Welcome back to the “second season” of our 40th Anniversary Year. Plans are being made for this fall and into 2017 to continue our celebration!
As you know, no one accepted the offices of President and Vice President when Gretchen and I resigned last spring. Not only do we need those two offices filled, but now we have heard from our dear Sue Flory that she also needs to retire from Membership Chair. All of us know Sue from all our years of joining and renewals and have enjoyed her kind notes and caring correspondence! You now have three opportunities to help out your Guild - please talk to Derrick Tabor to let him know your willingness to join in the “every day tasks” of keeping the Guild going.
We have received a lovely donation to the Zapf Scholarship Fund from a new friend who found us on Facebook this summer. Eric Mueller wanted to donate in memory of a friend’s father, Herb Barnes, who was a talented calligrapher. He found our Scholarship program and deemed it to be a very fine way to honor his friend’s father. We are most grateful to receive his generous gift.
Over the next several issues of the Bulletin this letter - the “President’s letter” - will be written by different board members each time. As we are sharing all the work, this may be a good way for all of you to know what some other board members are doing and what is on their minds!
See you on September 21st for our first program of the year (details on page 8).
Warmest wishes, Pamn
s e p t / o c t 2 0 1 6 b u l l e t i n
— artwork by Gerry Jackson Kerdok
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The Bulletin of the Washington Calligraphers Guild is published four times per year from September - May with a special workshops issue in January.
The deadline for submissions for the November/December issue isOctober 15, 2016. We welcome your contributions. Please send digital files
for text, photos and artwork (reflecting all levels, from beginner to advanced) to [email protected]. Your submissions will be interpreted as permission to
use in the Bulletin, unless otherwise specified. We will use your submissions on a space-available basis and may reduce your artwork to accommodate
available space. Mention in the Bulletin does not constitute endorsement by the Washington Calligraphers Guild.
The Washington Calligraphers Guild, Inc., is a Virginia non-profit corporation, with an IRS tax designation of 501(c)(3). The guild’s mailing address is P.O. Box 3688, Merrifield, VA 22116-3688. Visit our website at
www.calligraphersguild.org.
washington calligraphers guild— board of directors —
– officers –president: can you help
vice president: can you help
treasurer: Derrick C. [email protected] / 301-330-7729
secretary: Gilda [email protected] / 301-315-0330
member-at-large: Tiiu [email protected] / 301-216-4842
registered agent: Bob [email protected] / 703-569-4331
– standing committees –audit: John Stackpole
[email protected] / 301-292-9479
budget & finance: Derrick C. [email protected] / 301-330-7729
bulletin liaison: Pamn [email protected] / 301-654-6049
education: Monica [email protected] / 301-926-6385
exhibits: Maureen [email protected]
fundraising/calligrafest co-chairs: can you help?
librarian / archivist: Lucinda Fitch [email protected]
mailings: Phyllis Ingram / [email protected]
membership: Sue [email protected] / 703-569-4331
nominating: appointed in January
programs: can you help?
publicity: Felecia [email protected] / 703-892-6262
scholarship: Marta [email protected] / 301-493-8907
scripsit liaison: can you help?
website: Lorraine [email protected] / 202-723-4635
workshops: Christine [email protected] / 301-745-4633
membership news
A very warm welcome to our newest members.We’re so very glad to have you!
