, 928 Finch Dr., South Bend, Indiana 46614.

 

 

POLICY FOR MCG

Our workshops seem to have people sign up and then decide not to attend. We have been very generous in returning monies paid for the workshop if someone decides not to attend at the last minute, but we are going to have a change in this policy. There will be a nominal fee if you drop out of a workshop. If there would be an emergency, for instance the birth of a grandchild, illness, etc., then the board will take this under advisement to decide on a course of action regarding a refund. Also, if the workshop is filled, and there is someone to take your place, that would also qualify for a refund. So please, if you want to sign up foe the workshop, make sure that you put that date on your calendar as a commitment. We have a small calligraphy group and we struggle to fill workshops at times. We need all of you to attend as many as possible so that we can continue to have quality instructors.

 

ARE YOU ON FACEBOOK?

If so, look up your favorite calligraphers, because they are on Facebook also. I like to look at Barbara Blose, Reggie Ezell, Julian Waters, John Stevens, Rachel Yallop, Pendragons, Capital City Scribes, Yukimi Annand, etc.. There are lots of beautiful

 

 AMERICAN FRAME

Just a reminder that if you order from American Frame, please mention MCG, and  they will give us a small stipend.

  

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

Annual dues of $20 are due at the July meeting. Our annual dues have not changed in many years and are put to good use for supplies for our Make It/Take It at meetings and our annual raffle in August, and in December our donation to local charities. Please remember to bring your dues to the July meeting or send to Angie West, our treasurer, 1212 Elder Court, Niles, Michigan 49120

 

OFFICERS

 Renee Tuveson, President and Blog

Angie West, Treasurer

Judy Theuerl, Secretary

Ginny VanderHey, Advisor