February 2011 Newsletter

Logo designed by Judith Lovell

P.O. Box 2, Duncan, B C, V9L 3X1 Canada http://members.shaw.ca/warmlandcalligraphers

NEWSLETTER ISSUE #49, FEBRUARY 2011 Copy deadline for next newsletter submissions is April 19, 2011

Front Cover Artist: Back Cover Artist: Heading and Titles

……………..Barbara Qualley ……………….Joyce Gammie ………………..Gillian Mouat

Page Layout:

……Microsoft Publisher 2003

Printing Services:

….Copycat Printing & Design

Regular Contributors:

….Lorraine Hoy, Janet Peters, Gwyneth Evans, Betty Locke and Linda Yaychuk

Proof Reader:

……………Denise Rothney

Editor:

………...Charlotte Whiteley (250-245-5960) e-mail: chaw@shaw.ca

CONTENTS: 3

President’s Message, Front Cover Artist Back Cover Artist

4-6

October Program - Copperplate Intro October Galleria - Collage and Pasting

7

Bulletin Board

8

Pointed Brush with Lorraine Douglas

10

November Program with Suzanne Cannon November Galleria - Stamping

14

More ABC with Sheila Waters How to Enhance Your Workshop Photo-taking Experience.

15

Things with Wings Debbie Thompson Wilson

18 20

Christmas Card Exchange Christmas Lunch Meeting

21

Children’s Poems

22

Exposé on Anne McDonald

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.

24

Black Letter with Betty Locke

27

Our Friends

Members are invited to submit concise pieces for publication as well as to alert the Editors to conferences, papers, speeches and other matters of interest to our readers.

29

Words Words Words

30 32

January Galleria - Pointed Brush January Program - Linz Lettering

33 34 35

Playtime/Tool Time Library News/Newsletter Exchange Editor's Message

Regular monthly meetings are held on the Second Tuesday of each month from 9am to 12:00pm (no meeting in July and August) Island Savings Centre (Exceptions are Dec. and June) 2687 James Street Duncan, BC

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

Membership in the Warmland Calligraphers guild includes three newsletters published in February, May and October.

Annual membership dues are C$20 for Canadian residents and US $20 for US/International

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. Its membership is open to calligraphers at all levels of expertise as well as those with a love of beautiful writing.

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.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

We are only starting the second month of 2011 and we already have had our first workshop of the new year (with Joan Merrell). We have completed work for two gallerias and have mounted our yearly Show and Sale at the Loft Gallery in Vines to Wines at Mill Bay. Our thanks, again, to Joyce Gammie and Marilyn Boechler along with their committee for seeing the project through. A special thanks to Trudy Kungold Ammann for her amazing poster. (shown on page 35) Warmland Calligraphers' official year begins with our April meeting which is a time for memberships to be renewed and our executive to be sworn in. We are asking our new members to be sure to fill out a registration form which contains our Privacy Policy. It is necessary that this be read and signed. Judy Lowood has these forms if you need one.

We are always looking for members who are ready to take on an executive or Committee Head position. During this next year, think about where you could fit in. Ask yourself where some of your expertise could be used. Could you take over an executive position? Each position is for two years and we have lots of "oldies" who are always ready to help. ENJOY THIS NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!

Marilyn Lundstrom

This piece was produced following the Copperplate class with Mike Kecseg at ABC 2010, Red Deer Alberta.

I used Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleedproof White速 for the lettering on Canson Mi-Tientes black paper.

I enjoy the precision and flow of the Copperplate hand and the white-on-black is an appealing change.

Barbara Qualley

The author of this lovely piece is unknown.

When I joined the Warmland Calligraphy Guild ten years ago after taking an Elder College course in Bookhand from Betty Locke, I had no idea how my life would change. No longer would the focus of my free time be on creating and maintaining my garden, but shared with Calligraphy projects.

Then, Betty urged me to try Lawn Bowling, and the garden was doomed!

That took care of what little free time I had left over from my other interests.

I often wonder how my days would be

filled if Betty and Duncan Locke had not made that timely decision to move to the Cowichan Valley!

In the planning process for this piece, I decided to try a circular layout, something I've been wanting to do for a while. The quote appealed to me as I had just returned from six weeks of travel in Australia, which I did, in fact, find very fulfilling. As for the rest of the piece, it evolved as I worked on it. I have used a water colour background with black gouache lettering.

Joyce Gammie

Submitted By Mary Nelson Our president, Marilyn Lundstrom, provided the membership with a clearly illustrated lesson on Formal Copperplate on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010, using her knowledge from her class with Mike Kecseg at ABC Red Deer this past July. She demonstrated on the chalkboard and with handouts, and answered many questions. Check out our website for the Formal Copperplate exemplar with the alphabet at the bottom of the page.

One of the main points she stressed about Copperplate is that it is a constructed hand, not a free-flowing one. Letters are formed by a series of carefully drawn lines, based on an oval shape. Letters are drawn at a 55º an-

gle. The pen is lifted and other lines joined, until the letter is formed. Line your paper before you start with three lines, 3/8 " each for the ascenders and descender spaces, with the body of the letter between those lines at 1/4".

Work very slowly. It is easier to work if you move the paper you are working on at an angle. We started work on an enlarged sheet that Marilyn had ruled for us, and after practicing, she handed out a sheet with the appropriate sizes of lines. The loops of letters such as ‘l, k, f and b’ for example, all take the same shape and size. There are some basic strokes that are used in many letters, shown at the top of the exemplar (see website). The down strokes of letters are heavier and

thicker - made by applying pressure to the pen, while the up strokes are light. Several letters use a small dot, made by moving the pen in small circles, like the dot over the ‘i’ and ‘j’ but also found inside ‘c’ and the ‘o’.

You may check out Michael Kecseg’s work in the Speedball Textbook, on page 47 (a small but invaluable reference tool for the calligrapher).

Michael also introduces the Pointed Pen on page 44 of the same book.

Thank you Marilyn, for a thoughtful and carefully planned exercise in an elegant hand.

Editor note: check out the Bulletin Board for the copperplate workshop.

Submitted By Muriel Heggie The galleria for October was to create a Calligraphic piece using calligraphy and include some pasting and collage work.

There were 13 wonderful pieces presented in this month's Galleria. Marilyn Boechler was the presenter. All participants expressed enjoyment in doing this galleria.

Liz MacDonald did a wonderful collection of colourful musical items, scores and notes using fabric, paper, decals, charms, beads and stamping techniques on her collage. This composition was surrounded by musical quotes.

Marilyn read out Betty Locke's explanation of how she created this "fun" piece. There were scarecrows, crows and other such images gleaned from various magazines and advertisements by tearing out various shapes, and pasting theme on a piece of cardboard. She stated how much she enjoyed creating her project. Betty was away for this galleria.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Lenore LeMay created a very colourful multi-layered piece using pictures, stars, etc. She indicated that it was an "experiment" using contrast to create a very 'active' piece.

Shirley Johnson presented a delicate eye-catching piece with a script done in free hand with an Arabic theme. For her piece entitled 'Istanbul', she used marbled paper and versal stamps from Istanbul.

