Bonnie asked me to do the December 98 cover & I wanted it to be reflective of the Holidays.
To me, the holidays mean the anticipation of opening the mailbox for ... Christmas Cards!!!
Each year I carve a new angel and start production in the summer.
My rubberstamp designs are available through The Paper Garden here in San Antonio and
my stationery products through Cranes & Co.
Merry Christmas & may you have armfuls of cards each day!!!

Dawn Hauser...

Thank you to Loni Carlson and the Hospitality Committee for our usual abundance of food. We all enjoyed the treats.

Please remember our Fall Exhibit at Viva-Mini Mansions Tea Room, and be thinking about a theme for the Spring Exhibit and for the 1999-2000 calendar. Our Nominating Committee is formed, and we thank Joannie Schmitz, Jill Adams, and B. J. Nichol for volunteering to serve. Please be thinking about serving on a committee next year. It's early, but that's the best time to be making plans for the future. This Guild belongs to every member, and it functions best and stays most active when everyone takes part in its organization and activities. Thank you to all who are working for us this year, and thank you in advance to all who are now making plans to work this coming year.

As for the more immediate future, our big plans this month are for the Holiday Party. I have the honor and pleasure of inviting our members to my home, and I'm looking forward to having a terrific time. Please check the invitation (on the cover) and map (on the back cover) for details. Loni had a sign-up sheet posted at the November meeting for all who will be bringing food. If you didn't make it to the meeting, please be sure to call her and let her know what you will contribute. Some friends of mine have offered to sing for their supper, and they will provide live music in return for being allowed to share in our feast. I've heard their recording, and they're so talented that I even got the piano tuned for them! We're planning a Private Gift Sale for all of our members to participate in. This is planned to be a sale of our own work to our own members. There will be no commission to pay, no judging, nothing to intimidate any of us. We're hoping that everyone will take part for the pure fun of it. I plan to take down whatever is hanging in my house and put up our own work. I will empty the knickknacks from their glass-enclosed shelves and in their place will display cards, books, calendars, and whatever small things won't hang on the walls. Maggie will help me collect items for display and we will both be willing to receive items any time between now and party time. Please mark your work with your name and price. Feel free to call me or Maggie and we'll make arrangements to receive your work. This should be a fun thing, a chance to browse the membership's work at leisure, a chance to appreciate a friend's art, and an opportunity to find some special holiday gifts for our loved ones. No rules, no restrictions, simply a plea for all to take part. After all, if we don't exhibit for own pleasure and purchase each other's work, how can we expect the general public to appreciate our exhibits and our work? This is a chance to support our fellow calligraphers, and I hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity to do so.

We have arranged a Holiday Card exchange for the party. Please remember a card for yourself and your guest; "hide" them in an envelope. And please also bring cards and/or bookmarks to donate to the patients at the TCID and at Warm Springs. They appreciate whatever we bring them, and it's so nice to be able to brighten their holidays a bit.

I can't wait to see you all at the party. Have a happy, healthy, peaceful holiday season.

Leslie

Program

The spotlight is on food and handmade Christmas cards. If you bring a guest, be sure to make a card for them so they can participate in the exchange. See Leslie's letter for the Private Gift Sale information. And ... remember to make a bookmark or handmade card for the patients at TCID or Warm Springs -- they appreciate being remember during the holidays.

See you at Leslie's!

Leonora Yawn

Let's bring back one of our old traditions -- sharing your handmade, personally created cards with fellow Guild members. Please make an extra one so we can include it in the January newsletter. This was always one of my favorite issues in the past.

I'm dreaming of being snowed under with your wonderful Christmas cards this year! Bring with you to the December meeting or mail to me -- early December so we can get them in the January newsletter. Thanks!!!!
. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Darla Peek

Maggie Gillikin and Bonnie Houser will co-present the January Early Bird. Please bring any non-traditional surfaces upon which you have letterforms for a display for the Early Bird in January 99.

