Winter 2016 The Newsletter of San Diego Fellow Calligraphers Vol. 31, No. 2

The President’s Pen

Happy New Year! Hope everyone

had a happy holiday season. While

you were sharing time with family

and friends, did you make any resolu-

tions for the coming year? Have you

thought of ways to add more calligra-

phy to your life or of ways to

improve your lettering? Many well

known calligraphers have a similar

suggestion when asked how one can

become a better scribe. The key is to

select one calligraphic hand and to

incorporate focused practice on that

style of lettering each day for a

month. Ready to give it a try? Pick

your favorite style and you’re more

likely to practice each day.

SDFC has a number of exciting

workshops and programs scheduled

for the next several months. Be sure

to check the SDFC website

www.SDFConline.com for the most

up-to-date information. Brenda

Broadbent (February), Kristi Darwick

(March) and Jane Shibata (April) will

be teaching workshops; Doug Boyd

will be giving a hands-on presenta-

tion in May; Round Robin Origami

will be part of the June program.

The Guild is a volunteer organization

and runs only because its members

are willing to share their talents and

efforts. Let SDFC know how you’re

willing to help.

Wishing all of you a safe, happy,

peaceful and calligraphic 2016!

Diane Reiter

SDFC Upcoming Meetings

The first SDFC general meeting

of 2016 will be on Saturday,

January 9th, at 9:00 am. After a

very brief business meeting, the

Silent Scriptorium* will begin,

followed by a short, optional

bookbinding lesson. Please plan

to arrive a few minutes early to

help set up the room and to set up

your workspace prior to the

meeting. Doors will be open

at 8:30am. For more infor-

mation, go to the SDFC website.

*Silent Scriptorium - This is an

opportunity to work on your

calligraphy as in the days of old:

in a quiet room, where you can

focus on a particular project in a

calm environment. Bring your

writing tools, inks, paints, and

papers. Be ready to give your

fellow calligraphers the “gift of

silence” during our work time.

Following the Scriptorium, we

will learn a simple bookbinding

technique to bind single pages

together into a book form.

February Workshops

Ready for a creative weekend

with three workshops led by

Brenda Broadbent?

Black on Black Magic

(February 19)

Brilliant Bits

(February 20)

Parallel Universes

(February 21)

These three February workshops

will be here soon. The deadline

to register for any of these work-

shops is January 9, 2016. Be

sure to sign up soon to ensure

your place in the workshop and to

ensure the minimum enrollment

has been met by January

9th. Note: there is a discount for

each additional workshop for

which you register.

Any 1 day: Members $60.

Non-members 80

Any 2 days: Members $110.

Non-members $135

All 3 days: Members $160.

Non-members $185

Click here for information

and registration forms.

Looking forward to seeing

you in February!

Viviana Lombrozo

Excavating for Meaning

Visions Art Museum

2825 Dewey Rd, #100

San Diego, CA 92106

Runs through January 3rd

When Viviana Lombrozo first visualized her “Excavating for Meaning”

exhibition, she imagined it as a room of an archeological museum, where

every piece shown was excavated, found, or uncovered. Together, the

pieces help paint a picture of whoever might have created these artifacts.

“Producing art, for me,” says Viviana, “is also ‘archeological,’ in the sense

that it involves removing layers that can obscure seeing something for

what it is, what it once was, or what it could be.”

Member Showings:

“Traces That Remain”

On-Line Classes in Calligraphy

In October, the Guild was offered two free on-line calligraphy classes from Alice Young, an instructor with Skillshare, an

on-line learning community for creators. Skillshare is membership based and costs range from $8-$10 monthly. I’ve always

been curious about on-line classes, so I accepted Alice’s offer and signed up for two of her classes: “Strong Lines: Getting

