Artwork by Sylvia Keys

IN THIS ISSUE

– Membership News– The Expressive Brush

– Classes Offered– Editorial Opportunity– March Meeting Photos

– Bubble Art– Gallery Space

FROM THE PRESIDENT...Happy Spring to all! Finally able to say that without a “freeze fear.” Wasn't it worth the wait? Every bloom and warming ray is all the more beautiful and appreciated.

On behalf of all the WCG board, thank you for allowing each of us to serve our members this past year. It's been a joy to think calligraphy and how to share our love for it, to enhance and learn more, always. The rest of 2014 should be good, too, as we look forward to mini-workshops, good programs, and to start thinking towards our 40th anniversary in 2016.

This Bulletin is the last until the September issue, taking its customary summer vacation! I hope you all have a wonderful summer, enjoying your time in creative fervor or peaceful, blissful “R and R.”

Warmest regards,

monday, may 19, 2014

7 pm in the social hall at concord-st. andrew's umc

bethesda, maryland

Potluck Dinnerbrief business meeting with elections

showing and sharing

raffles and freebies giveaways

Please join in our Annual Meeting - an evening of fun, fellowship, freebies, and food!

We will begin the evening with our election of officers for 2014-15 along with several reports on our past year.

The slate put together by our Nominating Committee is:

president – pamn klinedinst • vice president – gretchen elson

secretary – gilda penn • treasurer – derrick tabor • member-at-large – tiiu kera

Dinner will be a potluck supper. The Guild will supply drinks, including a celebratory champagne punch! Please email

Pamn at pklinednst@aol.com with what dish you'll be bringing. Everyone is welcome, whether you bring a dish or not.

Surrounding us will be any pieces or items you'd like to show or share. It can be a something you're working on or a

finished piece. We've also asked the Vienna Study Group to show us some of what they've been working on over this past

year. There will be tables all around the room, so there'll be plenty of space for your pieces!

Lucinda Huttlinger, our Archivist/Librarian, is bringing a treasure trove of goodies from our overflowing donations and

archives. Some of the items will be raffled off free and many, many items will be laid out, free for the taking,

first come, first served!

Definite party atmosphere evening. This is our 2014 celebration and summer send-off! Please come and enjoy.

Pamn

apr il / may2014 b u l l e t i n

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The Bulletin of the Washington Calligraphers Guild is published eight times per year

from September - May with a special workshops issue in January.

The deadline for submissions for the September issue is August 15, 2014. We welcome your contributions. Please send digital files for text, photos and artwork (reflecting all levels, from

beginner to advanced) to pklinednst@aol.com. 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.

membership news A very warm welcome to our newest members who have recently joined/rejoined. We’re so very glad to have you! Nancy Beckmann – Clearwater, Florida Ann Brock – Memphis, Tennessee Maria Brown – Houston, Texas Stephanie Byrd – Portland, Oregon Patricia Keehn – Mercer Island, Washington Dawnette S. Lewis – Hamilton Beach, Bermuda Steve Logan – Birmingham, Alabama Maria Alicia Marquez – Homestead, Florida Carib Mendez – Waldorf, Maryland Patrisha McLean – Camden, Maine Rose Nierras – Washington, DC Jennifer Sawchak – Hamilton, Virginia Todd A. Smith – Alexandria, Virginia

Our sincere thanks to the following members who have renewed/joined at the Sustaining, Patron and Supporting levels. We truly appreciate your generosity!

sustaining Tiuu Kera – Gaithersburg, MD patron Beryl Keys – Baltimore, MD

supporting Angelamae Abbene – Marcy, New York Martha Boccalini – Oakland, California Joanne DeFiore – Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Ann P. Duke – San Diego, California Christine Flannery – Rockville, Maryland Loretta Gordon – Jarrell, Texas Claire B. Ingley – Gaithersburg, Maryland Patty Shavitz Leve – Baltimore, Maryland Steve Logan – Birmingham, Alabama Rose Nierras – Washington, DC Denice H. Nitschke – Yulee, Florida Rick Paulus – Orleans, Massachusetts Marcy Robinson – Nutley, New Jersey Peggy Shields Schiefelbein – Washington, DC Maureen Squires – Branford, Connecticut Lorraine Swerdloff – Washington, DC

