May 2001

MMO

What a banner month this has been! Our mini-workshop featured Fritzi Harry from Houston - she always lives up to prior billing -- it was just great! -- we learned nifty ways to tweak the ABC's -- maybe we mig.., - use one of those alphabets in carving stamps with Shirley Ginn at our upcoming mini-workshop!

The MAIN EVENT was just magic! -- Our 25th Birthday Bash! It was FANTASTIC! The parking lot spaces were at a real premium..., the members! I stopped counting at 55! and all the hugs from "oldies but goldies" that we hadn't seen in soooo long -- and people who had just been names from the past now have faces to go with those names! Thanks to all who urged them to come! Out scrapbooks were on display -- what treasures they are of our history -- thanks go to Pauline Sager for maintaining and updating them so well. Wolrks from members through the years were also displayed on 5 long tables -- a true feast for the eyes! And the tables were all beautifully decorated, thanks to Pam Thomas and Sandra Reyna. Sandra also did all the floral pieces that became door prizes along with a "Flourishes" CD-Rom from Frank Rippel and a Xyron Machine from Denise Adler. Can you imagine those goodies for DOR PRIZES!!?!!

We actually did hold a business meeting during all the fun -- voted for the Paul Freeman Awards -- handed in our Secret Pal 2000 forms - REMEMBER - April 30th is the absolute deadline to get those forms to Francene Smith. We also paid our dues -- no April Fool -- they are due now for our coming year -- so pay up to Jill Adams, so we can all play together in our 26th year! Thea Moore also showed us a neat website with calligraphers in mind -- it looked very interesting, even to this non-user of computers -- see article in this newsletter.

And then we ATE! The cake was heavenly -- thanks go to Janice Anabtawi and the legion of volunteers for our wonderful spread -- I gained at least a pound! We visited with each other and then the BAG LADIES appeared! Incredible goodie bags were decorated and chuck full ( I mean full) of the best stuff! Kudos to Sylvia Stanley and the generous volunteers who supplied those marvelous treasures. An Express-News reporter came to our bash and I hope she got a small taste of not only the great food, but also of the enduring flavor of our Guild ... keep you posted on the forthcoming article!

And we had it as good as it gets -- with our juried 25th anniversary exhibition opening reception the very next night -- 44 pieces strong -- 11 merit awards, as well as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. It is a dynamite show -- thanks to our pieces being so beautifully displayed at Ventana Gallery. Applause is in order for Joanne Pacelli, who hung the show so deftly and presided so gracefully over the reception as well. Thanks also to our juror, Sharon Zeugin -- it's so gratifying to have someone of her caliber as a juror.

As this month of April progresses, I'll go to Washington D.C., go to museums galore, get way behind on the Reggie homework, while still basking in the warmth of our very special SACG April 2001!

Maggie

Early Bird

Suminagashi

Suminagashi is the ancient art of Japanese marbling. And if you like this month’s cover, you’ll want to see how it’s done. Leslie Winakur will demonstrate how she made the covers, and she’ll bring enough paper and supplies for all to try their hand at it.

Secret Pal 2001
Francene Smith will be handing out the completed forms with our Secret pal assignment for the summer. So be sure to come and find out who will be the recipient of your artistic efforts this year.

Program

Transferring Images
Do you sometimes wish you could integrate a photo, letter, word, passage, or drawing into a piece of artwork? Do you ever want to use a particular image on a surface other than paper? Come to the May Guild meeting to see demonstrations or examples of methods of transferring images onto paper as well as other non-traditional surfaces. This program will widen your repertoire for bringing images into your art.

The Nominating Committee is happy to present the following slate:

Pres. – Maggie Gillikin
VP – Shirley Ginn
Secy. – BJ Nichol
Treas. – Karen Veni
Members at Large - Sally Gooze, Jill Adams, Janice Anabtawi, Joan Schmitz, Beverly Carter

Be sure to come and cast your vote. Installation of officers will be at the June Potluck Dinner.

Paul Freeman Awards are here. We voted at the April meeting and the awards will be presented at the May meeting. Our guild is blessed with many dedicated workers. The nomination itself is a confirmation of our appreciation. Shirley Ginn, chair of the Awards and Memorials Committee, will present a brief history of Paul Freeman and his association with our guild. And she has a surprise for us. Don’t miss this special event.

Thanks so much to the Door Prize Committee for the very special things presented at the Anniversary Party, and an extra special thank you to Frank Rippel and Denise Adler for the CD of Flourishes and for the mini-Xyron. What fantastic prizes. And another special thank you to Sandra Reyna and Pam Thomas for the center pieces and floral works.

