Our calendar sales are going very well, and we're well in the black with nearly two thirds sold already. So, if you haven't gotten your calendar yet, you'd better hurry. It's very well done and is very popular this year. And we also had the unveiling of the new fundraiser - the eight-pocket folder filled with six note cards. This was a limited edition of 100 acrylic painted folders, and about 75 sold at the October meeting. What a great opening run! Thank you to Jill Adams and all who took part in creating this showstopper. We all look forward to the next project.

Thank you to Karen Veni for a wonderful Early Bird program again, and to Karen, Laura Heye, Bev Carter, Denise Adler, Judi Hays, and Francene Smith for a whirlwind round robin program that produced some beautiful cards and taught everyone some new techniques. We voted on the Secret Pal program options, and the traditional 3- month summer arrangement was the winner. I understand that the Secret Pal Committee is already making plans for next summer, so be saving those ideas all year long.

Thank you once again to Janice Anabtawi and the Hospitality crew. We tried an experiment and served food early - around 6:15 or so, to give the earlier arrivals time to eat and to try to avoid some of the traffic jam around the table at the break. Hopefully this will give more people a chance to snack and provide a little extra time for socializing at the break as well. We'll try this for a few months and see if it works as well as we hope.

Please remember that we have the proofs of the photos of the Spring Exhibit. If you would like a print of anything, let me know and I will get the message to the photographer. And speaking of photographs, Mavis Caudill has been kind enough to keep a photo directory of our members that needs updating. So if you're new or if you just don't like your old photo, please let Mavis know, and please take advantage of this directory. It's a great way to figure out who's who, especially when some of us forget our nametags (which I am regularly guilty of).

One of our biggest news items is the proposed plan for a "26 Letters" project, conceived by Jill Adams, Darla Peek, Bonnie Houser, B.J. Grant, and Maggie Gillikin, and announced by Maggie and Bonnie. The proposal is to use the 26 letters as a newsletter cover, a Spring Exhibit theme, and the basis for one or more fundraisers, in the form of small books and Jacob's ladders. The Board was so excited when this idea was proposed, because it would allow us to accomplish so many things with one project and it would be such a lovely way to display the versatility of the alphabet. There will be a vote at the next meeting to cement the exhibit theme, so as to allow everything to coordinate. Please come and voice your opinion and plan to take part in some aspect of this undertaking. It promises to be interesting, exciting, and lots of fun.

Our other big news is that we did get enough deposits for the Reggie Ezell year-long workshop in 2001, our 25th anniversary year. It will be a privilege to host Reggie and we're all looking forward to the experience, even though it's still so far off in the future. Thank you so much to Joan Schmitz for having the foresight to plan this event.

In spite of all the fun, there are always friends we're worried about. Our best wishes to Bonnie Houser for a complete recovery from her surgery and treatment, and our best wishes to B.J. Nichol for a speedy recovery from surgery as well. Thank you again to all who are working so hard to make our Guild such a success. See you in November,

.................................................................................................Leslie

Early Bird

We begin at 6:30 p.m. -- Susan Oaks, fiber artist, will display her woven vessels. Ms. Oaks has a vast background of art experiences. She has exhibited her work locally in numerous solo exhibitions including the Blue Star Art Complex; her work has been displayed nationally and internationally as well. She has taught art classes at Winston School, TMI, San Antonio Art Institute, McNay Art Museum, and Southwest Craft Center. She has conducted numerous workshops and has received acclaim in many publications.

Meaning Behind Art:
Fiber and Collage

Susan Oaks presents the monthly program; she will entertain guild members with a discussion and slide presentation of collage and woven vessels, which she has created. Susan will discuss design elements in art as well as the meaning behind her artistic creations. She places importance on increasing personal understanding and exploring self-awareness through art.

Plan to attend this hour-long journey which will be stimulating for self-exploration in your work as a calligrapher!

MINI-WORKSHOP

Celtic Knots

(a no-fail 5-minute method)
with

Leslie Winakur

Thursday, November 18th

Warm Springs Baptist Rehabilitation Hospital

5101 Medical Drive

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

$5 for members, $6 for non-members

Well, maybe a little longer than 5 minutes, but not much. I will supply paper, pencils, etc. You will supply infinite knot possibilities. Everyone is guaranteed to draw at least one pretty knot and to have a lot of fun in the process.