washington calligraphers guild — board of directors —

– officers –president: Pamn Klinedinst

pklinednst@aol.com / 301-654-6049

vice president: Gretchen Elson gmelson@cox.net / 703-591-5482

treasurer: Derrick C. Tabor dtab221@yahoo.com / 301-330-7729

secretary: Gilda Penn gildapenn@comcast.net / 301-315-0330

member-at-large: Louise Harris louikecole@comcast.net / 301-596-7773

registered agent: Bob Flory bobandsue@theflorys.net / 703-569-4331

– standing committees –audit: John Stackpole

jstackpo@alum.mit.edu / 301-292-9479

budget & finance: Derrick C. Tabor dtab221@yahoo.com / 301-330-7729

bulletin: Lee Ann Clark glaclark@comcast.net / 410-415-5846

education: can you help?

exhibits: can you help?

fundraising/calligrafest co-chairs: can you help?

librarian / archivist: Lucinda Huttlinger lucindahuttlinger@gmail.com

mailings: Phyllis Ingram / 703-385-9750 pgingram1@verizon.net

membership: Sue Flory bobandsue@theflorys.net / 703-569-4331

nominating: appointed in January

programs: can you help?

publicity: Felecia McFail publicity_wcg@fohta.com / 703-892-6262

scholarship: Marta Legeckis morkaleg@yahoo.com / 301-493-8907

scripsit liaison: can you help?

website: Lorraine Swerdloff swerdloff@gmail.com / 202-723-4635

workshops: Christine Tischer chris@calligraphybychris.com / 301-745-4633

– found artwork submitted by Gretchen Elson

Over two days, from April 5 to 6 at the Columbia Art Center, a talented group of artists with diverse backgrounds played with letterforms using brush markers and natural brushes. We filled sheets and sheets of paper with marks, failed experiments and some successes.

Stephen Rapp first had us make a variety of exploratory marks using the Staedtler Mars 3000 brush marker, which has a loose, spongy quality. We gathered around him as he led

us in looking for letterforms buried within the marks. Then he had us playing with those letterforms, all to the end of discovering our own unique way of writing with a brush. After that he introduced us to the Tombow brush marker, which is stiffer and better for working on the point. Then it was the Pentel Color Brush, not the one found in local art supply stores but the one you can buy online, which seems to be one of his favorite tools. On the second day we moved on to the natural brush, working with ink or gouache. Stephen encouraged us to move the paper as we worked, so that our letters danced around within each word, designing for rhythm, not static. We worked on different papers including layout bond, vellum, Arches Text Wove for a bit of texture, photo printer paper for a super slick glossy surface, and even paper towels for a bit of forgiveness while practicing. We heard lessons gleaned from Stephen's work as a lettering artist and font designer at Current Greeting Cards and American Greetings.

All this was interspersed with chatter around the lunch table where we heard about Stephen's other life as an Irish flute player and folkie musician. We enjoyed fabulous scones made by Sandy Olson and took home eggs laid by Lee Ann Clark's over-producing chickens.

We grew as we struggled with the new materials. Some transferred their experience with other lettering tools to the more flexible brush. Others grew from being wedded to the structure of traditional hands to letting go and displaying a

new, looser style. We all experienceda feeling of freedom as we were given leave to play, make mistakes and discover something new.

− Paige Billin Frye

– Instructor £ and student works ¤

– Photos by Alicia Marquez and Joan Machinchick

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T he Expressive Brusha workshop with stephen rapp

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Friday, May 9, Saturday, May 10 and Saturday, June 7at the former home of Paper & Ink Arts

3 North Second StreetWoodsboro, Maryland 21798

Register by sending your payment to Brenda Broadbent at the address above ASAP. Classes will be limited to 15

artists! Please include your email address and phone.