Calendar 2002 is in the works. The May meeting is the due date for art work, so be sure to bring it to Darla Peek this month.

We are especially grateful to Frank Rippel for making us two great CD’s: One of all the Flourishes issues that have been on the web site, and one of the 26 Letter Poster. He has volunteered his time and expertise to us time and again. The CD’s will be available for sale in the near future and at the national calligraphy conference this summer in Boston. Profits will go to the Guild.

Starting this fall, our new members will receive a packet containing membership info, a bookmark, pen holder, nib, directory, transportation and meeting place info, and old newsletters. If you have anything you can contribute, please contact Maggie Gillikin.

Douglas Boyd announces the First Annual Underground Calligraphy Extravaganza to be held in Creede, Colorado, a small town nestled in the San Juan range of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 8852 feet. This event will take place July 29 – August 5, 2001. Contact Douglas at 619-265-9095. The full flyer will be posted at the May meeting.

Spring Exhibit News

Our Spring Exhibit opening was a wonderful affair. In her first year as chairperson, Joanne Pacelli did a fantastic job of coordinating and hanging the show. Sharon Zeugin of Austin was our much appreciated juror. Joan Schmitz did a great job on the invitation.

First prize went to Bonnie Houser, Second Prize to Maggie Gillikin, Third Prize to Leslie Winakur, and eleven Merit Awards went to Bill Waddington, Pauline Sager, Mary Bowman, Janice Anabtawi, Laura Heye, Karen Veni (2), Bonnie Houser (2), Joan Schmitz, and Cheri Wolf. Contributing members include Dolores Schultz, Riad Anabtawi, Eleanor Russell, Barbara Gere, Kaye Yarbrough, Shawn Behrens, Linda Behrens, and Joanne Pacelli. Congratulations to all! What a great anniversary show!.

Thank you to all who furnished refreshments, including Helen Rasplicka, Karen Veni, Shirley Ginn, Sally Gooze, Sylvia Stanley, Pauline Sager, Jill Adams, Janice Anabtawi, Leslie Winakur, Bonnie Houser, Camille Storment, Maggie Gillikin, Joanne Pacelli, Bill Waddington, and Laura Heye. And a special thank you to Joan Wheelus, manager of the Ventana Gallery, for making such a pleasant venue available to us.

The exhibit will hang until May 7, at Ventana Gallery on Broadway.

The Silver Celebration

Our Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration was more than we ever could have imagined. We hardly even know where to begin thanking all those who contributed to its success.

Sylvia Stanley coordinated the committee of “bag ladies.” The bag decorators were Nancy McHugh, Joanne Pacelli, Camille Storment, Jill Adams, BJ Nichol, Karen Veni, Loni Carlson, and Pam Braha and her kids. The goodies themselves were contributed by a large group. Bookmarks came from Helen Rasplicka, Rosemarie Siebenhausen, Kaye Yarbrough, and BJ Grant. Cards were made by Janice Anabtawi, Frank Rippel, and Francene Smith. Decorative paper and collage items came courtesy of Nena Richardson, Karen Veni, BJ Nichol, and Francene Smith. (FYI, Nena used Hahnemuhle Schiller paper, painted with watercolors mixed with Pearl-X mica powders and topped with silver spray webbing by Krylon.) Camille Storment contributed the lovely postage stamps. Leonora Yawn, Sylvia Stanley, Laura Heye, and BJ Grant contributed the delicious candies. Beverly Carter made the origami birds, Leonora Yawn made the marbled paper pencils, and Bonnie Houser made the decorated clips.

Refreshments were provided by Joan Schmitz, Mary Bowman, Jo Drake, Nena Richardson, Stephanie Sisley, Shawn and Linda Behrens, Joanne Pacelli, and BJ Nichol.

What a treat to see so many members at one time, and to see their work on display.

Happy 25th Anniversary

WORKSHOP NEWS

Niki Bonnett will be here in May. This is a long awaited workshop. Contact Jill Adams if you still wish to sign up. There were a few places open as of the April meeting.

Save the date for Timothy Botts. He will be coming on October 6, 2001, for a one-day Saturday workshop (we’re not sure what he will be teaching) and possibly for a lecture the evening before. The workshop committee will not sign anyone up until September, and there will probably be a mail-in sign up, with first come-first serve based on postmark. Also save the date for Carol Pallesen’s Modern Day Book of Hours workshop on April 6-7, 2002, and for Marsha Brady’s collage book and foundational the first weekend of September, October, and November, 2002.