Silk Painting and Wearable Art

Fall Exhibit

Our exhibit is still up at the Viva-Mini Mansions Tea Room -- located at 8407 Broadway, just inside the Loop. Be sure you get over there sometime during the holidays to oooh and aaah over our latest exhibit. Maggie and Brixey say thanks to all of you who submitted pieces for exhibit.

Thanks for sharing your creativity with the Guild.
Of course, Maggie figured out how to make hers
into a book! You all did a great job!

Darla

Birthdays  

12/4 -- Mavis Caudill
12/5 -- Helen Rasplicka
12/11 -- Pat Price
12/18 Donna Livingston
12/19 -- Hanni "Jane" Thomas
12/20 -- Rosemarie Gonzales
12/28 -- Francene Smith
12/29 Shirley Crutchfield

I always teach my students to not strive for perfection, but vitality and life.

But you don't need to always think about whether something's going to be permanent. (Re: non-archival materials.) Don't let that get in your way. If that's going to interfere or stop you, go ahead and do it. Just know that it's something that you've done for yourself.

One of the things that I love about artist's books is that it can be so personal. One of the things I feel about a book is that it can be tucked away. (!) You know, a piece that you do for an exhibition that hangs ... I mean, it's like running naked! It's there for the whole world to see. There it is ... the whole thing ... right there. With a book, you can kinda go: let's see ... okay ... You can see this part and that's all. So it's much more private and intimate, I think. And, portable. It can be held in your hand.

...And, I'm just tearing my hair out, going, why am I doing this? Aaaaahhh I go through a lot of emotional things when I'm making books, too. Because it tears your soul out in a lot of ways. Lots and lots of ways. And, it's very therapeutic. And, I like that. But, I also hate it! It's one of those Love-Hate things. And, I think a lot of Art is that way.

Making a handmade book is like taking a two week unpaid vacation. Minimum!

Her theory: an accordion book was invented because someone sat on a scroll that someone left in a chair!!

... She wants me to do this poem ... and it's so long. If I did it as a broadside, it would be "this big" (!) and I hate doing things that big. Oh, I shouldn't say "hate", but I really dislike it. Because you have to bend over for a long time until you get down to the middle of the paper, and then you can finally sit down. And, I don't like doing long pieces on one sheet.

Hint: start on colored Canson paper!

Playing ... also helps to dissolve fear. I really do feel that it's hard to get started sometimes. You think, ok, now what do I do? Especially for a show or something.

But cards are a great way to jump start into your other work. Making cards can be a warm-up for your good work. And you're making Real Things! Edward Johnson told us to make Real Things! And, cards are perfect for that.

Donald Jackson once called calligraphy "an odd bit of pain mixed with pleasure". And, I definitely agree. It's hard stuff! But, once you get going, though, and you gain more confidence, then you have more pleasure. And one way to do it is by eliminating the pressure to succeed. Think in terms, when you're making cards, of Successful vs. Not-So-Successful.

Her scale, her different categories:

1. I could sell this card or send it to Sheila Waters, Donald Jackson, or another calligrapher.
2. I could send it to a non-calligraphy friend.
3. I could send it to my Mother or Aunt Mary Lou.
4. Is not the trash can, can I save part of it? Maybe collage part of it onto another card?
5. Is the trash can.

So, if you do this, you lighten the scale and you don't worry so much. And you KNOW that every card won't be exactly what you want. But the thing is, you learn so much. Every single one you make, you learn something from. If you focus only on the all-important "End Product", then you're more likely to have anxiety and fear. Just replace that anxiety and fear with joy and pleasure. Derive satisfaction from the possibilities and solutions.

Problems resolve themselves when you work through them. When you do it. A lot of times we try and think through a problem, but actually doing it on paper is a better resolution. And, if you're working on a 10 cent card, instead of on a $7 sheet of Roma, you're more likely to "risk" and have some happy accidents.