— day one — friday, may 9, 2014

10 am-4:00 pm (building will open at 9 am)

black on black magic... Transform initials and words into shimmering, glistening gems using black Glaze pens, colored pencils, clear Stardust pens and oil pastels (CrayPas) with black paper. Ideas to bring: special initials, names, words you’d like to work with and simple patterns you like to doodle.

... and…brilliant bits! Gather up and bring those smallish leftover pieces of paste paper, practice you can bear to cut up, pieces of decorative or colorful paper you have been saving. We will find interesting ways to turn them into clever pieces while painlessly playing with layout & design.

Fee: $65. This includes these supplies which you will keep: black Glaze pen, clear Stardust pen, black paper, copies of a Lombardic Versal alphabet. For the “bits” we will share a stash of ribbon, pieces of interesting decorative paper and metallic foldover cards and cardstock.

— day two —saturday, may 10, 2014

10 am-4:00 pm (building will open at 9 am)

parallel pen wizardryfor beginners and experts!

Use this sharp and convenient pen for fun AND professional work. Explore color blending, hairlines, textures and non-stop flourishing. We’ll load these pens with sumi ink, gouache, watercolor and acrylic ink. Discover how and why these pens have become a staple for teaching and regular use.

Brenda Broadbentthree classes with …and…tiny, successful watercolors!

Relax and enjoy moving watercolor on paper as small as 2” x 2”. You will learn how paint & water move together and create a tiny gem. Combine these skills with your lettering later. Encouragement for fearful painters!

Fee: $65. This includes these supplies for you: 12 pieces small cut watercolor paper, a paper palette, a selection of watercolors.

— day three — saturday, june 7, 2014

10 am-4:00 pm (building will open at 9 am)

ordinary tools, remarkable processWith thanks to Sherrie Lovler, this will be a day of experimenting with mark making…backgrounds for lettering or stand-alone pieces. When I took Sherrie’s three day class last winter, the results were soaring, delightful, satisfying and surprising. Come move in a new direction.

Brenda Broadbent was the calligrapher and creative force behind Paper & Ink Arts for 30 years. She sold Paper & Ink Arts in 2011 to one of her favorite suppliers and continues to explore artful ideas using letters, color, and unusual tools and loves to teach.

Fee: $65. Your fee includes matboard “pens,” walnut ink and one sheet of black paper for making your cropping tool, gold ink.Supplies to bring: KY or Moon Palace sumi ink, three full sheets Arches Text Wove cut in half, large (#8 or larger) bamboo handle pointed brush, 1” flat brush, one red and one blue gouache, 3 yogurt containers for water, palette. Pencil, colored pencils, scissors, glue stick. Bamboo brushes can be purchased at the shop…about $5.

The Washington Calligraphers Guild is by this notice seeking proposals to edit and design a full-color, 8½” x 11,” 34-page

plus self cover publication known as Scripsit.

The Guild is a body of more than 500 letter lovers. Membership is open to anyone

regardless of calligraphic ability. Founded in 1976 by internationally known calligrapher, Sheila Waters, and a group of her associates, the Guild is a non-profit organization which promotes all aspects of the lettering arts and

related crafts. Monthly meetings, open to the public, feature visiting well-respected

lettering artists or local experts who share information and audio/visual demonstrations on a wide variety of topics. In the Spring and

Fall, the Guild offers workshops taught by outstanding international artists.

To keep members informed of the full spectrum of calligraphic arts, Scripsit is

the Guild’s twice yearly, internationally recognized journal containing in-depth articles and visual material of the highest

quality from and for members. To see what is expected of Scripsit editors, consult the Guild's website at www.

calligraphersguild.org for summaries of past issues; selected issues can be purchased.

The editor/designer, an independent contractor who earns $3,000 for producing an issue, is responsible for, among other

things, coordinating and working with the Guild’s Scripsit Liaison to get Board approval for the topic, determine a time frame for publication, gathering artwork, writing text for the

issue, designing the issue, providing drafts of the issue to the Guild for proofing by one or more designated members prior to printing as well as negotiating with an appropriate printer

to have the issue printed and delivered to the Guild in a timely fashion for distribution to its members.