NIAGARA CALLIGRAPHY RESOURCE CENTER

http://www.vaxxine.com/mikwit/

Thea Moore found us a fantastic web site for those who have no tolerance for drawing lines, especially the lines that aren’t straight! This web site is share ware, which means that you may use it for 30 days at no charge, and after that time you may decide whether or not to pay for the service.

The program will draw lines for you based on whatever brand nib you use, the nib size, the slant, and the pen angle. It draws lines in circles, spirals, curves, and straight shapes. The lines provide not just a shape, but within that shape, the x-height, the ascender and descender heights, and the capital heights, along with interlinear spacing. This program even includes a history of the alphabet and calligraphy lessons!

Thea has worked with this program for some time now and has figured out all of its idiosyncracies. She will be happy to help you learn to use it, so feel free to call her at any time.

The Saint John’s Bible

At a small scriptorium near Monmouth, Wales, calligraphers are applying medieval arts to create the 21st century Saint John’s Bible.

This is the first Bible to be written and illustrated entirely by hand since the invention of movable type more than 500 years ago.

The calligraphers’ concentration is so intense that the only sounds in the room are the sharp scratching of quills against vellum and an occasional soft intake of breath. Worktables hold the tools of the trade: small piles of gold leaf, brushes to apply it, blunt hematite burnishers to polish it, jars filled with quills, bottles of soot-black ink, small tines of brilliant hues.

Plans for this Bible began shortly before Christmas, 1995, when Brother Dietrich Reinhart, President of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, and Father Eric Hollas, director of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library there, discussed Donald Jackson’s desire to handwrite and illuminate a Bible with the support of the University. Donald Jackson is the longtime scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Office at the House of Lords, and he is considered one of the leading calligraphers in the Western world. The Minnesota abbey and university were founded by Benedictine monks, and the Benedictine tradition of copying and preserving manuscripts since their inception by Saint Benedict in Italy in 529 AD made them the likely people to support and house such a project. By 1998, financial support for the Bible was finally available and the project was actually begun. For those interested in contributing, sponsorship information is available at the official project website, www.saintjohnsbible.org , where progress on the project can also be monitored.

“Though this is obviously a Christian Bible,” state Father Michael Patella, chair of the Committee on Illuminations and Text, “we wanted to create a work of art that would appeal to people of faith the world over.” His committee selected the new Revised Standard Version, for its contemporary translation, gender-inclusive language and wide use by Catholics and Protestants. Illuminations and marginalia – decorations added in the margins, as was done in medieval manuscripts – would reflect current times. “Though we are using medieval methods, we are not creating a medieval book, says Father Columba Stewart, who oversees the St. John’s rare book collection. To anchor the Bible at its Minnesota roots, the monks and assistants gathered and photographed flora and fauna from the 2400 acre campus to send to the scriptorium in Wales. Thus the Bible may include colorful drawings of prairie grass, acorns, jack-in-the-pulpits, squirrels, sandhill cranes, and even the mosquito. “Think of the scientific and technological changes that have occurred since the bible was last handwritten and illuminated,” marvels Jackson. “No one knew then about evolution, DNA, spaceflight or black holes. Certainly no one could imagine viewing an earthrise from the moon. They thought the world was flat. There’s so much for our imagination to play with in what we include, to make this a Bible that will give future generations an idea of what life was like in our time.

“Because English is more staccato than Latin, its shorter words create a choppy effect,” says Jackson. To compensate, and to make sure the calligraphy could hold its own against illuminations and decorations, Jackson designed his own hand, a work of art in itself, beautiful to behold and easy to read.

If several calligraphers were to be trained by and work simultaneously with Jackson, which was the only way the Bible could be completed in a timely manner, they had to have a precise format to follow. They needed a word-by-word, line-by-line template of each volume, including spaces where the illuminations would go. Only then could one scribe begin working on one page while another worked on a different page, each knowing how many letters and words to fit onto each line and where to leave the proper space for the illuminations that are to be added later. This was accomplished with the aid of Vin Godier, a computer expert who found a font close in size and style to Jackson’s script, and then produced a computer generated layout of each book and volume, fitting the text into the allotted 1150 pages while leaving space for the illuminations. He prints the pages, sends them to be proof-read by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in Atlanta, then gives the copies to the scribes for copying. A team of scribes works on the Bible on a daily basis. Donald Jackson himself wrote his first words on March 8, 2000.

The last word will be a simple Amen.

May 2001 Flourishes' Web Page is proudly sponsored by
Sandee's Sewing Shop in Seguin, TX USA - whose web site is:
http://www.axs4u.net/home/riptron

May Birthdays