Ida Marie Threadkell used a variety of papers and colours already in her stock supplies to create her unique piece. She took some time to reposition them to her satisfaction and used a hand from the "Calligraphers Bible" and a quote from Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. Ida Marie used watercolour paper, walnut ink and a brause pen. Unfortunately we can’t show it here because her piece was snatched up for the Sunridge home but can be seen there on display.

Pat Wheatley delighted us with a wonderful collage of a nursery rhyme. She wired her "granny" on the paper and attached other nursery rhyme characters with a glue stick. She used water colour as her writing medium.

Linda Yaychuk created a fascinating piece using denta strips™ to create waves in the paint, pictures from magazines, flowers cut from paper towels, and origami paper. Linda told us that the mountains were cut from a piece of paper from a magazine. It was shaded in certain areas so she cut some pieces from the two areas to create more depth. “God creates beauty” was her theme.

Gillian Mouat’s use of colours were well coordinated in a creation of bits and pieces. She experimented with walnut ink, which creating an earthy, African art theme. Adding the mats gave this piece a very finished, peaceful look.

Anne Atkinson mailed this piece to the editor. She used flower petals to create her chickens

Marilyn Boechler discovered with her piece that time was needed for the glue to set. With the use of Italic writing she presented a startling painting based on a picture she had done some time ago. She used a book from the library, 窶連 Book of Temporary Inspiration Calligraphy' by Denise Lach #028 for her inspiration. The petals are words too! Can you read them?

Marion Craig indicated it was the first time she had done a collage and enjoyed it very much. She used a very delicate handmade paper with dried leaves in it. Her collage pieces were from inkjet paper and various cut-outs. She used a pigma pen to create a new layout design from "Ode to Autumn" by Keats.

Ria Lewis stated she used a watercolour wash and course salt to create her effect for her colourful piece. She added details with a pointed pen, black ink and gouache. Using an exacto knife, she cut out 'rain' letters which were glued on her paper. She used a writing style from a Heather Lee Workshop. The question of how to create clouds for a collage was discussed.

Trudy Kungold Ammann used an acrylic medium to apply her pieces. This was a collage around her quote that created a very interesting and well coordinated piece.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Submitted by Marilyn Lundstrom with help from notes

by Gillian Mouat With Lorraine Douglas Imagine starting a class by introducing the calligraphic tool you are about to use, to the members of your class. From this we learned the names of a wide variety of brushes and their recommendations: Opus-Allegro #6™ was recommended for beginners, as was Michael’s Craft Smart Pack™ of four camel hair brushes. We also learned about acrylic brushes. Also introduced were the Pentel Brush™, and the Gold Sable 700™ series available from Vancouver Island University.

6. These brushes should be used only with gouache or watercolour. If you use acrylics, inks with shellac or Sumi ink, separate and mark those brushes.

Their life expectancy will be less.

7. You can reshape a bad brush and you can cut off bad hairs.

How to use your pointed brush:

white and practicing on black paper. We wrote with water and dropped colour into the water. We tried out schmincke™ gold and silver gouache and powdered gold.

For our homework assignment after the first day, we each took home rice paper and painted it with a light watercolour on the FURRY SIDE of the paper (a point I sadly missed).

The next important thing, of course, was the care of your brushes.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CLEAN YOUR BRUSH AFTER USING. Use these guidelines:

1. Run the brush under tepid water.

2. Wet a bar of soap and stroke your brush across it gently.

3. Swirl the soapy brush in the palm of your hand. Rinse and repeat until the water runs clear.

4. Flick the whole brush and it will return to the desired pointed shape.

5. Lay the brush on its side with the bristle end hanging over the edge of the counter until it is dry. Don't dry pointing up because water runs into the ferrules and it can rust. When dry, the brush can be stored upright.

1. Lay the brush on its side, not the point.

2. Pause.

3. Pull the brush down to the height you want (this will be a heavy stroke and you decide how wide you want it by putting pressure on the brush) Lorraine says she crushes the brush as she pulls down.

4. Stop and Pause. Lift brush. The down stroke is finished.

5. All upstrokes are made with the tip of the brush and are very light.

We had each brought a sample of a paper from home which we cut into 4” X 6”pieces so everyone had 19 samples of paper. We experimented with gouache mixing a colour with

Tip:Place a piece of wax paper under it as you paint so that it won't stick to your table. When dry, iron it with the steam setting on the wrong side (not the furry side). We used this paper to write out our Haiku with our brush.

Some people put a “fixative” on it first. We finished by making our rice paper quote into a very stylish wall hanging.

A rice paper calligraphic piece on a glass candle holder by Lorraine.

We learned a lot!! Thanks Lorraine.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Editor’s note: Lorraine is a member of the Warmland Calligraphers guild

Lorraine talking about composition

Squiggles and lines - getting the idea of the brush pressure, letter formation and results.

Lenore LeMay and Lorraine sitting down for tea - pretty fancy tablecloth and all!

Submitted by Linda Yaychuk purchase of a tube of gouache. “It creates a raised effect when you write with it.”

A Visit From Suzanne Cannon of Quietfire Design

“As a result of the demonstration I purchased an embossing/cutting machine. I love the results but won’t use it to the extent that other card makers do because the embossed surfaces restrict your areas for calligraphy.”

“It would be more informative to attach a note of methods and uses to the products to make it easier for new Calligraphers to understand.”

I have found the same problem with materials purchased at sales etc.

At our November meeting, Warmland member Suzanne Cannon from Quietfire Design presented a huge variety of tools and products relating to calligraphy. I asked for feedback on the presentation.

These are some comments: “Yes, yes to the Yes glue . It goes on smoothly, doesn’t wrinkle the paper and dries relatively quickly.”

Marilyn Lundstrom is thrilled with her

Suzanne brought an array of supplies and tools that she sells. Visiting her website will give you a greater appreciation of the materials available from this Canadian and more specifically, a Vancouver Island resource for calligraphic supplies. Go to: www.quietfiredesign.com

Submitted by Charlotte Whiteley This month our Galleria was stamping. The results were interesting. Betty Locke lent her keen eye along with her calligraphic and art knowledge to critique this month’s Galleria. Betty told us she “loathed to suggest stamping but the results were surprising.”

Anne Atkinson sent her homework in with a friend.

Betty said it was beautiful and enjoyed the Latin inside.

The use of an actual oak leaf is very nicely done.

Lenore LeMay created this piece with watercolour and infused it with green enamel spray, adding real leaves to enhance her quote about autumn. Betty enjoyed the large text. Lenore said she felt like she was doing an elementary school science project.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Trudy Kungold Ammann did a lino cut for her stamp piece. This piece is an example of a diptych (a work of art divided in two parts but relating to each other in the same frame. Can be appreciated alone or enjoyed together.) Betty said “pretty nice.”

Trudy used a graphite pencil for the text because she had trouble with the ink spreading on the paper. The quote was one from Jacques Cousteau.

Trish Peebles’ rose piece is lovely. Betty said it would be a great piece for the Loft show on the black and white wall. Betty said Trish had a nice feel for the design and she really enjoyed it.

Trish said it was difficult to work on the dark paper.

Marilyn Boechler created her apple print in a very interesting way– by taking bites out of her apple slices. Sometimes the creative process is filled with humour. Using the internet, she listed as many types of apples as she could find. Her text was scripted with foundational hand. “A very enjoyable piece,” says Betty.