... And sometimes I have a hard time getting started and I don't know why. And, it's not because of fear. I don't know exactly. I just need a little push. And, cards are a great way to get started. the problem is, then, that I enjoy it so much I don't want to stop! ... :)

And, I generally don't make just one at a time! (four to five) Once you get all your papers and stuff out, it's like a snowball going down a hill. And, you do one, and you think, "Oh, on the next one I'll try such and such." And, if you have a series of them ready to go, it'll be so much easier! ... :)

MINI-WORKSHOP

1999 CALENDARS

We still have a few 1999 calendars -- "Highlights and Happenings of the Twentieth Century" - they make great Christmas gifts for all your friends who love calligraphy. Everyone needs a calendar and our calendars are a pleasure to give. They're $5 and a handy size. Please contact Thea Moore via e-mail at moore414@express-news.net to purchase copies by mail.

For those members who live out of town, yet would like to purchase calendars, the mail order prices are as follows: One is $6.50, 2 are $12.00, 3 are $18.00, 4 are $23.50, 5 are $28.50, and save even more when you buy 6 for $33.50. Please support your Guild in this project.

Hazel Tillson, '99 Calendar Chairman

Y2K Calendar Call For Entries

Please put on your thinking cap and dream up a theme, which will have a universal appeal. The Calendar committee will select for the suggested list and submit them for a vote at the January meeting. Send me your suggestions as soon as possible -- even via e-mail to Pavasa@aol.com

Pavasa, Y2K Calendar Chairman

MORE STUDIO TIPS
Submitted by Pavasa

Use PAM instead of Vaseline on threads of paint tubes to prevent the caps from sticking. -- Calligraphers Guild of Jacksonville.

To avoid that shiny look on the paper after you have used your bone folder, use a piece of bond paper between the bone folder and the fold. -- Nibs 'N' Inks

Mix gouache twenty-four hours before use to allow glycerine to evaporate. It will flow better. --Waco Calligraphy Guild

Embossing Ink Recipe: one part glycerine (available at drug stores), two parts distilled water, and one or two drops of watercolor (so you can see what you are doing!) -- Calligrafos

If you don't have a sharpening stone handy, use the striker on a book of matches for sharpening nibs. -- San Francisco Calligraphers

There is a simple test to determine if the colorant in an ink is a pigment or a dye. With an eyedropper, place three drops of ink on a saucer, tile, or any ceramic surface. Then add three drops of household bleach. This will kill the color of most dye inks rather quickly. The color of iron gall inks is tougher to kill. -- Cyberscribes

Spray Oriental rice paper with a coat of acrylic gloss medium or varnish and let dry, this will give you a snag-free surface for lettering. Capital City Scribes

Wrinkled artwork can be ironed. On your ironing board place a piece of mat board, then a piece of waxed paper, then the artwork over which you lay a sheet of clean white paper. Iron on "warm." -- Friends of the Alphabet, Atlanta

To clean your eraser, just rub it on an emery board a few times. -- Fort Worth, Texas, Guild

A rubber cement pick-up makes a perfect eraser for pencil lines on all paper surfaces, without marring. -- Friends of Calligraphy Bulletin

Tendrils from the Grape Vine

We extend our condolences to Mavis Caudill on the loss of her husband. Mavis, our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.

We wish a speedy recovery to everyone in the Guild who is under the weather or going to have surgery during the holidays -- there are several members who are planning hospital stays during the holidays. We'll be thinking of you.

From Mavis ...

How special it is to be part of such a caring group! Your cards, notes, calls and presence at my husband's funeral were of great comfort to me. I thank you from the heart for your many expressions of sympathy and friendship.

-- Houston Calligraphy Guild 12/97

(Submitted by Bonnie Houser -- she thought it might give us something to think about as we design our handmade Christmas cards.)

