Mini Workshop
Thursday, March 15, 2007, 7-9 PM, usual meeting room
A Simple Approach to Celtic Knots

Leslie Winakur

Celtic knots are some of my favorite images, especially since I found a book with instructions that were simple enough for me to follow them! We will make some simple knot panels in this class, and, if time permits, we’ll try some borders and animals as well.

Supply list:
   
Pencil
Eraser
Colored pencils, 3-4 contrasting colors
Gel pens and/or Pigma micron markers, 05, or equivalent in any other brand, black and one or two other contrasting colors
I will bring paper

Thank you to our Hospitality team for February. Bonnie Houser, Helen Rasplicka, Nancy McHugh, Kaye Yarbrough, Bill Waddington, and Jill Adams provided our Valentine’s treats.

Class News

Joan Schmitz is still teaching at Michaels, even though they are moving to the Rim. Her next 2 classes are still at the old store on NW Military, but the time has changed: sign up for her classes at Michaels, the last 2 Mondays in February, the 19th and 26th, from 4-6 PM. The class is on Italic.

Creative Arts Competition

Constance LaMarche will show her work in the Art Show at the Audie Murphy Veterans Hospital, 7400 Merton Minter Blvd., in the Recreation Center (B101) on Friday, February 23, from 11 AM to 1 PM. The VA Art Competition and Show provide our veterans with an opportunity to be acknowledged for their artistic talents and skills. Local first place entries in each art category will have the opportunity to compete in the 2007 National Art competition.
 

Thank you so much to Lynn Rothe for volunteering to be our interim Library Coordinator. If you have any questions about the Library please feel free to contact Lynn. Remember to look at those 10 boxes at each meeting, and check out the books that interest you.

The library received gifts from two members this month.
Edith Asher donated a photo and short history of a set of iron gates in London. The design, by Alan Fletcher, is elongated letters inspired by catalogs of condensed wood typefaces. The gates split between the M and N, so half of the alphabet is on each side. It’s quite interesting, so if you didn’t see it at the meeting, find it in the library.
 

Thank you to our most recent Door Prize donors: Rudy Gonzalez, Anita Hyman, Nancy Meier, Dolores Schultz, Sylvia Stanley, Bill Waddington, and Kaye Yarbrough. The lucky recipients were: Betty Lou Jordan, Lynn Rothe, Cheior Wolf, Kaye Yarbrough, Loni Carlson, Jaimee Lavin, and Joan Schmitz.

Membership dues are due!!!!

Your check for $24 payable to SACG is due April 1. Give or send your check to Angie Chaos-Peters (401 Holland, #132, SAT, 78212). You must complete a form to accompany your check, even if none of your info has changed.
 

Hanni Jane Thomas has been ill and would love to hear from her friends in the guild. She had a kidney transplant in December and has become diabetic. She welcomes our prayers and good thoughts.

The Secret Pal Committee has
our information forms for us! These are usually a fabulous and creative work of art and a surprise, so be sure to pick yours up at the March meeting.

Keith Cheshire has graciously given four books to our library.
100 Keys to Great Calligraphy, by Judy Kastin
Lettering, by Harry B. Wright
Calligraphy in the Copperplate Style, by Herb Kaufman and Geri Homelsky
The Speedball Textbook, A Comprehensive Guide to Pen and Brush Lettering, 22nd Edition

These books will be available to be checked out as soon as they are assigned to the correct boxes.
Thank you Edith and Keith for your generous contributions to our ever expanding library.
 

March 07

1  Linda Behrens

5   Eleanor Ruswsell

9  Bill Waddington

11   Lucy Dalkowitz

18  Janice Anabtawi

18  Bonnie Davis

MAJOR WORKSHOP

The San Antonio Calligraphers’ Guild is pleased to present
PETER THORNTON
May 4, 5, 6, 2007

Peter Thornton has been a full time professional calligrapher since 1969. He has taught throughout the US, for a large number of guilds and for many International Conferences. He has also taught in Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Europe over the past 30 years, and has recently moved to the US from England. Peter is a fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society, which is based in London and promotes the study, practice and teaching of calligraphy in all forms. Peter will join us during the first week of May to present our evening program on Thursday May 3, and he will then teach two separate classes, one on Friday, May 4, and the other on Saturday and Sunday, May 5-6.