Gillian Mouat scripted the first poem written by her nine year old grandson. Betty said it is a very nice piece and that her grandson was going to love it. Gillian told us she used mulberry paper and arbutus raffia and she seems to have an amazing source on Salt Spring Island. She cut out shapes of leaves from mat board and used pelican orange paint to do a wash / splatter. After using a workable fixative she was able to add the text using brush lettering.

The piece folds up into a booklet or can hang as shown here.

Betty Locke tried to use a variety of eraser stamps she has made over the past year. She said this piece was a huge stress to her. It required a lot of measuring. The group loved the colourful piece. It will make a really nice banner.

Marilyn Lundstrom continues to use the copperplate hand she learned at ABC and loves it. She used a stamp borrowed from Linda and used gouache for the lettering.

Betty suggested a larger piece of paper add more space around the text, but an overall lovely piece.

Marion Craig was a very busy girl again and recreated a portion of a manuscript from 1318 AD. Betty commented that it looked very rich.

Marion said the book inspired the layout and she used stamps for the vines and leaves. The piece took Marion about two and a half weeks to complete.

This piece was created by Linda Yaychuk and was inspired by a quote from Ida Marie Threadkell. Her one comment was when you are working on a piece with wavy lines of text, you should step back often to check out the vertical positioning of the words. She used Arches cold press paper and thought there was too much texture. Leo Lionni was the inspiration for the fish stamps.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Charlotte Whiteley took stamping “liberty” by drying thin slices of onion, kiwi, grapes and sweet potato on parchment paper in a low heat oven. The colours transferred onto the parchment paper.

The dried fruit and vegetables were sealed with a glaze and used as windows. The quote was written on the stained parchment paper with walnut ink. The quote from Elton John is about the circle of life and the paper was shaped into a round shape which captures the overhead light and shines through.

Pat Wheatley applied pastels with a blackboard eraser and stamped on the footprints. Pat said she was not entirely pleased with the background. She used the hand taught by Gwen Weaver.

The justification of the text was difficult and maybe didn’t lend itself to the legibility of the text in the piece.

Denise Rothney should have a show of her wonderful embossed pieces and this one is no exception. She writes her own poems and creates her own stamps. The border around the artwork shows the delightful little footprints just as we know cats make! Betty loved the cadence of the piece and thought it was wonderful. We agree!

Marion Kelbrick used black letter and was not happy with how her’A’ appeared. Betty suggested that she add some weight to it by going thicker.

The angels are hard to see and Marion thought she would emboss them next time and possibly add more than three angels.

More ABC

Submitted by Joyce Gammie and Marilyn Boechler.

One valuable tip Sheila shared was to tweak the reservoir on our nibs so there is more of an arch and larger reservoir area to hold ink. Sheila preferred Speedball ™ #1 and #2 as well as Mitchell™ nibs. Slant boards were also recommended to regulate the flow of ink.

Sheila Waters’ Workshop “Gothicized Italic” Red Deer ABC 2010

Arches and wine glasses

After hearing so much about Sheila Waters’ book, ”Foundations of Calligraphy,” we were interested in taking Sheila’s course to learn first hand from an expert. Her interest in Edward Johnston added to the intrigue.

The two and a half days learning Gothicized Italic and Modern Batard was challenging, but with practice since then, we both feel we are getting closer to Sheila’s expectations. The difference between Gothicized Italic and Compressed Italics is so minimal that to the untrained eye, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the two.

The first emphasis in learning Gothicized Italic letter formation was to create the “gothic pointed arched windows” for over arched letters and “wine glass” for the under Arches.

Manipulation of the pen was necessary to produce the fine hairlines which finished serifs and often linked the letters. This was achieved by stopping at the base line and rocking the nib onto the left corner before dragging the ink upward.

Lining up start and stop points.

Executing the “O” was the next lesson. Lining up starting and stopping points was crucial to form the perfect letter.

Sheila is known for her knowledge of spacing in her work. When we experimented with letter heights the pen angle flattened as the letters widened. This led into Batard letter forms. Pen angle changed from 45º to 30º with Batard as the letters were 3 pen widths high. The letter forms for Gothicized Italic and Batard are basically the same but the interlinear spacing varies. It widens with the shorter letters and looks less dense.

Throughout the classes, Sheila added much interest by sharing her vast knowledge of the history of calligraphy.

Sheila was an inspiration and proved that learning never stops, even for an expert. She dove right in and used the latest instructional technology to demonstrate her skills. Using the

computer projector system we could all see her strokes being executed immediately. If we keep learning we will never get old.

How To Enhance Your Workshop Picture Taking Experience! ♦

Always photograph the instructor please.

♦

Take pictures of the art work straight on and not at an angle.

♦

♦

Keep notes on whom you are taking pictures, details about the work or event and items of which you are taking the pictures.

Submit this separate from the photos when submitting the pictures.

♦

Submit the pictures at full resolution. Do not shrink them for e-mailing.

♦

Pick only the best and clearest photos. Chose interesting ones with details on techniques and artwork. These pictures should have continuity with the article.

Coordinate if you can with the author of the newsletter article.

♦

Credit the artists.

♦

Beware of copyright infringements and don’t submit anything without authorization. Some examples might be artwork of the instructor or logos at conferences etc. This will help the editor immensely as she does not have time to run around and get permissions etc.

♦

Keep on keeping on. You are doing a good job.

Thanks Charlotte Whiteley

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Submitted By Gwyneth Evans

A Workshop with Debbie Thompson Wilson, November 16 & 17, 2010 “To see a World in a Grain of Sand ...

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand.”

Although William Blake probably wasn't thinking of medieval miniatures, these lines of his are an apt evocation of the intricate and glowing art of Debbie Thompson Wilson, who draws her subjects and techniques from the exquisitely detailed tiny figures and scenes in the manuscripts

Marion Kelbrick

of the Middle Ages. On pieces of vellum only a few inches square, jewel-like colours and gleaming gold are windows into magical worlds of fantastic creatures, exuberant foliage, angels, saints and sometimes less holy figures.

Debbie pointed out that our medieval precursors were working in what daylight filtered through the glassless windows of thick stone walls of the monasteries, so that the intensity of the colours and the sheen of the gold were needed for their art to shine out of the darkness. Wearing her learning lightly, Debbie enriched her teaching with many such references and anecdotes, while guiding us to our own recreation of some of the lovely miniatures she has studied and re-presented. While using medieval work as a model, she demonstrated through a slideshow on her working methods how she adapts an original and makes it her own.

Looking through the collection of her own work which she brought, it was easy to find a world, if not in a grain of sand, at least in any one of these illuminated miniatures.

On the first day, we learned techniques while working on two figures: a dragon and an owl. We copied the outlines of the original, working not on vellum but on 140 lb. hot press watercolour paper. We learned to gild certain areas (Debbie does this before painting), then paint in watercolour starting with the lightest colour, outline and highlight.

Debbie gave us Rolco™ gold size, which many of us found easier to work with than the Jerry Tresser™.