Rafael J. Barneto – Madrid, SpainJeff Barthold – Tigard, Oregon
Ronnie Barnes Bey – Ft. Washington, Maryland
Dana Brinegar – Lovettsville, VirginiaJanice M. Collins – Alexandria, VirginiaKaren Corvan – Oceanside, CaliforniaVicki Corwin – Royal Oak, MichiganLynne Cush – Shady Side, MarylandOlivia Dorieux – Washington, DCMauri Earl – Arlington, VirginiaWendy Farzan – Fairfax, VirginiaNancy Flythe – Burke, Virginia
Regine Goehring – Yorktown, VirginiaSuzette Hearn – Lilburn, Georgia
Karen Helble – Round Hill, VirginiaMaria Helena Hoksch
– New Orleans, LouisianaBecky Kelly – Redmund, California
Michelle Kim – Vienna, VirginiaCarol Kimball – Gahanna, Ohio
Ayako Makabe – Gwynn, VirginiaHeather Martinez – Alexandria, Virginia
Jody Meese – San Rafael, CaliforniaKathleen Milliken – Fairfax, Virginia
Kimberley Nichols – Carlisle, PennsylvaniaJenny Nicholson – Alexandria, VirginiaSheryl Pollard – Cary, North Carolina
Aneta Porzio – Charleston, South CarolinaMiriam Rittberg – Baltimore, Maryland
Sandy Schaadt – Westerville, OhioSharon Schmidt – North Richland Hills, Texas
Nancie Schweikert – Nashville, TennesseeJoan Shepherd – Richmond, VirginiaJulia Silbermann – Mainz, GermanyBrenda Smith – Denver, Colorado
Vichana Suon – Silver Spring, MarylandKim Tackett – Owasso, Oregon
Heather Wiley – Brookline, Massachusetts— artwork by Gerry Jackson Kerdok
Bonnie Kunenetz Duke – Severna Park, Maryland
Jean O. Harron – Columbus, GeorgiaElizabeth Porcher Jones
– Charleston, South CarolinaElinor K. Kikugawa – Moraga, CaliforniaBarb Kornprobst – Somerset, Pennsylvania
Tom Landon – Frederick, MarylandPatty Shavitz Leve – Baltimore, MarylandJill Lichty – Mechanicsburg, PennsylvaniaEthelmary Maddox – Arlington, Virginia
Trish Malin – Alexandria, VirginiaJudy Melvin – Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Amy J. Plotnick – Silver Spring, MarylandPauline "Mike" Ridgway – Williamsburg, Virginia
Patricia Stinneford – Simpsonville, South Carolina
Janet Lynne Surrency – Alexandria, VirginiaSally Wightkin – Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Gerald Williamson – San Antonio, Texas
Our sincere thanks to the following members who have renewed/joined at the Sustaining, Patron and Supporting levels. We truly appreciate your generosity!
sustainingEddie Jackson -– Villa Park, Illinois
Jerry Jacobson – Asheville, North CarolinaJill Norvell – Reston, Virginia
John P. Pfeiffer – Alexandria, Virginia
patronTerry Coffey – Charlottesville, Virginia
Audrey M. Gangwer – Seattle, WashingtonBeryl Keys – Baltimore, Maryland
Susan H. Robeson– Cochiti Lake, New Mexico
Derrick Tabor – Gaithersburg, Maryland
supportingJeff Barthold – Tigard, Oregon
David Brookes – Richmond, CaliforniaIsabel Lynne Carnes – Tucson, ArizonaElizabeth Curwen – Washington, DC
new way to pay dues
a d d i t i o n a l
Learning Opportunities
Space AvailableNew on the WCG website is the ability to renew your membership (or new members to join) using a credit card. When you receive a notice that your membership is up for renewal, you’ll have the choice of mailing in a check or going to our website and filling out the online form. Hitting the “Submit” button will take you to a page asking you to pay dues with a credit card via PayPal.
Thanks go to Derrick Tabor for setting up the account with PayPal and to Lorraine Swerdloff for doing the website work, to Sue Flory for suggestions and guidance, and to the WCG Board for giving this effort a green light.
Did you join or renew your membership using this new feature? Send your feedback to Derrick Tabor at [email protected].
At Montgomery College, Silver Spring/Takoma Park, Maureen Squires is teachinga general calligraphy course for all levels on Thursday afternoons beginning September 29
The Fairfax County Parks & Recreation Department offers courses (listed under FineArts) with Gretchen Elson: Beginning Calligraphy on Thursday, 10-12:30, beginningSeptember 22 for six weeks, and Italic on Thursday, 10-12:30 starting November 3 for six weeks, both at Oak Marr Rec Center in Oakton, Virginia. – more classes on next page...
In Washington, DC as part of the Smithsonian Associates Studio Arts programs: Marta Legeckis
teaches Continuing Foundational Hand Calligraphy: Moving on to Italic on eight Tuesday mornings
beginning October 18; and Lee Ann Clark teaches Introduction to Pointed Pen Calligraphy on Monday
afternoons and Continued Pointed Pen Calligraphy on Monday evenings, both eight-week sessions beginning
October 17. Visit Smithsonian Associates at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ for more information.
