A Note from the Chairperson:
Ahhhhhhh Spring! Is it finally here? Time to crawl out of our shells and get going. I've been busy the last couple of months with Heather Held! I signed up for a one on one through Skype doing "The Enchanted Letter" with her and it was wonderful! I had three sessions February 7th, and 21st and the last one on March 7. There were handouts and I was able to record each session for future reference. Heather is a wonderful and skillful teacher with plenty of pointers and guidance along the way. Homework was assigned and emailed back to her for critique upon completion. She encouraged you to contact her with questions and was most gracious. Here are a few examples of the homework I did in her class. I enjoyed the class so much I have signed up for the "The Artful Flourish" to start in May!
Monthly Meetings:
January - We did not have a regular meeting but did meet for a Paste Paper Playday! Twelve people were in attendance and as always very inspiring! Sorry I am not certain who these pieces belonged to. This is just a small sampling of the wonderful art we created.
February Meeting:
Quote: Use the talents you possess.The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang the best. - Henry VanDyke
There were 11 of us in attendance. This was our first in a series of calligraphic hands taught by Angie West. This month the class was Romans. I think people not in the calligraphic group realize that there is much to learn with Romans, there are rules and proportions to follow. Once the rules have been learned you are allowed to break them, but it is best to learn them first and appreciate their beauty. Angie had wonderful handouts and did demos on all the letters working with each of us as needed.
March Meeting:
Quote - Don't worry about failures worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try. - Jack Canfield.
We discussed upcoming workshops and it was decided that we would ask Julie Wildman to do her "Akim" workshop with us as we have several new members who would enjoy this script. Ginny stated she would contact Julie and get this set up (See Workshops for details) Anna has been working with Rosie Kelley in setting up another workshop with us as we all love Rosie so much and she has so much knowledge to share and this is in the works also.
Show and tell included: Ginny - sharing her work with the online workshop she took with Carl Rohr (article to follow), Ginny also brought a tile she did an acrylic pour on and some tote bags she has made. Angie brought a project she is working on for her sons graduation, also a couple of books by artist Maian Bantjes that were amazing to look at. Linda brought a pencil bag she had made. Sharyn brought her pictures from the 2018 picnic and our annual Christmas party. Thanks Sharyn. I also shared my work with Heather Held.
Angie went over romans worksheets with those that completed the homework.
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| Ginny's tote bag |
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| Ginny's acrylic pour on a tile |
AN ONLINE CLASS WITH CARL ROHRS
While I have plenty to do when I am at my winter home in Ft. Myers, Florida, including playing dominoes on Tuesday afternoons and going to a quilt club on Thursdays or a quilt show with the ladies I sew with, or reading out on the lanai, there is always the need for something more. So, when I saw the advertisement from Harvest Crittenden for an online class with Carl Rohr's I had to decide if I had enough time to actually sit down and write letters. My husband does some remote accounting work for a few hours a day so I am free to wander to the pool, to the fabric store, etc. I decided yes, that this was a good opportunity to learn some new letters from a master calligrapher. Our little guild cannot support a calligrapher of his quality at this time, so I thought that I would jump at the chance.
I've taken about 3 online classes with Harvest Crittenden and knew that her content was full of handouts and lots of information on lettering.I had previously taken two classes with Harvest in the Copperplate style and also took a class on the decorated letter along with Renee Tuveson and Marty Mitchell. Online classes allow you to watch the videos at your leisure abd whatever time you like. You can be dressed in your high heels or in your jammies and no one will be the wiser.
The online classes with Carl were over a period of 4 consecutive Wednesdays. The only things I needed for this class in the way of supplies was a Horizon Pen, which I did not own, and a pad of paper. So I quickly ordered them from Paper and Ink and they arrived in the mail a few days later. Since I enrolled about 2 days before the class started, I didn't start to watch the videos until my Horizon Pen arrived. Carl was patient and kind and sometimes didn't like the way his hand made a letter since he has tremors and admits that by later in the day, his hand will shake more and not work the way he wants it to. The handouts were in multiples each week as well as about 60 sheets of letteringstyles to add to the mix, which I took to staples to get spiral bound. I carried that home back to Elkhart in my suitcase which added about 5 pounds!