She showed us how to build up the colours by layering. For the early Gothic dragon, we used several layers of the same colour, but for the more complicated, later design of the owl we layered different colours in places, such as a wash of yellow ochre, followed by burnt sienna and then burnt umber (of course, each layer

must dry first!) The initial wash will counteract any sizing that might be in the paper. Debbie has built up a collection of impressively tiny brushes

Leslie Healy

and other materials, which she generously shared with us.

For outlining, she recommends the Faber Castell Pitt S™ (or VS) artist's brush, and to use sienna which she feels gives an older look than black.

For highlighting, she uses a permanent white gouache applied with the tiniest brush imaginable.

A spectacular use for the ruling pen was part of Debbie's gilding demonstration. Keeping the pen opening fairly small so that the size would stick, she dipped the ruling pen in size and then drew a narrow bar with it, about 1 ½” long. She then cut off a narrow strip of gold leaf and laid it on the size, creating a lovely line of gold. A similar bar could be made, even more simply, by laying down a strip of double-sided Scotch tape and putting a similarly-sized strip of gold leaf on it. The result is an instant gold bar!

Debbie shared many other ideas with us. These include: Materials and Tools -When using a kneaded eraser, lightly dab rather than rubbing it over your work. It can pick up gold that's got in the wrong place. Pinch off a small amount and shape into a small piece to

Leslie Healy

work in a confined area.

-Fiskers™ scissors work well.

Fiskers™ also makes a compact tool caddy holding many useful tools.

-For the flat gilding we worked with gold leaf. Debbie likes to use Japanese pan gold (available from sources like John Neal) for some highlights, but doesn't recommend shell gold. Debbie tells us shell gold is real gold, finely ground with gum arabic as a binder, sold in tablet form. “Ridiculously expensive and doesn't look as good as pan gold or gold gouache! I tell people don't bother with it. I just use mine to show people what it looks like.”

-Tape the small piece you're working on, onto a larger sheet of paper to avoid touching it unnecessarily.

-Hold your work by the edge to avoid the transferring oil from your hands, and don't wear hand cream.

-Always protect the gold on your illuminated work by covering it with

rouge paper or glassine sheets, and keep the protective paper on your unused gold leaf. Similarly, when you frame a gilded piece, be sure to mat it so you keep the glass from touching your work and lifting the gold.

-A Gold gouache, called Talens™ Deep gold gouache is made in Holland (which Debbie bought in Italy) and provides an attractive contrast to gilding.

-Rolco™ size is less watery than Jerry Tresser™, and will stay tacky for 3 to 5 hours. Mona Lisa™, a water based gold size, made by Speedball™ and stocked

by Currys Art Supply, is used as a sticky base on which to apply gold or metal leaf.

-It's better to wait longer to apply the gold than to rush it before the size has dried sufficiently. Never use a hair dryer on size or gold or paints as ripples, dimples and possibly a skin will form on the surface. Size takes about fifteen minutes to dry properly.

Do what the medieval artists did – Wait!

Denise Rothney

-A motto: Gilding Teaches Patience.

-If your gold is rough, try tooling it: use a mechanical pencil with the lead removed to press neat circles into the gold or a pointed embossing tool to make dots (don't cut into the gold, however).

-To paint on top of the gold, mix a drop of ox gall fluid with a drop or two of watercolour or gouache.

- Don’t forget about the hands free binocular magnifiers such as the ones sold at Lee Valley

Oil pastel covered in gold leaf using a calligraphy nib to scrape in letters.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Leslie Healy

Ria Lewis

Paints Debbie tries to keep to characteristic medieval colours, without going so far as to grind lapis lazuli and malachite to make them! For the dragon we used cadmium red, alizarin crimson and viridian green. Colours for the owl are the same as mentioned above.

-Tube watercolours rather than the dry pans are preferred. Winsor and Newton™ are good.

-Permanent white gouache is good for highlighting; otherwise Debbie prefers watercolour to gouache -Debbie mostly works in layers of colour, rather than mixing her colours -She doesn't use black, finding it deadly.

At the end of a full day, Betty Locke well expressed what Debbie accomplished: “She makes everybody feel that they can do this.”

Editor’s Note: Debbie recently became a member of Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley guild..

Fine-Tec Gold™

Editor’s note: Debbie sent along an image of a piece she just finished for the Royal City Guild's Saturday class: Medieval Book Project (She is one of the instructors, and had to do a show piece!) She said ”Please fee free to publish it (or not) in your Newsletter.” It is based on a 15th century French manuscript. It is watercolour and gold leaf on Arches watercolour paper - actual page size: 5 1/2” x 7 1/2”. It is the start of the prayer to a guardian angel.” We say a thank you to Debbie for sending it and for allowing us to include it here.

Trish Peebles

Jane Taylor Hans van deer Werff

Marilyn Silver

Judy Lowood

Muriel Heggie

C Donna

ameron

Charlotte Whiteley

Barbara Qualley

Denise Rothney Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

June Maffin

Betty Locke

Brigitte French

Trudy Kungold

Ammann

Marybeth Nelson

Pat Wheatley

Bernice Sutton

Linda Yaychuk

Marion Craig

Janet Peters

Gillian Mouat

Ida Marie Threadkell

Alane Lalonde

Submitted by Betty Locke

How nice it was to see people in their Christmassy outfits and to enjoy the spacious surroundings of the Qualley home. Those of us arriving early were delighted to see a nonchalant deer nibbling on seeds and bits on the mossy driveway.

Coffee was ready. We sipped and visited. Two members, Bernice Sutton and Laura Feduk, were even seen taking the opportunity to “draw”.

There were 33 in attendance. We were delighted to have two brand new members, Cathy Brown and Janet Greenway join in the enjoyment of this day.

Brimming dishes of food for the sumptuous buffet were amassed and soon we were called to help ourselves.

Plates were loaded with salads, quiche, meats and the Qualley perennial offering, delicious prawns.

Flavourful desserts in a delicious array topped off the gastronomical event. Calligraphers are excellent cooks! Barb encouraged anyone wanting recipes to let her know and she will include these on the web site.

This occasion was also an opportunity for members to avail themselves of some of Judy Dearman’s calligraphic supplies. Pat Wheatley displayed many of Judy’s tools and materials for purchase. Profits were to be donated to the Heart and Stroke Foundation in Judy’s name.

visiting, eating, and a brief outlining of activities for the new year were all a part of this day. Marilyn Silver, former president, presided over the more “formal” part of the day.

Those who brought calligraphic gifts took part in an innovative gift exchange whereby presents were handed back and forth (to the right and the left) according to a little story of the Wright (Right) family and their Christmas. New tools and substances

galore will no doubt be displayed in our upcoming calligraphic work.

Our calligraphic skills were displayed

in the cards hung for all to see and marvel at. So many creative ideas!!!

Interesting cutting and layering and even delightful little trees made of craftily folded papers were displayed.

How fortunate we are to have people producing this exciting work. Some members used this occasion to exchange cards with other members.

Trudy Kungold Amman took the opportunity to show members the poster she created for the upcoming Loft Show. Her interesting comments about layout and design were educational to all.

A most poignant part of this event was the passing on of Judy Dearman’s box of calligraphic tools and supplies.