Modern and Built Up Capitals
Friday, May 4, 2007, 9 AM-4:30 PM, at Christ Episcopal Church
Fee: $40.
We will spend one day concentrating on the creation of modern and built up capitals as seen in this example which Peter lettered with bleedproof white on walnut ink. There will be an optional homework assignment to be done prior to class. Peter will evaluate the lettering in the assignment and then give each student individual advice on how to improve his or her lettering.
Peter Thornton
The Adolf Bernd Painted Letters
Saturday and Sunday, May 5-6, 2007, 9-4:30, at Discovery School
Fee: $80.
Peter Thornton has co-curated a little gem of a book that showcases the painted letters of Adolf Bernd, who created these letters from approximately 1971 (when he was 61 years old) until his death in 1994. Peter worked with the Bernd family to make certain that the beauty of these letters would be known and appreciated in the future. We will work with Peter to begin to develop an appreciation of the letters by creating our own letters in the style of Adolf Bernd. The book Adolf BERND, The painted letters of Adolf Bernd, is available for purchase from John Neal Bookseller. It is a lovely volume and will be an inspiration to all who take this class, and many others as well.

Supply lists: to be announced.
Sign-up for these classes will begin at the March meeting. Checks should be payable to
SACG and should be given to Jill Adams at the meeting.

PAUL FREEMAN AWARD NOMINEES:

Jill Adams
Jill has been a faithful member of the guild for many years and this year she serves as treasurer by keeping our books in order. She is the liaison between the guild and her church in making arrangements for our meetings and workshops. She continues her spot on the major workshop committee and is often called upon to proof read the directory prior to publication. She was co-chair of the 30th Anniversary celebration last year and has agreed to co-chair the Spring Show this year, including checking in art work to be shown and helping with the hanging of same. She is nominated for her work in the years past and this last year in particular. Thanks for all you do, Jill.

Lenora Jordan
As one of the guild’s greeters, Lenora and her smiling face is one of the first ones we all see as we arrive for our meetings. She helps in finding our name tags and is diligent in reclaiming and storing them at the end of the meetings. She has practiced her calligraphy enough that she is now lettering the name tags for our new members. For our 30th Anniversary celebration, she helped create, make and distribute the rose bookmarks that all the members received. Lenora has volunteered to adopt a library cart this year and is always willing to help when and where she is needed. When attending a workshop or Saturday Special, she always arrives with fruits and treats for all. Thank you, Lenora, for having such a giving attitude.

Carol Keith
This year Carol is serving as one of the guild’s Hospitality chairs. This includes storing supplies for refreshments, transporting them to and from all the meetings, providing the drinks for all our meetings, cleaning up afterward, planning and making decorations for our pot luck dinners, keeping track of who has signed up for refreshments each month, and notifying those individuals each month as a friendly reminder. She is also responsible for one of the library boxes, which has to be taken to and from the meetings. Carol cheerfully carries out these duties and offers to help in many other ways. Thanks to Carol for her generosity in taking on these responsibilities and for doing them all so well.

Becky Hughes
Even though Becky has not been a guild member for very long, she has been active from the very beginning. This past year, she quietly volunteered to help with many things including hospitality, making decorations for pot luck dinners, clean-up after meetings and workshops and anything else that needed doing. She is now serving as the guild Secretary which includes writing minutes for the general meetings and the board meetings, keeping all this information archived, and writing and sending out cards and correspondence. Becky’s willingness to serve, her gentle manner and ready smile make her an asset to our guild.