Carl writes slowly and methodically so you can see the manipulation of his pen strokes. His letters are beautiful and need to be practiced to achieve his level of perfection. Each week he provided three, four or even five different videos. I didn't love the Horizon Pen at first. I had to order the next size up from what Carl uses , so I blamed my not getting the letters on that faction. So I picked up my carpenters pencil and slowly was able to grasp what he was trying to teach so many of us around the world. That's the beauty of an online class. You get to converse with the and see how others letter. I found Linda Elder and Alicia Marquez were both in the class. Alicia does beautiful lettering and hopefully she will be teaching in the near future.
Calligraphy is not just picking up a pen or a brush. It takes practice and patience, the latter not being one of my strong suits. I loved this class and look forward to another online class at acornarts.org. Till then, I need to go to my art room as much as possible and write letters and sew, and cook, and clean the house.....
Ginny VanderHey
Calendar
***Please note that the April
meeting is not on our usual day due to a conflict ***
April 13 – Study of Modern Pointed
Pen –Angie West 10am –3pm
May 11 – ATTENTION ALL PLEASE NOTE: Meeting date has been changed due to date conflict with the church!Regular meeting – Bring
modern pointed pen practice and/or finished piece
June 1- Study of Foundational Hand
10am- 3pm
July 6 – Regular meeting –bring
foundational practice and/or finished piece.
August 3 – Picnic
September 7 – Study of Italic 10am –
3pm
September 21-22 – Days of the
Handmade Book
October 5 – Regular Meeting – Bring
Italic practice and/or finished piece
November 2 – Study of Blackletter-
10am – 3pm
December 7 – Christmas Carry in and
bring blackletter practice and/or finished oiece
Things of Interest
Ginny saw this link to Illuminated Medieval Manuscripts and asked me to share
The Postman's Knock -
This is Lindsey Bugbee's blog
and she offers many things calligraphy. Classes and free stuff too. Visit her
site and enjoy!
Calligraphers on Instagram
#hwangraphy
#suzcunninham
#slo.leecalli
#heathervictoria1
#anintran
#tri.shiba
Upcoming Workshops
Julie Wildman Akim Workshop – Thursday, May 23, 2019
At our March meeting, the MCG decided they would like to have an Akim lettering class with Julie Wildman, so I contacted her, and she was available for this date. Julie has been in South Bend twice before to conduct workshops and we are grateful that she can be with us again. The date of the workshop is Thursday, May 23, 2019 and will be held at Christ the King Lutheran Church in South Bend, Indiana.
Akim letters were created by German calligrapher, sculptor and musician, Hans-Joachim Burgert. Akim Cursive is a lovely, gentle hand that is said to replicate the rhythm of the human heart.
We will begin with a simple, monoline tool and explore how the letters are made, learn different ways to join them to create that heart rhythm, and then begin to write longer sentences.
This class would be great for all our newbies who are just beginning their calligraphic journey.
If you wish to register for this class, please send your check to our MCG treasurer, Laurie Heyden, 18292 Courtland Drive, South Bend, Indiana 46637. The cost of this workshop will be $65. for members and $80. For nonmembers, which will include the materials fee for the instructor. A supply list will be sent to you when you register for this class.
ROSIE KELLEY - October 5, 2019 TBD
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POLICY FOR MCG
Our workshops seem to have people sign up 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 child or
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 for 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 Close, Reggie Ezell, Julian Waters, John
Stevens, Rachel Yallop, Pendragons, Capital City Scribes, Yukimi Annand, etc.
There are lots of beautiful calligraphy on these pages that will get you
inspired. Also look at Joanne Fink and Barbara Lever's Facebook page. And then,
there is always Pinterest. Oh my, so many places to be inspired!
PO 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 MCG, please send
to Laurie Heyden, 18292 Courtland Dr., South Bend, Indiana 46637 or Ginny
VanderHey, 51854 Stoney Creek Dr., Elkhart, Indiana 46514. When monies are due
for a workshop or dues, they will now go to one of these addresses.
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 $15 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 meetings, annual raffle in August and, at the end of the year,
we give to local charities. Please remember to bring your dues to the July
meeting or send to Laurie Heyden, our treasurer at 18292 Courtland Dr., South
Bend,Indiana 46637
Officers
Laurie
Heyden,Treasurer - silverbird323@yahoo.com
Pat West,
Secretary 574-612-9328 -pwpatwest@gmail.com
Jo
McPherson, Study Group Chairperson - jobakestwo@centurylink.net
Renee
Tuveson-Blog Coordinator