The Italic class which Judy was to teach was approached by Pat Wheatley suggesting that Judy would probably have enjoyed having her tools go to someone who was to be in her class and who is a new calligrapher. Italic class members drew names for this honour and the winner was new member, Jan Greenway. Jan was delighted to receive this treasure and give it a new calligraphic home.

A few other calligraphers offered items for sale. Shopping, Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Judy’s memory will live as Jan uses these tools.

“Merry Christmas” and “see you next year” echoed as we left this wonderful party so kindly hosted again by the Qualleys.

Submitted by Lucy Hylkema Throughout the year I collect poems from a grade 3/4 class (8 and 9 year olds) at Alexander Elementary School. A partnership with Warmland Calligraphers provides finished calligraphic pieces that will belong to the children and they decide whether they would like them displayed at the school or if they would rather take them home immediately.

Any skill level is welcome to participate and it is great practice too, and I can guarantee that your student will be incredibly happy to see their work done up all 'fancy'. Two copies are made and we store them in a binder that is available to Warmland members. The calligraphers take one copy and leave the other in the binder so we can keep track of which poems are being worked on.

The poems are available at each meeting, or I can email one to you. Contact me at LNRINBC@yahoo.ca.

There is no deadline, or pressure, and once a year (usually in the spring), I make a big effort to make sure that each student has at least one of their poems presented to them. This will be the 4th year that we have participated in this and I have seen over and over again the difference this makes to these students.

Having their poems acknowledged and valued by the community is a huge thing for them, and knowing that you can make a child this happy may be very rewarding for you too.

Submitted by Janet Peters

Warmland Calligrapher, Anne McDonald After learning Anne McDonald was born in the historic town of Stirling, Scotland (declared a City by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002), I decided to see what information was available through Google about her birthplace because I wanted to be able to relate to the tales of her youth, her sweetheart, and the like. (See links below, and please Google them because the scenery alone is outstanding). Like any other youngster,

and her mother allowed her to slip on her dancing shoes three evenings a week. Her brother, a wonderful dancer, would compete at London's Hammersmith Palais, but wouldn't dance with his sister, said she had two left feet; however, I don't really believe that. You did not have to have a date to be able to go to these dances and enjoy yourself, and I'm sure all of us girls can remember those times!

It was during one of these dances that she met John, "A dark, handsome fella, dressed up in his kilt." Anne was 13, John 14. They dated on and off, and tied the knot seven years later.

They were happily married for 53

John and Anne, sixteen year old sweethearts, walking along. she never appreciated the beauty and history of her hometown until she had moved and settled in Canada. Anne is one of two children.

Dancing was the town's main form of recreation, boasting three dancehalls,

years. John passed away in 2006.

To say you had to be fit to have lived in Stirling is an understatement. It is up hill and down dale and car ownership was beyond the reach of most. So, they walked to work in the morning, home for lunch, back to

work, home for supper, and then what did they do in the evening? They went out for a walk, or danced!

Anne entered a five-year apprenticeship in hairdressing upon leaving high school, the first three of which were unpaid. She continued to live at home during this time and was fortunate to have had the support from her parents and grandparents. Upon completion of her apprenticeship she worked in Stirling, was married to John, and gave birth to daughters Sheena and Fiona. For some time their attention had become focused on emigrating from Scotland to Canada as they received news from John's relatives who had settled in Montreal. By the spring of 1957 they had moved to Quebec and were settled in their home in Plage Laval, a small "summer vacation" area outside Montreal. Anne worked to help with household expenses as best she could. John sought employment in his field as a painter/decorator, but soon realized that that was not viable. He was fortunate to secure a position with the CNR in their Research and Development Department, who offered to pay for his schooling in metallurgy. He graduated with a Bachelor's in Metallurgical Engineering from Sir George Williams University, and worked for the railway company, travelling all over Canada until his retirement. Their son Colin was born in 1960.

Anne's employment as a hairdresser became busier as her children were in school, and in 1969 one of her clients, a board member of the local school system, announced the district was looking for someone to run a hairdressing programme at Rosemere High School. At that time, Quebec schools operated as both comprehensive and high schools.

Anne applied and was accepted, but had to take teacher training, which commenced in 1970 at McGill University. It was a three-year programme spanning three summer semesters and then two evenings during the fall and spring semesters. She was teaching at the same time, planning the

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Anne loved the work and all of the people she came into contact with during the 10 years she was involved.

Anne is an accomplished artist in oils and watercolours. Her exposure to oils began years ago when she lived in Montreal and her neighbour, a talented artist, had been asked to give classes. She told Anne she would feel better if she joined the group, and that all supplies would be provided. Anne liked the medium very much and painted, and painted, and painted ... and they sold one after another at various venues. It was here in Duncan, Anne and husband were introduced to watercolours, and they signed up for evening classes. Often they would go out for a day and sketch and paint.

Her talents also lie in the area of sewing, something she learned at an early age from her mother and auntie.

Anne at Island Magic. Her calligraphic piece is of Neuland with some attitude.

programmes for not only Rosemere High but also McGill's Hairdressing Student Teachers. At Rosemere she was teaching Grades 10, 11, and 12.

Money flowed freely in Quebec at the time, Rosemere had its own salon that was open to members of the public, and the Grade 12s would style and cut hair under the tutelage of Anne. She continued in this position until her retirement in 1990.

Their children, Sheena and Colin, had secured employment in B.C. by this time, and for Anne and John this was the logical location to enjoy their well-earned retirement. They settled on the City of Duncan, and in no time at all Anne was bored and announced she needed a job! One morning, while scanning the Help Wanted column, she came across an ad for a marriage commissioner, and immediately applied. Weeks went by; she heard not a word. Finally a letter arrived; there had been 30 applications, and there was now a shortlist of six. Would she like to come for an interview? On the day of the interview it was pouring rain. Her friend was visiting from Montreal, "A real dresser," and was determined Anne should look the part

of a marriage counsellor: well dressed, pressed, et cetera. By the time she left, she looked like "A dish of fish" Anne's words (must be a Scot's phrase). Upon arrival at the Law Courts in Duncan for her interview, the official said, "Oh, don't take off your coat, we'll only be a few minutes," and so she did not get to show off her smart suit and accessories, but we all know that Anne has always looked very attractive and well-groomed. Next morning there was a phone call to say they would like to offer her the job.

Following that, she was directed to go to Vital Statistics in Victoria, where she thought she would receive training/instruction, but instead was handed a box of goodies and told to go home and study. She said it was pretty strange performing the first ceremony, but she soon got the hang of it, and was sometimes traipsing all over the Cowichan Valley, performing up to five weddings in a day. There were occasions when people would arrive at her front door, wanting to be married there and then, and husband John and the next-door neighbour would be called upon to be witnesses.

"Bad handwriting," was the reason she opted to take a class in Italics being offered by Betty Locke in 1994, especially having to fill out certificates of marriage. After that she enrolled in whatever was offered, until she discovered Copperplate, her favourite, and by then was hooked!

Through practice and perseverance her skills became such that she was able to share them with those who wanted to learn Copperplate.

Our raffles, organized by Anne, have always been fun because of the time and thought that went into collecting the lovely prizes. She confided in me how she loves being a member of Warmland Calligraphers, having met so many wonderful, caring people, some like family to her, but what goes around comes around, and I have heard the same comments about Anne and John.

