Comments from our Chairperson:
There is nothing in the world like a great workshop to get your creative juices flowing. On April 24 & 25, 13 participants came together at soggy yet beautiful Fernwood in Michigan for the Tortured Metal workshop with Victoria Pittman. We all came home with our pieces in hand some of which could be immediately framed and hung. We loved every minute of being together and creating art to use now or in the future.
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Victoria Pittman demonstrating techinique with tissue paper and gold foil
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From first time workshop participant, Shannon Wilson...
What an amazing, art-filled weekend I recently shared with my calligraphy friends! We had a chance to take Victoria Pittman's "Tortured Metals" class and our heads are still spinning with all the techniques she threw at us. She is a generous, open, eloquent, and passionate artist who many times throughout the weekend was almost giddy at the some of the effects we were able to achieve. You could tell she was cataloguing every experience as a springboard for a new creation she would attempt the second she left the building. My favorite teaching moment was when she described in colorful detail a splatter of rust and paint she saw on a truck while traveling that she just had to emulate. We learned how to use our eyes as well as our hands that weekend. Thank you, Victoria.
What an amazing, art-filled weekend I recently shared with my calligraphy friends! We had a chance to take Victoria Pittman's "Tortured Metals" class and our heads are still spinning with all the techniques she threw at us. She is a generous, open, eloquent, and passionate artist who many times throughout the weekend was almost giddy at the some of the effects we were able to achieve. You could tell she was cataloguing every experience as a springboard for a new creation she would attempt the second she left the building. My favorite teaching moment was when she described in colorful detail a splatter of rust and paint she saw on a truck while traveling that she just had to emulate. We learned how to use our eyes as well as our hands that weekend. Thank you, Victoria.
…..and from Amber Schindler……
Victoria Pittman whisked participants away to a creative wonderland during her “Tortured Metals” workshop held at Fernwood Botanical Garden on April 24th and 25th. Rain did not dampen our spirits as we learned how to transform metals into reflections of heat and light. Our gracious teacher prepared a bounty of techniques to share with us using silver, copper, brass, and fake gold, which involved irons, heat guns, ammonia, acrylic, and courage. Resulting patinas and embellished raised surfaces fueled our energy as we made lovely papers and metal pieces to use as collage elements or by themselves in combination with a line of calligraphy. Our immersion experience into the art of playing with metal concluded with assembling masterpieces to take home, share, and admire.
On Saturday, June 5, seven of our members had a day-long Victoria Pittman playdate at Christ the King Church. We are trying to incorporate a playdate into our schedule soon after a workshop so that we can remember and remind each other of techniques we used. Sometimes after a workshop we tend to put everything in the closet and rest, so we want to keep our tools out and make more of the art we did in the workshop. We worked on metals, acrylics, etc and helped Sharon Esmont join the fun by doing a bit of show and tell. Sharon was “trapped” in Greece at the end of April due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland so was not able to come to the workshop. She showed us an incredible slideshow on her laptop of her trip to Greece as we ate our lunch. To top off the day, Sherri Taylor, a longtime member of MCG, joined us for a couple of hours to see our work and catch up. Seeing Sherri was a wonderful surprise and we look forward to seeing her more often!
Future workshops
Peter Thornton - We are very excited about Peter coming to South Bend to do a “Pushing the Pencil” workshop Saturday, September 11 & Sunday, September 12, 2010. If you would like to see Peter’s work that he will be demonstrating, please email gvanderhey@hotmail.com. This workshop will be held at the South Bend Museum of Art, upstairs in the art rooms from 9 am until 5 pm. Cost of the workshop will be $122. (137. for non members) plus your own supplies. This odd number for the cost of the workshop includes $6. per person, per day, that we pay to the South Bend Regional Museum of Art for the use of the room. If you would like to have a supply list which will be minimal, please email gvanderhey@hotmail.com. We do have some out of town calligraphers that are interested in this workshop, so please get your deposit check for $61. to the PO Box listed in this newsletter no later than August 11, 2010. We will be working on some of the many Textures available to us just using the pencil and how to make these textures work much more effectively together in a new and fairly simple technique that Peter has developed.
Rosie Kelly – We love having Rosie do a workshop for us here in South Bend, so we are having her come again on November 13, 2010. We will be making another amazing Rosie book. Cost TBD.
Workshops in Kalamazoo – Pendragons
October 2 & 3, 2010 – Carrie Imai – cost to be announced
Artful Retreat
The Artful Retreat for next year will be held from October 17-23, 2010 in Boyne Falls, Michigan. If interested, go to www.artfulretreat.com for more information and registration form. Spend six beautiful days at Boyne Falls with other artists away from kids, dogs, phone, etc. For more information please contact Joya Helmuth on the website.
ODYSSEY
The 30th annual International Gathering of Letter Artists will be held from July 24 – July 31, 2010 at Stonehill College, Easton, Massachusetts. Those wishing to have more information, please go to www.2010CalligraphyConference.com.
Websites
At our March meeting, Erin Stamper gave us lots of good information regarding creating a website for our guild information and newsletter. We will discuss this for a couple of meetings before deciding yes or no on this subject. We will also discuss having a blog and see what that entails. Having our own website is a big monetary investment, but may mean more locals looking at joining a calligraphy group.
Upcoming Events
July 10 – Handmade book - Maureen
August 7 – Annual picnic at the home of Ginny Vander Hey – finished quote
September – No regular meeting on the first Saturday. Peter Thornton – September 11/12
October 2 – We will do some Peter Thornton practice lettering that we learned in the workshop
November 13 – Rosie Kelly – Handmade book
December 4 – Christmas get together – Maureen Trubac’s home – Christmas card exchange
Please note that some of the meetings are not on the first Saturday of the month due to holidays or workshops. Cut this part of the newsletter out and put it on your fridge.
Quote Exchange
At the March meeting, members exchanged quotes. The name that was chosen will remain a secret until the August meeting, when we will bring in a finished 8 x 10 broadside as a gift to the person whose name we chose. In return members will receive a broadside in return from whoever has their name. If you would still like to participate in this exercise, please email gvanderhey@hotmail.com. All names are chosen for right now, so we would need an even amount of names. This will be your own design and lettering preference. Have fun with it! If you do not plan on being at the August meeting, please send your piece with someone so that all involved will get their beautiful quote done by a MCG calligrapher.
Annual Membership –
If you have not yet paid your annual membership dues for the Michiana Calligraphy Guild for 2010-11, please send your check to the PO Box listed below as soon as possible. Dues are $15. per year with our fiscal year beginning in July.
August Meeting – Our annual picnic will be held at Ginny Vander Hey’s home in Elkhart on August 7. We will be exchanging our quotes and having a raffle. It will be a pot luck luncheon, so please let Ginny know what you will be bringing. Main course will be taken care of, but we need salads, fruit, dessert, etc. Meeting will begin at our usual time, 10 am, and at noon we will be having lunch. If it is a hot day, bring your bikini’s and towels, and you can take a dip in the pool.
Birthdays for July, August, & September:
Angie West - September 10
Rose Kopec - September 16
Ginny Vander Hey - September 25
Cleaning your nib in between lettering: Every once in awhile you push the pen point into a peeled potato and wipe it off, it prevents build up Sumi inks in particular can leave lots of residue on the nib. No particular kind of potato works better than others. The acid in potato helps to remove most of ink and then wipe with paper towel, in between cleaning well with water, liquid soap and windex.
Birthdays for July, August, & September:
Angie West - September 10
Rose Kopec - September 16
Ginny Vander Hey - September 25
A little tip read recently, but have yet to try:
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