Mini-Workshops

There are a few openings, sign up with Gayle Venticinque. If you need to cancel, let Gayle know so she can contact someone to fill your slot.

Membership News

Andi Eggers joined the Guild at our October meeting. Renewing their memberships were Rosemarie Gonzalez and Betty Caffey. Our Guild membership now stands at 106.

Additional copies of the directory are $2.00 each if you would like to have an extra.

Jill Adams, Membership Chairperson

November Birthdays

11/1/99 -- Jo Drake

11/8 Donna Rusher

11/14 Andi Eggers (new member)

11/15 Pauline Sager

11/16 Bonnie Houser

11/30 Darla Peek

Secret Pals Summer 2000,

Secret Pals 2000, or both?

The winner is . . .

At the October meeting, we voted to continue with Traditional Secret Pals this year. The final tally:

22 for Traditional
5 for Secret Pal 2000
7 for Both

The votes were tabulated and confirmed by Vicki Belcher of the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

We look forward to the Secret Pal Program from Karen Veni and her team next spring.

Thinking of Members

Our thoughts and prayers are with B. J. Nichol; we wish her a successful surgery. Bonnie Houser is also on our mind as she begins radiation treatments at the end of October. In case you haven't heard the good news, Maggie Gillikin is a new Grandmother. Congratulations to Maggie.

Spring Exhibit
Speaking of Maggie … she announced at the October meeting that we should be thinking about our theme for the Spring Exhibit. She and Brixey put their heads together regarding themes, and after much consideration, it seems as if they both agreed on "26 Letters." They will let us "vote" on it at the November meeting. If I understood correctly, we have a choice of "26 Letters" or "26 Letters."

As Maggie pointed out, there are many ways "26 Letters" can be used - she mentioned several applications or possibilities: a personal letter written to someone, letters in a collage format or some other multi media combination, or feature a single letter. Any traditional piece submitted with words would qualify under the theme of "26 Letters."

DP for Maggie

26 Letters

As familiar as we are with these 26 symbols, we are hoping to give it a new twist as well as to extend the creative mileage of our work.

1. Each letter, from A to Z, will be done as an original, colored and decorated within a rectangular block size of 4 3/4" x 3 3/4".

2. These originals will form a composite design to be arranged, reduced and color reproduced for use as the April cover of Flourishes.

3. After framing, the originals will hang at the Guild Exhibit in the Spring.

4. Extended use of the printed 26 letters could be to incorporate them into a book and/or a box and used as a fundraiser.

At the November meeting, I will have a chart with available slots; you will be given the opportunity to create one of these 26. This is a large challenge, but an exciting one. Come join the fun …

Bonnie Houser

Paul Freeman Award

A discussion was held at the October guild meeting about whether to continue the Paul Freeman Award as an award for service. There are so many people working together for the Guild, lots of these people work behind the scenes and the work they do is not seen by most people. Several options were presented to the membership attending the meeting, and they were as follows:

1. Do we want to continue to award the Paul Freeman Awards for service?

2. Do we want to sell the pieces at auction at our yearly exchange which would allow a member who loves the pieces to own them?

3. Do we want to rotate them around the membership in a manner that would be decided later, but not for a service award.

If you have any suggestions, you may e-mail me at heyehaus@yahoo.com or call 1-830-438-7220.

Laura Heye

Colored Strips of Paper

Jill Adams, Fundraising Chair, will offer sets of colored strips of paper for sell at the November meeting break along with a few of the remaining note card sets. The colored strips of paper were created when the note card folios were folded. You will find many uses for these strips of paper in your calligraphy or crafts.

SACG calendar cover created by Pauline Sager

I am pleased to announce "HeartStrings", the SACG calendar for 2000, will be available at the monthly meeting. This edition has the added touch of being hand bound with color-coordinated cord. A special committee of Maggie, Leslie, Shirley, Beverly, & yours truly, spent 6 hours one Saturday in August, collating and folding the 2,400 sheets to yield 300 copies, and bound 100. The following Monday, Anita, Maggie, Beverly and Leslie bound the remaining 200 copies. A lot of work went in to make this a special edition, but everyone had fun. This is what it's all about - working together in teams to produce a handsome result.