Thank you for sharing, Anne.

Check out these websites: http://www.stirling.co.uk/oldtown/ index.htm http://www.stirlingonvideo.co.uk/ page-details.aspx?PageID=369

Submitted jointly by Linda Yaychuk and Charlotte Whiteley

Letters with flat brush with a focal point

Blackletter Workshop with Betty Locke Gothic, Blackletter or Old English or whatever you want to call it, this style was developed in the late Medieval period. In this period it was necessary to conserve valuable space on the paper of the time, parchment and vellum. As a dense hand, it suggested formality and control.

Blacklettering was erect and written close together to give a black effect to the page.

The “Loveley” Batard homework

Our six week classroom time explored Basic Blackletter style, moving on to Textura Quadrata, Textus Precisus, Fraktur Capitals, Delightful Batard and culminating in Terminals, Ligatures and embellishments.

After being introduced to the letters in their simplest forms we

Help?

Betty is assigning us our homework. See how this gives her so much joy.

moved on to Textura Quadrata. This hand is made a bit lighter with diamond shaped beginnings and endings and the addition of a serif running parallel to the ascender in upper case letters.

We moved quickly through Textus Precisus (thank goodness) where you just change the angle of your nib at the end of the down stroke to 0 degrees. Then on to Batard. Here the letters begin to soften with some aspects of the Italic hand.

Some letters are not completely closed and are referred to as ‘exploded’. The down strokes became more curved and when combined with Fraktur Capitals, lent themselves well to flourishes creating a lighter look.

Betty noted that words in Blackletter should never be written entirely in capital letters as the caps are too intricate and the piece is not as pleasing to the eye.

Gillian Mouat

Examples of the constructed letter homework.

Denise Rothney Janet Peters

Charlotte Whiteley

Help?

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Betty Locke

The Participants

Bernice Sutton’s piece using the flat brush and watercolour Pat Wheatley’s piece using the flat brush and water

More“Lovely” Batard homework

The background on this page was the homework assignment to fill a page with “o”s done by Gillian Moaut

Charlotte and Betty playing with Drolleries

Denise Rothney’s homework assignment using all the capitals in a news bulletin Betty and Marilyn Lundstrom with the homework from first week.

After 18 hours of excellent instruction and nine or ten homework assignments we all went away knowing a whole lot more about Blackletter, appreciative of this versatile letter form and excited about going forward and using this hand with confidence.

Thank you again Betty for a great learning experience.

Roving reporter Lucy Hylkema reading her Undercover News Paper-shown below

More students’ work. The going insane one at the far left, was done by Jane Taylor and expressed the sentiments of many of the students but we love you anyway Betty for making us stretch and grow as calligraphers.

Gillian Mouat’s original piece used for the background.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Compiled and Edited by Charlotte Whiteley

This piece of Calligraphy was done in Elder College classess with Betty Locke. It was done by new Warmland member Janice Greenway (recipient of Judy Dearman’s calligraphy tool kit). It is evident by this piece that Janice has quite a sense of humour.

Home at Christmas Update on those Christmas cards you contributed before Christmas.

Thought you might enjoy this email from Afghanistan.

The success of the project is attributed to a whole lot of people who cared to make a difference. Thank you to all of you. Susan.

Reproduced in part: I just wanted to take a few minutes to let you know how much I have appreciated the beautiful handmade Christmas cards I received while serving here in Afghanistan. They are simply beautiful. In my role here as Morale & Welfare Officer on camp, I did receive many boxes full of letters and cards. It was overwhelming. I did

pass the majority to the camp Pares [sic] who told me that the cards would be passed around to as many Canadian Soldiers as possible including soldiers who are currently "working" outside "the wire" (meaning outside the camp where there are a lot of dangerous activities going on).

appreciation. Louise Maziarski, Major COMKAF HQ/ Kandahar, Afghanistan, Morale & welfare Officer, (Home base: CFB Trenton - Ontario) Go to this website to see pictures and updates: www.homeatchristmas.org

I also distributed cards to many other Canadian soldiers working with me.

Again thank you to Susan Kirschling for initiating this awesome project and to convey to all of us a message of peace, love and

Our condolences are extended to Linda Yaychuk on the loss of her dear husband Harry and to Liz MacDonald on the loss of her beloved mom. Both losses occurred before the Christmas season which make these losses especially difficult. We are thinking of you and sending you our best wishes.

People Traveling…….

Welcome to new members who have joined since Sept.2010: Libby Jutras Christine Vanier Laura Feduk Debbie Thompson Wilson Elissa Erickson Carherine Brown Janette Chudleigh Janice Greeenway

And since January 2011 Karen Dods Roberta (Bobbie) Jordon Brenda Hicks This brings our numbers up to 92members.

Submitted by Susan Miller Three members from our Guild (Susan Miller, Pauline Johnson and Trudy Kungold Ammann ) attended a mini conference in Vancouver, BC. This mini conference was the Westcoast Odyssey of Letters, WOOL, a one day calligraphy conference. It featured six different workshops to chose from, door prizes, lunch, goodie bags and lots of fun to boot.

We will definitely have to watch for the information/flyer for next year’s event. Thanks to Trudy for bringing this to our attention!!!

What a great day we had on Saturday, October 2nd in Vancouver, BC with

Martin Jackson, Bev Allan and others.

Martin said his wife said he looked like Marcel Marceau when he left home in the morning! (the striped shirt and black pants ha ha) His instruction as usual, was clear, fun and so inspiring. Love that guy!

Pauline is holding up his flourished italic piece so beautifully done. It tells about the most commonly used letters of the alphabet.

Bev Allan showed us how to make decorated letters and it too was so much fun and informative.

I went with Trudy and Pauline Thompson and the weather and company were grand. The "WOOL" conference organizers put on a super

Pauline Thompson Bev AllanPreparing to do a Decorated letter (Zentangle) demonstration

Pauline shows us a piece by Martin in Italics that represents the alphabet in the most common to least common letter order.

Bev Allan’s example of a decorated letter.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

The girls work A beautiful day for a class in Vancouver BC

Martin Jackson demonstrates to the class. (note outfit apparently described by his wife as a Marcel Marceau outfit)

words Thanks to Gwyneth Evans for this submission.

Words, Words, Words Most of us feel a bit embarrassed when we make a spelling mistake on a piece of calligraphy, or something else viewed by the public. The idea of correct spelling - that, barring a few differences between English and American usage with us Canadians stumbling somewhere in between, there is only one right way to spell a word – is, however, relatively new.

Looking at handwritten English manuscripts from between around 1500 when the language took roughly its modern shape and 1800, we find quite a variety in spelling of even fairly common words. The invention of the printing press helped to regularize spelling, but in handwritten documents how you spelled a word might depend on what part of the country you came from, or even your mood of the moment – impatient, painstaking or fanciful. William Shakespeare, who was rather good at using language, spelled his own name in different ways, and there are over 20 recorded spellings of his name

words during his lifetime: Shaksper, Shak-spere, Shexpere, Shackspeare, and so forth. English spelling was not standardized until the eighteenth century, and even after the influential publication of Dr. Johnson's great Dictionary in 1755, various spellings of common words and personal names are often to be encountered.