Lynn Rothe
Lynn is serving as Vice President of the SACG this year and is the Awards and Memorials chair. She cheerfully acted as assistant membership chair when the regular chair was out of town. She has volunteered to serve as library coordinator, as well as any other job needing a volunteer. As the liaison between the guild and the Battered Womens Shelter, Lynn collects, stores and delivers all of our donations. This past year, those of us who attended the Reggie class in Austin were delighted to find that Lynn’s SUV held all four of us, plus our supplies, and many months, the food we took for lunch and dinner. For the workshops and Saturday Specials that she attends, Lynn always makes sure that there is enough lunch for everyone.

Dolores Schultz
Dolores has been a member of the SACG for a long time but has just moved to San Antonio this year. In spite of being busy getting settled in her new home, and learning her way around the city, Dolores stepped up immediately and has been an active and involved member of the guild. She is Programs co-chair and has done an outstanding job in the capacity. She is presenting a wonderful retrospective of her work. She has taught programs and mini workshops and has volunteered to be a mentor. Dolores has been a tremendous boon to our guild and we are so lucky that Houston’s loss has been our gain.

Pam Thomas
As President of the SACG, Pam chairs all our general and board meetings, and is doing an outstanding job. She is the “go-to and/or decision” person on many matters needing attention and uses good judgment in keeping the best interest of the guild in mind. She is always available when a job needs to be done or a volunteer is needed. Pam has been very active in the guild for many years, up front and behind the scenes, and makes her home available for meetings and get-togethers. When the library was divided up, she was one of the first to adopt a box and that box is still in her care, which she takes to the meetings every month. She shares her culinary skills with us by providing food for workshops and meetings. Pam is always cheerful and full of energy and very willing to share her supplies and talents with those around her. We are lucky that she is in our guild.

Leslie Winakur
Leslie is a force behind many things about the SACG. She quietly has served as workshop chair person, newsletter editor, and this year agreed to be the directory chair. She has given programs, workshops and classes. Officially and unofficially, she has mentored many of us in the guild through her teachings, her guidance and her unwavering support. More than once, she has received late night phone calls from members needing her advice and encouragement. She also helps make the gifts that the Paul Freeman Award nominees receive every year. Leslie’s enthusiastic response to every request is always a pleasure. For all these reasons and many more, she is truly an inspiration and our guild is blessed to have Leslie as a member.
****
The Paul Freeman Awards, “ABCdarian” and the “New Spencerian” framed works are presented each year to members voted by the membership as dedicated members who have contributed the most effort to benefit the Guild during the past year. Award winners may hang the framed works of art for one year.

Nominations are now due for the 2007 awards. Nominations are due no later than the February SACG meeting. Nominations will appear in the March Flourishes as well as the April Flourishes and will be announced at the March SACG meeting. Balloting will take place at the April SACG meeting and awards will be presented at the May SACG meeting.

The nomination form is in this issue of Flourishes. Forms will also be available at the January SACG meeting. Please return the completed nomination forms to:

Lynn Rothe
8775 Tradewind
San Antonio, TX 78239

lrothe@satx.rr.co

WORKSHOP   REVIEWS

SATURDAY SPECIAL
Maria Kutcher
Our January 13, 2007 Saturday Special with Pauline Sager was lots of fun. First part of class we dipped folded paper in color (food coloring) which turned out beautiful patterns when unfolded. Second part was full of flowers and beautiful designs with our special Staedtler-Mars 3000 markers. Tons of ideas especially for borders and envelopes. Pauline’s demonstrations made everything seem simple and fun. Being a beginner with the Calligraphy guild I did not know what to expect: everyone was friendly and helpful. I had a great time and look forward to more workshops.

SECOND TIME AROUND
Mary Bumstead
Have you ever seen a movie a second time? Have you read a book more than once? Did you discover something you missed the first time around? Try a calligraphy class a second time.
I had the joy of taking Pauline's "Fantasy Flower" class again this year. The first time I took the class, about five or six years ago, I was a very new member in the guild. I fell in love with the flowers and have used them many times through the years. Why would I want to take the course again from the same teacher?
Carol Keith, a good friend of mine, wanted to take the course so why not join her. I was sure I would learn something new and I did. Pauline has added some new techniques to make the flowers  appear more like water colors, pop ups giving a 3-D effect, and examples of cards on different papers. With notes from the first class I was able to see how I needed to loosen the hand and make the flowers more graceful. The teacher brought five years of new ideas and I brought five years of practice and you could see we both learned a lot!
 