In Washington (and occasionally elsewhere), Michele Hatty Fritz of Meant To Be Calligraphy regularly teaches Introduction to Contemporary Pointed Pen Calligraphy.
Sheila Waters conducts private classes at 851 Boyle Road, Fairfield, Pennsylvania, two miles from Emmitsburg, Maryland (one hour from Baltimore or Rockville). Instruction or individual help on any project or hand. Sheila teaches all day on alternate Saturdays in her large studio with all her collected resources available. Independent study 9:30-noon. Demos after lunch, 1-2:30 pm,
following a structural sequence of hands and design and layout principles.
sheila waters foundational:
A second independent study period 2:30-5 pm. Students of all levels can come and go during the independent study periods, coming for the morning plus demo period, or demo period plus afternoon, or stay the whole day. Fee is $50 per visit. Bring your own lunch. All levels are welcome and beginners can learn a lot by being exposed to work brought by more experienced students. For dates contact Sheila at [email protected] or call 717-642-6637.
Christine Tischer: beginning calligraphy
- italic -
part i: saturday, september 24part ii: saturday, october 22,
columbia art center,9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
The Italic hand has many variables which we will try to make clear with a look at historic documents. We will carefully study the family groups of letters, their slope, the angle of the pen, the asymmetry of the arch leading to the next vertical stroke, the branching of the arch, and rhythm of the strokes. We will review the essentials for comfortable writing which include the slope of the board, the position of the writing paper, the ink, and how to rule the lines on your paper. By the end of the class you will be comfortable with the regularity of your lettering, spaces and angles as well as the space between lines. You will learn what a versatile hand this can be for all your desires of expression.
– Marta Legeckis
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More information for all of these study
opportunities is available on the WCG website
zentangle® for calligraphers Zentangle art consists of wonderful images created by repetitive patterns. Each pattern is called a “tangle” and is achieved by following a certain set of instructions. Zentangle and calligraphy go hand in hand naturally, since Zentangle was created by none other than Maria Thomas, scribe extraordinaire, and her partner, Rick Roberts. While Zentangle is a stand-alone art form, it also combines with calligraphy in very beautiful and creative ways. In this class you will learn the basics of The Zentangle Method, draw a number of tangles, and embellish letters and words with tangles. You will receive additional patterns so you can continue integrating Zentangle art into your calligraphy.
Bring a favorite pointed or broad edged pen, black ink, and a few sheets of Canson Pro Layout Marker or similar paper.
Materials fee: $15 for Basic Zentangle Kit
Instructor: Ginny Lockhart, Certified Zentangle Teacher
Date: October 29, 2016
Time: 10:00am – 1:00 pm
Location: Columbia Art Center
Abbey S tudio OfferingsThe Abbey Studio offers a variety of workshops in Boston and Hingham, Massachusetts. Download the schedule at http://www.theabbeystudio.com/pdf_files/calligraphy-schedule-autumn-2016.
– We’ve introduced a Level I and Level II for some workshops.
You’ll find an Intro to Copperplate Script on September 24 & 25 and Copperplate Level II on November 5 & 6. Similarly, there’s an Intro to Italic Lettering on October 15 & 16, and Italic Lettering Level II offered on December 3 & 4.
– There’s a Refresher Series being offered October 3 - 7 which will cover Refresher Italic, Refresher Copperplate, Refresher Uncial, Color Review and Layout Review. Register for all five and receive a huge discount!
– We’ve got a new offering that should be really fun . . . Bestiary Painting offered October 29 & 30. We take a look at some images from a medieval bestiary for inspiration. A bestiary is a book created to explain some animals and their behaviors. The books are very entertaining, to say the least, since many of the animals contained in the book didn’t even exist!
– Watch for a future mailing about a new offering coming after the first of the year. I’ll be holding Open Studio Saturdays. We’re still finalizing dates and details but one Saturday per month will be Open Studio, where you can bring a project, receive light instruction & advice, and enjoy some coffee and conversation.
– Watch for another offering of Calligraphy and Painting on Vellum, co-taught by Fionnuala Hart Gerrity and myself, sometime after the first of the year.