Why is English spelling such a complicated matter? This has to do with the complicated origins of the English language itself. When the occupying Roman troops left England around fifteen hundred years ago, Anglo-Saxon people from what is now the northern part of Germany took the chance to emigrate to the relatively sparsely-populated and unprotected British Isles, displacing the Celtic inhabitants to what are now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Germanic language of these Saxon invaders became Old English, which in turn changed after the Norman French conquered England and French became the language of law, government and the ruling class for several centuries. (English, curiously, has two words for many things, one of French origin and one of AngloSaxon: words of French origin like

words beef, pork and dine usually have to do with the ruling class, the people who ate the nice dinner, whereas those of old English origin like cow, pig, cook and work refer to caring for the animals that ended up as dinner for someone else!) As the English language developed over time, it also included words from the Celtic languages, from Church Latin, from the Scandinavian languages of Viking invaders who settled in parts of northern England and Scotland, from classical Latin and Greek literature, and eventually from languages of countries of the British Empire, especially India. Small wonder that English spelling is not logical and consistent, and is sometimes downright peculiar. The various words including or ending in “ough” make a great example. If you say aloud tough, cough, fought, bough, dough, slough (said as either slew or sluff), you might well wonder why they are all spelled the same; I think there are even more ways, too, this little group of letters can be pronounced!

No wonder English spelling can be a challenge.

Submitted by Charlotte Whiteley

This month’s galleria was to create a piece using the pointed brush and incorporate complementary colours in this piece.

Eight Members participated with Betty Locke facilitating and critiquing. Trudy Kungold Ammann brought in her colour wheel and talked about split complimentary colours (this is the colour on either side of the colour opposite the primary colour on the wheel.

An example would be red and yellow-green or blue-green (the colours beside the green).

Marilyn Boechler had the quote and wanted to create a Japanese style of painting to get an essence of the mountains. The placement of the text was well done as it gives a feeling of space and distance. It adds power to the piece. Marilyn did the washes as wet on wet. She had to practice and started out in black and white and then moved on to the complimentary colours. It shows a lot of planning and skill with the letters being right justified.

Gillian Mouat presented a piece with playful letters done in gold on purple cards in a banner style. Betty thought it was a really fine piece of work and wants Gillian to put it in the Loft show. The angled papers with the letters were interesting and effective.

Gillian thought the purple/gold colour combinations felt really juvenile like elementary school.

She got her amazing handmade papers from her supplier on Salt Spring Island. The cards with the letters had to be painted to match as Gillian was unable to find just the right shade. The paper was applied with a brayer and Gillian used a book press to get a beautiful flat finish to her piece. She added a bamboo skewer to complete the look. Her brush and acrylic paint source was from Wal-Mart™

Marion Craig’s “Angels like you” piece was very, very sweet. Betty thought it would have been a very beautiful Christmas card. Adding even more angels might have been interesting. Marion had never done any pointed brush work before and was not sure if the round brush she used was correct. Betty and others mentioned that the important thing about the pointed brush is it needs to have good spring back to place.

You can spend a little or a lot of money on brushes. You should be able to try them out in the store if possible with water. Betty said that a little more space around the words would be better and Marion told us she changed brush size and there wasn’t enough space left with the larger letters.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Denise Rothney had some lovely brush strokes and very interesting lines with the embossing of the diamond and square. Denise used weather as the theme and used blue and orange colours for the pointed brush. Betty stated it had nice symmetry and lots of interest. Denise said it was a piece that evolved as she went along. Her ideas change and the size of script changes. The words were on the paper and Denise thought it was flat and boring and it was then she decided to add the line and letter embossing. Nice work.

Judith Lovell chose red and green as her complimentary colours and created a beautiful piece about wisdom. Betty said she enjoyed the offset of the text and found the piece had a lovely brightness. Judith commented that to put the lines through the centre was a challenge and it took her three attempts. She felt her lettering was not successful so she changed it and layered paper on top and added the text in white. The red mat added a lot to the piece (although you can’t get the whole effect in gray tones).

Judy Lowood had quite a tale to tell which had us all laughing and smiling.

Betty starts out with the statement “Don’t you just love this piece?” Judy begins the saga. Judy pencilled in some ideas. Next she thought she would try an idea with masking fluid and just started to open the bottle when the phone rang. Judy answered the phone and came back to her workspace. She picked up the bottle of masking fluid and thought she should give it a shake and you can guess what happened! She decide to let the “mess” dry and go from there. She proceeded with washes, charcoal powders, rubbing alcohol and more watercolours. The letters were highlighted with pencil crayons.

The results are very effective. The word - charming. The ruined shirt and pants unfortunate. Thanks for the story Judy!

Marilyn Lundstrom used complimentary colours by putting the blue watercolour on the pastel orange paper. The quote is written in French and means “don’t trust first impressions, they are always generous.”

Marilyn said she tended to write her letters in the vertical and had to really concentrate. She mentioned that it took her three tries to get a piece that pleased her. Her thoughts were the piece was too plain. Betty commented that it was a nicely balanced piece of work and said that doing the pointed brush in the vertical was more challenging. She like the descant letters showing the quote’s meaning in English.

Anne Atkinson wrote: hi Charlotte, I saw these words in the Rolling Stones magazine. The waiter was dressed to the hilt at the top nothing on the bottom, not even shoes. It was a rear photo so the viewer just saw his butt with these words“the right amount of bad” as he was carrying a tray of drinks. It was a great ad.

We wonder if it was the words that Anne was impressed with?

Trudy Kungold Ammann told us about how this piece evolved from a piece of art work that she didn’t want ‘as done’ so she cut it up and at the galleria presented two pieces from this original art work. The piece we are showcasing is the more elaborate one with details like the trees and fence added. Betty complimented her on her fine cursive style and freedom. Trudy used the split complimentary colours that she talked about to the guild. Betty wants this one for the show too! Trudy commented that it did take some time to achieve the results that she was happy with. The calligraphy was achieved using two different brush sizes.

Betty Locke told us she didn’t have anything she really wanted to write so just used a brush to create an alphabet and added the oriental flower for art interest. As she went along she decided that the flower colour got a little dark and wasn’t really happy with it. Betty commented that it was interesting how many people chose the blue and orange/yellow combinations.

Submitted by Charlotte Whiteley The January program was an introduction to a hand Betty Locke learned from Carl Rohrs at ABC Red Deer 2010 this summer. It is called Linz. It is based on Italics somewhat and has some twists and turns that make it quite a unique and pretty hand. It lends itself to the brush and pen and larger tools are more dramatic. It is recognized by the curved strokes and changes in pen angle. The letters appear to be joined.

The rounded shapes can be exploded.

This was the hand that Betty used for the cover artwork for the latest Edmonton Newsletter that we now have in our library.

Betty tried to whip the group into shape and had us all quietly working

for a minute or two. We basically only had enough time to work on letters i, n, a, d, and played with s and c. The change in the pen angle was a hard habit to break but when you get the hang of it the letter takes form and is very lovely. The letter starts out like Italics and is 5 pen widths high. The

first change happens when you come to the bottom of the letter and you

must lift the pen and change your pen angle to 0º and pull down and to the right at 45º just the width of the letter.