COLOR AND DESIGN WEEKEND

Kaye Yarbrough

The Major Workshop on color conducted by Maggie Gillikin and Leslie Winakur this month was a very enlightening experience to both seasoned watercolorists and novice painters.  Lettering was not stressed although we had wonderful examples in our hand out.  The classes dealt with color and design.

We started out with the primary colors and learned how to gray, shade, blend rough edges, bloom and charge.  Our pallet of the basics was Aureolin Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, Winsor Blue (green shade), Ultramarine Blue, Winsor Blue (blue shade), Indian red, and Light Red.  We made a chart by mixing each color with every other color and having a good example of 42 shades and how we arrived at the shades.  We were provided with a graying scale of 1 to 8 as a handy reference of determining shades.  We were also provided with a small mat to frame and isolate parts of our painting.  We experimented with wet on dry, dry on dry, dry on wet.  We also were given a mat filled with red acetate with which to view color work in determining value.  We divided a roughly 5 by 8 inch piece of cold press 90 LB paper into 12 random sections.  We then used our samples we had made to fill in the spaces paying particular attention to light and dark, graying with opposite hues, blooming and charging.  Leslie took photos of these ran them through her computer and printed us each a color copy of the group.  How beautiful they are all together and apart.

The second day we reviewed the principles of design which dealt with contrast, rhythm, repetition, gradation, balance, dominance and unity.  We were shown pictures illustrating these various principles.  We also learned about the Elements of design concerning lines, shape, value, color, movement, size and pattern.  Again we were shown pictures and layouts dealing with these elements.  This helped us to understand.  We were shown Design Organization and given the classic examples of cruciform, tic-tac-toe, ribbon, grid, and box in a box.  We were shown how contrast in providing a center of interest was important.  I remembered from years back Alan Furber stressing one main center of interest in each piece of work and this helped reinforce that in my mind.  We then constructed accordion books with 6 pages by tearing up our watercolor paper, folding it and uniting the two pieces.  On each page we had an assignment.  These consisted of cruciform, tic-tac-toe, ribboning with collage and weaving, box within a box, and a fun page of grid.  We made the grid by writing quickly in longhand some meaningful statement. We then turned the paper at an angle and wrote the piece over and over again. Surprisingly this is a very even attractive grid.  I said this looks like a black and white Jackson Pollack!  We then filled in what ever spaces we desired with the colors we had used on the previous pages.  Our last page was a colophon.  We glued the front and last page into the covered book boards and attached the ribbon with which to tied and close it.  We were given two extra boards and shown how to cover them correctly for our next book!! 

It was a fun relaxing 2 days and we are all left with a better understanding of some color and design basics.  Leslie and Maggie are very good, patient teachers and know their subject very well.

A REQUEST FOR CALLIGRAPHY INSTRUCTION

The high school GT teachers are planning a seminar for GT students to take place April 5, and we are looking for a person to present a hands-on session on calligraphy. The students attending would be motivated gifted and talented high school students, probably groups of 15-20.
Our district can supply pens, paper, etc.

There will be three repeating sessions during the day starting around9:30 a.m. the morning of April 5 and ending by 2:00 that day. Our GT department provides lunch for all presenters, but we cannot afford to pay for a presenter.

Can you let me know if you interested in this opportunity or if you know of someone else who might enjoy presenting? You can reach me at this e-mail address or you can call my work number
which is below. My home # is 680-3524 - - you are welcome to call anytime, but I am usually at the school until 7 or 8 p.m. each day.

Elaine Asbell, GT Specialist
John Jay High School / Science Academy
GT Enrichment Center, A208
elaineasbell@nisd.net
(210) 397-2832 Phone
(210) 678-2140 Fax / phone

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