In addition to the salary of $3,000 payable upon acceptance of the issue by the Guild, the Guild will reimburse the editor/designer for expenses incurred in the production of the issue up to $200 upon the presentation of valid expense receipts and will provide up to $4,500 for the printing and delivery of the issue, payable directly to the printer.

The deadline for the current request for proposal is July 31, 2014 for the issue scheduled for publication by November 15, 2015. Proposals may be accepted for future issues of Scripsit as well as for the

November 2015 issue.

Applicants should complete the form posted on the Guild’s website and e-mail to Gretchen Elson at gmelson@cox.net. All hard copy samples of supporting documentation, including a writing sample in English, should be mailed to Gretchen Elson, c/o Washington Calligraphers Guild, PO Box 3688, Merrifield, VA 22116, USA; electronic proposals should be e-mailed to Gretchen Elson. A panel of members appointed by the Board of the Guild will review all proposals and notify all applicants of their decision by October 31, 2014. Any questions concerning this RFP may be addressed to Gretchen Elson.

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editorial opportunity

march 10 meeting ~ 3xround

3xRound instructors (from left) Gretchen Elson, Marta Legeckis and Chris Tischer demonstrate their specialties of the evening including marbling and paper dye methods, background enhancments using watercolor and gouache and photo transfers. More photos on page 8.

− photos by John Thornton

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are bubbles just for kids? − by Nancy Anderson

Bubbles have a whimsical quality. They attract all ages to see who can make the biggest bubble. How long can it last before popping? The shimmery surface looks like an elastic rainbow stretched over an elusive balloon. When I learned how to print bubbles, it became one of the best art adventures with my children. To this day they remember how we added colors to the soapy liquid, blew bubbles through a straw, and touched the paper to the colorful mounds, printing piles of papers with surprising results.Fast forward 25 years, the kids are grown and married, and I revisit bubbles again, only with a greater variety of inks, paints, and watercolors to play with from my studio. I introduce my experiments to my calligraphy friends with excitement but a bit of apprehension. Grounded in child’s play, I wonder if they’ll think I have regressed a few years. How professional can Bubble Art be? Everyone begins with hesitation which quickly becomes playful delight. It seems the child in all of us needs some release to have fun. They aren’t yet sure what they will do with these creations but ideas and possibilities are shared. Printed bubble papers can become backgrounds for lettering, book pages, book marks, book covers, Weathergrams, stationery, and mobiles. Print them on folders, gift bags, gift tags, vellum, and even Tyvek. Try sealing them with Cold Wax Medium on book covers for protection but they are surprisingly permanent even using water soluble paint. Techniques change the look of the bubbles. Touch the paper slowly or quickly tap it. Drag the paper across the bubbles or spoon them onto the paper. Just be sure to mound them high above the bowl and do not to touch the paper to the top of the bowl or it will print an unsightly ring. Inks, pigments, gouache, tempera, watercolor, acrylics, food coloring all print but darker colors are best, with translucent hues hard to see. Black Speedball ink is most distinctive!Why not give it a try? Mix 3 tablespoons liquid dish soap and ¾ teaspoon glycerin with 1 quart water. Place ½ cup in different bowls, adding a teaspoon of ink or paint to start. Add more as needed to achieve the color you prefer.Now indulge the kid in you and let your artistic flair develop.

...more samples of Bubble Art on page 7.

Above: Ann BainRight: Brenda Broadbent

We welcome artwork submissions from all of our

members. Please send a high resolution file to

Pamn Klinedinst at pklinednst@aol.com.

galleryspace

...MORE BUBBLE

ART

Samples of Nancy's bubble art include

notebook and book covers, artwork

backgrounds (page 6);

mobile and spooned bubbles

(right).

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be sure to join usat our annual meeting

on may 19 at 7:00!

More 3xRound photos from the March 10 meeting.

− photos by John Thornton

p.o. box 3688, merrifield, va 22116 • www.calligraphersguild.org

address service requested 5 / 2014

nonprofit org.u.s. postage

paidmerrifield vapermit no. 742