YE MERRIE OLDE CHRISTMASSE

This is what the Victorians like to call it. All this information can be found in George Buday's book The History of the Christmas Card, published in 1954 and available through the Houston Public Library. The subject should be of interest to calligraphers as we are fond of making our own cards. There are many excellent illustrations including many in colour, (the book was published in England), and seems to be the only reference of its type.

"The first Christmas card as we know it, was produced in 1843." It was designed by John Horseley, A Royal Academician, at the request of Sir Henry Cole, who later was associated with the foundation of the Albert and Victoria Museum. By 1880, the Christmas season correspondence increased to 11 1/2 million pieces of mail. Holiday cards became big business and greatly increased postal revenues. The first card was 5 1/8" x 3 1/4" and contained a main panel that showed a family party in progress, including three generations, in true Victorian fashion. The two side panels represented the spirit of Christ Charity. Some famous names associated with early cards are Crowquill, Walter Crane and Kate Greenaway.

Many early cards featured a most unusual subject, a dead robin lying on his back. It is hard for us to understand this theme today, but there is a story behind the poor bird. It was the custom on St. Stephens Day, December 26, to kill a wren or robin then carry it through the village on a pole. Villagers who obtained a feather were supposed to have good luck throughout the coming year.

Other card themes including the traditional holly, ivy, mistletoe, and Father Christmas. "All of these in a cold and dark late December announce the coming end of snow and sleet, and winter winds, and the awakening of the most ancient and most-loved Sleeping Beauty of mankind, Nature." A sentiment on one of these cards reads,

"Christmas is come, and in every home,
To summer our hearts can turn it."

Later cards followed events in history. Travel was featured in "coaching cards", a popular theme even today. This strongly shows the Victorian's longing for the holiday at home and all the "jollification's of the season". More advanced modes of travel cards showed balloons, bicycles, railways, ships, the auto car, and finally, the aeroplane. It is interesting to note that an American card of WWI vintage carried the Christmas kiss of the sender to the fronts over the seas. There was a space for the kiss, prepared with gum coating so that one's lips could be impressed; the sentiment read:

"For Uncle Sam you're fighting
And it makes me love you so
That I send a kiss in the space above
To take wherever you Go!

You may have noticed that religion has not been mentioned. Victorians were most religion-conscious, but the explanation may be that the Christmas card from its beginning was more closely associated in the minds of the senders with the social aspect of the holiday. All are familiar with the criticisms of the use of X-MAS. It is considered an irreverent modern abbreviation. We should be reminded that the early fathers of the church used X for Christ.

Louis Prang is the father of the American Christmas card. His production of cards, dating from the 1770's became the turning point in the history of the Christmas card. Prang's plant in a suburb of Boston, "not only established a line of trade which grew into the tremendous American greeting card industry of today, but led to the creation of a market and an extension of the custom on such a world-wide scale that it now can be described as universal."

This book is a true treasure, well researched, indexed, contains a bibliography, a list of artists and designers, sentiment writers and publishers. I have only touched on all of the information that it contains. Better check it out now before it is withdrawn from circulation!

. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . .. ... . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . Marcia

Spring Exhibit Themes

Please remember that we will be voting on the theme for our Spring Show at the January meeting -- so consider the following possibilities:

The Future
Letters for a Thousand Years
ABC to XYZ
Scribes' Delight
Angelic Expressions
Heart Strings

Telephone Chain Special Request

  The Telephone Chain has a special request -- if you have e-mail and you would prefer to be notified of Telephone Chain messages via e-mail -- let Mavis and Thea know. If you want to notify Thea via e-mail, her e-mail address is moore414@express-news.net . Keep in mind that if you change from being contacted via phone to e-mail, you have to check your e-mail on a regular basis or you won't be on top of Guild news.

Mavis Caudill  

Membership Notes
from Mary and Jo

We currently have 107 members. Our Guild keeps growing. See new members information below to update your directory.

Mary Byrd (Don)
Laura Heye (Gustave)
Jan Karney (David)

Mary Bowman & Jo Drake