Then you flick up to the position you need. Some letters only go up part of the way and others like the ‘n’ go all the way to the top to complete the letter.

It is a hand that will require practice and with time hopefully my letters will look half as good as Betty’s do.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Folded Flower This idea was conceived by the TAAG group and thanks to members Linda Yaychuk, Lenore LeMay, Liz MacDonald, June Maffin and Janet Peters for the flowers they made and are inserted here.

Materials: Coloured cardstock or decorated papers, pencil, scissors, scoring tool, folding bone.

Instructions: trace and cut out the flower from the template (can be reduced or enlarged), Figure I. Score along the lines as noted. are first fold lines are second fold lines.

Fold two petals at a time, unfold them and continue to fold two more petals at a time until you have a fold line at the base of each petal As shown in Figure II. Pinch each petal between thumb and forefinger lining up here as shown in figure III and only fold each petal to the base line fold on each petal.

Figure II Figure I

Then with the folding bone, press all the petals down in the same direction like a pinwheel. Figure IV

Figure III Figure IV Fiskars Multi-Tool™

Eraser

Glue storage

Craft knife

Glue applicator

Embosser

Screwdriver

Tweezers

Storage

Cap

Sometimes there comes along a tool that can literally replace 5 other tools. That means more space in your pencil case for other things. Yeah! The Editor. P.S. This tool 7 inches long.

Reviewed By June Maffin BOOK REVIEW: “Creative Mixed Media” by Sherrill Kahn.

Martingale & Co. publishers If you love to experiment, sew, paint, do batik and work with fabric, paint, silk and crayons, then this book is for you. Sherrill Kahn is an artist who is always experimenting with colour, paint, fabric and everyday products that can be used in ways other than originally intended.

In her latest book, “Creative Mixed Media”, Kahn describes techniques using cosmetic cotton pads, facial wipes, inkjet labels, playing cards, hair gel, plain gelatin, children’s

glue and a brayer to help create unique art. Colourful photos permeate the book as she explains techniques that encourage a ‘think outside the box’ approach to design, composition, backgrounds and collage.

A first impression of the book was its busyness; busyness of colour, line and texture in the resulting artwork leaving me wishing she had included samples showing how calligraphically-rendered words and photos could be incorporated. But maybe they’re not intended to be.

While the author had a “Tools & Supplies” chapter, I found it wasn’t as complete as I’d have liked. For example, deli paper is a supply item for several of her techniques. It would have been good to learn what could be used in its place, where it could be

purchased and see what it looked like.

I also wish she’d included references to Teflon pressing sheets and Dye-na-flow™ products as I’m unfamiliar with them, and that she had given options to the Jacquard paints she refers to through much of the book.

If you’re into silk painting, sewing, collage or digital image work and have or want to invest in a Cuttlebug™, you’ll love this book.

My interests are more in line with paper art techniques so while much of the book was of little interest to me, I look forward to keeping my eye open for a used electric griddle (to try out her melted-crayon technique) and to experimenting with the crayon/oil pastel rubbings, hair gel resist and gelatin printing techniques on cardstock, watercolour paper and in journaling books.

Submitted by Charlotte Whiteley Starting in the May issue we will be re-introducing the newsletter exchange feature to our newsletter.

June Maffin has volunteered to review newsletters as they come in and highlight some of the contents and features.

In the meantime, new issues are always housed, along with back issues in our library and you might like to have a look at them on your own. The Bow Valley Calligraphy Guild is changing the focus of the newsletter and it is worth a having a look at.

Edmonton’s newsletter features a cover by our own Betty Locke (but we will share her).

In the meantime if you want to review old Warmland newsletters, this chart shows the issue #, the date and the Exposé article and/or the “playtime” and “tooltalk” type articles from past issues ((m) refers to memorial).

I hope some of you might find this useful.

We look forward to adding this column back next issue.

Newsletter # #3 Feb ´96 #5 Sep ´96 #6 Nov ´96 #11 June´98 #13 Jan´99 #14 May ´99 #15 Oct ´99 #17 May 2000 #18 Oct 2000

Playtime/tools Crown hat Starbook envelope letter First colour issue Weather grams Writing with gouache Tools of our trade Egg Recipes -

Exposé Fran Sloan memorial Barb Evans Barbara Qualley Anne McDonald

#21 Oct 2001 #23 May ´02 #29 May ´04 #30 Nov ´04 #33 Oct ´05 #35 May ´06 #36 Oct ´06

Origami Flower Tool talk Ruling Pen Slipcase Booklets Nib Cleaning Ink Filling

#37 Feb ´07 #38 May ´07 #39 Oct ´07 #40 Feb ´08 #41 May ´08 #42 Oct ´08 #43 Feb ´09 #44 May ´09 #45 Oct ´09 #46 Feb ´10 #47 May ´10

Folded Book Pens and nibs -

Marilyn Boechler Judy Matheson Pat Davis Jocelyn McLachlan(m) Lorraine Hoy Bernice Sutton Midge Filleul Hans van der Werff Judy Dearman Pat Wheatley Dorothy Foster Liz MacDonald Ginny Porter Connie Fergusan Card Lucy Hylkema Brigitte French

#48 Oct ´10

Paste paper Nibs and pens/Metallic leaf and glue Folded envelope /parallel pens

#49 Feb ´11

Flower envelope/wrap

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011

Judy Dearman(m), Judy Lowood Anne McDonald

A Big Thank you all the newsletter helpers, contributors, galleria participants, photographers, readers (Denise and Martin), consultants, advisors, Barbara Qualley for distribution, critics and the list goes on.

When you see Gillian Mouat, be sure to congratulate her on what a fine job she did of the headings.

You will find a questionnaire tucked into this newsletter that I hope you will take the time to read and respond to it. There are so many directions to take a guild’s newsletter. It could be a

place to showcase our members work, a place to learn new skills or just a sharing space. If you browse through other guild newsletters (check the library) you will see different focuses.

The whole idea of this survey is to get your feedback on what you like and consider good choices for our guilds’ newsletter. We will then look at how to incorporate the popular choices and implement the items the majority of the membership considered most desired. Presently out newsletter is 36 pages. Printing does cost! We

want to maximize value for dollar.

I would also like to thank Debbie Thompson Wilson for the “miniature” submission shown on page 17.

I had e-mailed Debbie to get some clarification on some product names and techniques and she sent her beautiful piece.

ENJOY! Charlotte Whiteley P.S: below are two e-mails sent to me that I have been asked to share: Dear Charlotte, I am writing to thank you and all the Warmland Calligraphers for the wonderful memorial pages in your recent newsletter. The comments, pictures, and artwork are all fantastic, and made me very proud of my mother, Judy. I'm sure we all miss her very much.

To know that she had such close and thoughtful friends and colleagues is a real comfort, and I know she was a happy person.

Thank you to all that contributed to the memorial or attended the service. Thank you.

Derek Hilborn Kirkland, WA

From Linda Yaychuk Dear Warmland Calligraphers I’d like to thank the members for their cards and condolences when my sweet husband Harry passed away. I found great comfort in your hugs and companionship.

Warmland Calligraphers of the Cowichan Valley - Issue # 49, February 2011