I wish to express my appreciation to everyone who made the calendar possible. The contributors who submitted the beautiful artwork: Jane Fair, Barbara Gere, Maggie Gillikin, Bonnie Houser, Vera Irby, Darla Peek, Helen Rasplicka, Eleanor Russell, Joan Schmitz, Sylvia Stanley, Gayle Ventincique, Leslie Winakur and Kaye Yarbrough. The calendar committee members: Jill Adams, for compiling the quotes for the month pages; Hazel Tillson, the forward page; Barbara Gere, pasting in all the dates, holidays, and quote strips for every month; and Sylvia Stanley for proofreading. A big THANK YOU!

Pauline Sager
Y2K Calendar Editor

  Calendars are $6.50 each including tax - plus add postage ($1.50 for one, or $1.00each for 2 or more.
Contact Thea Moore or Pauline Sager to purchase calendars, e-mail: Pavasa@aol.com

Our Members Get Letters

Sylvia Stanley sent a "Heartstrings" calendar to her parents in Michigan. They showed it to their neighbor, one of Sylvia's former school teachers. Ms. Felzo offered her congratulations to SACG "on the beautiful 2000 calendar."

Our Members Get Letters

Shawn Behrens has long been an admirer of Timothy Botts' work. Shawn works at a Christian bookstore in Kerrville and he told the Tyndale representative, Troy Baker, about his new interest - calligraphy. Apparently Baker passed the word along to Botts. Shawn received a personal handwritten postcard from Timothy Botts. (!!) The front of the 4-color postcard is beautiful Botts calligraphy, "Be silent and know that I am God." Shawn is honored to receive this special message from Timothy Botts.

Marsha Brady's Textura
Workshop Report

This fall's major workshop by Marsha Brady is on Textura; commonly known by other names such as Gothic, Black Letter or Old English. The workshop is three weekends over a three-month period requiring a major commitment on the part of the participants.

The first weekend began with a slide show of the evolution of the historical forms to modern versions. A couple of the pieces were not pen and ink but cut out of paper. Another memorable piece was done in silver leaf. Black letter may frequently be thought of as dated, Ms. Brady argued that the forms could be very modern indeed. One work was just many layers of letters in different colors - texture rather than legibility is the point here.

Ms. Brady is a skilled instructor, able to clearly explain common errors and problems. The homework for the first weekend was to start with very wide letters and then progress to very narrow letters. This is to show students used to seeing black letter with wide spacing that these forms work best narrowly spaced, even extremely narrow letters with x-heights of 8, 10 or 12 nib widths work very well.

A number of practical techniques frequently omitted from workshops because they seem unimportant or too elementary were demonstrated. One technique was tracing a line of letters accurately either with graphite for light papers or white charcoal for dark papers. Another demonstration was on lining up sheets accurately. This is critical when writing very small letters.

Students present their homework the final weekend. Some will choose to do a portfolio presentation with four smaller pieces with a common theme in a folder. Others will do one sheet of text. It will be interesting to see the projects either completed or in an advanced stage of completion.

Barbara Gere
Photos: http://www.axs4u.net/home/inksmith/photos.htm

Herweck's Fall 1999
Products Show

Herweck's wonderful products show is late this year - October 22 & 23 - the weekend before Halloween. Vendors will demonstrate products and have great show specials. Free seminars. Herweck's is located downtown at 300 Broadway, call them at 227-1349. Maggie Gillikin is leading one of their seminars - call for reservations to be sure you get a seat in her class.

-----Reminder-----

The deadline for December Flourishes is Thursday, November 4 - the night of the November meeting. If your copy of Flourishes arrives late, damaged or not at all - please call Mavis Caudill, she has extras until the next meeting, then they go to Jill Adams, Membership Chairperson.

If you have Internet access, look at the past Flourishes on the web at our website http://www.axs4u.net/home/inksmith/sacg.htm where it is posted. Thanks to Francene Smith and her son-in-law, Frank Rippel, for providing this for our members.