Comfortable with the Pilot Parallel Pen” and “Strong Lines: Colour & Curves with the Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen.” (She

has since added a third class: “Strong Lines: The Gentle Gothics.”) Each class was very well organized with exercise work-

sheets and many tips such as posture, pen angle, and paper positioning. Her video that went along with the exercise sheets

was easy to follow. Alice emphasized practice to build muscle memory and having fun while you are doing it. The class for-

mat offered pages to post student work, a list of supplies, and a page for class notes and student discussion. Alice offers a

useful “Ink Overview Chart” and detailed information about how to use the Pilot Parallel Pens. I am glad that I experienced

these two classes. They definitely allowed me to become better acquainted with my Parallel Pen. For more information on

Skillshare and Alice’s classes click here. And if you’re interested in learning more about the Parallel Pen, consider signing

up for Brenda Broadbent’s February 21st workshop, Parallel Universes. Click here

- Wendy Telford

Class 1 - includes basic strokes and

the use of Pilot Parallel Pens

Class 2 - includes more advanced

pen skills and explores color and

inks

Class 3 - Learn Gothic letterforms and design a simple greeting card

Fall 2016 Outreach

On October 15, 2015, SDFC guild members Karen Corvan and I took our calligraphy supplies and some instructional materials to

a group of 6 to 9 year olds at the KinderCare Montessori School in Mira Mesa. What a fun morning! The kids had been studying

handwriting and were already familiar with hieroglyphics, so we took off from there with Greek letters and carved Roman caps.

We talked about the transition to Uncial, looked at samples of Gothic, and ended our “lesson” with some information on Italic and

a diagram of the “History of the Letter A.”

At this point the students were eye-balling our table layout of interesting looking supplies, so we opened the floodgates and the

kids chose their paper or envelope and dug right in with pens, pencils and markers. They were intrigued by an illustrated letter “B,”

so several kids traced the letter and then filled in the design using their own colors. And they especially liked Karen’s supply of

sparkly gel pens. They were very creative with the tools, and it was fun to watch them. They were very respectful of each others

area and they did a great job of sharing all the materials.

- Wendy Telford

Far left: Karen offers encouragement

to young artist.

Others: Kids having fun creating!

Artful Conversations at the Central Library (downtown) -

Each month the library hosts a speaker in the Mary Hollis Clark Conference Center at the downtown library on Park Blvd. The

November meeting featured a speaker from the San Diego Art Institute. Executive Director, Ginger Shulick Porcella, shared how

SDAI is supporting San Diego artists through community driven programs and how they envision developing artists and supporters

of the visual arts. She explained how the Institute has repositioned itself as a center for contemporary art in Balboa Park. After her

talk there was a lively question/answer period. We’ll let you know what the 2016 library schedule is for these “Artful Conversa-

tion” presentations through our website and our newsletters.

REMINDERS:

Upcoming General Meeting January 9th: 9:00 am short meeting followed by “Silent Scriptorium” and bookbinding exercise.

Click here for more information.

February Workshops: Three workshops by Brenda Broadbent. Deadline for sign-ups in January 9th. Ensure your place soon!

Click here for more information.

22nd Annual Graceful Envelope Contest: Deadline is March 28, 2016. No entry fee and all are welcome to participate. Click

here for more information.

On a recent trip to France,

Wendy Telford found many

examples of interesting

writing. Mostly having to do

with food! If you see an inter-

esting set of letters make a

quick snap with your cell

phone and send it to us . . .

We’d love to share it in one of

our newsletters.

This is a sample of one of the envelopes that was sent to

us from our talented members!

Guests are always welcome at the General Meetings,

held at 9:00 am monthly, on a Saturday morning,

September through June.

Location:

San Diego Education Association

10393 San Diego Mission Road

San Diego, CA 92108

Plenty of free parking!

2016 San Diego Fellow Calligraphers. Letter Perfect is the newsletter of the San Diego Fellow Calligraphers, a 501©(3)

organization, a non-profit guild dedicated to the art of calligraphy and related subjects. We include beginners, profession-

al artists and all levels in between. Our goal is to share a love of letters through education and inspiration.