— Sylvia Keys
letter funI have been meaning to send this idea for two years!!The idea is for members to send calligraphic words/fonts from non calligraphic businesses.
This business is seen from the Braddock Metro stop in Alexandria, Virginia blue and yellow line. Every time I pass it, I smile.
Send any sightings that you may find to Pamn Klinedinst at [email protected].
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– artwork by Suzanne Heany– Maryanne Grebenstein
2016graceful envelope winners
Sometimes you communicate best when you say nothing at all — a sentiment shared by the “Best in Show” winner of the 2016 Graceful Envelope Contest (left). The beautifully designed and lettered envelope referenced famed mime Marcel Marceau: “It’s good to shut up sometimes,” and the Argentine proverb: “Who speaks sows; who listens reaps.”
The envelope was one of more than 100 entered into the 22nd Annual Graceful Envelope Contest, sponsored by the Washington Calligraphers Guild in conjunction with the National Association of Letter Carriers. The 2016 theme, “Communication,” inspired designs about typewriters and sign language, lighthouses and smoke signals, cave paintings and emoji.Judges Sammy Little and Mary Lou O’Brian of the WCG and NALC graphic artist Michael Shea looked for creative interpretation of the theme, skill in lettering and illustration, clever incorporation of postage, and effective use of color and design, among other criteria.
The top prize was awarded to Sally Penley of Olympia, Washington, for her arresting envelope. Eleven more envelopes were selected as
“winners”and fourteen were given the distinction of “Honorable Mention.” The judges also picked student winners from nearly 400 entries in grades 1-4, grades 5-8 and grades 9-12 youth divisions.
Go to our website, http://www.calligraphersguild.org/ to view all the winners envelopes and learn where you can see them in person.
– Clockwise from top left: Sally Penley, Janet Kasper and Brigitte Shermann. More on page 6.
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- another
winning entry
in the Graceful
Envelope
Contest 2016
by Gerry
Kerdok Jackson
Phawnda Moore knows that many calligraphers are great cooks, but what do you do with saved handwritten recipe cards or clippings from newpapers and magazines over the years? Collecting is fun, but organizing - not so much: she is converting many of her old and tired newspaper copies to the format shown below. Making the type larger, adding her own photo, and a touch of calligraphy - they are much easier to use and make sharing her recipes a true art. Look for her full tutorial on Empty Easel.
Calligraphy in the Kitchen is a new series on Empty Easel, so look for more home projects soon.
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Calligraphy in the Kitchen
g a l l e r y s p a c e
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– Top: This concertina is eco-dyed papers glued to book board with book cloth sandwiched between. The Arches Text Wove was folded, with smoke bush leaves inserted between the folds. The bundle was clamped tight and boiled for an hour to release the plant’s natural dyes. The simple words of John Muir were written with a non-flexible pointed drawing nib and gouache. Right: I used a scroll nib and sumi ink to write this poem in a tightly textured Italic on Italian printmaking paper that was eco dyed, dried and pressed flat. Left: This book is created by four squares folded and attached on the flat sides. The papers were folded with leaves sandwiched between the pages and eco-dyed (boiled for an hour, dried, pressed). I wrote the six verses with walnut ink on the Arches Text Wove. The wonderful dark edges and lines come from the process and I love them! – Cheers, Carol DuBosch
september meeting
p.o. box 3688, merrifield, va 22116 • www.calligraphersguild.org
address service requested 9 / 2016
– artwork by Carol DuBosch
Didn’t get to North Carolina in July for A Show of Hands 2016 – the 35th International
Calligraphy Conference?
Fear not, on September 21, you’ll have another chance. At our first program for the 2016-17 season, members who did attend the conference will share what they learned in a round-robin session. You’ll see and handle creative artifacts up close, and have a chance to try your hand at
some new techniques.
So, bring a friend, greet calligraphy colleagues, share ideas for Guild programs this season, and prepare
to be inspired!
september 21, 2016concord–st andrews church social hall
5910 goldsboro roadbethesda, maryland
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Come and learn the schedule of programs for the rest of the year.
nonprofit org.u.s. postage
paidmerrifield vapermit no. 742