Artwork by Pat Blair

Pamn

d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2 b u l l e t i n

FROM THEPRESIDENT...

As your holiday season begins to fill up, I hope you’ll include the Guild in your celebrating and be able to join us for our annual party on Monday evening, December 10th, 6-8 pm. We’re gathering again this year in Bethesda at the Madison Park Condo’s party room. It’s a small cozy room that makes for easy conversation and yummy munching. It’s also easy to find coming from anywhere in our DC area. Please see the invitation herein for all the details.

The Bulletin takes a month off after this issue, making way in January for our Workshop Bulletin. You will find the classes offered to be a good list with much variety, open to all skill and interest levels. After you’ve devoured all the class choices and made your selections, our regular Bulletin will be out again in February. Thanks to everyone who has sent in artwork, class reviews, and articles for the Bulletin! It has enriched these last few issues so very much. Please continue to allow us to see what you’ve been up to by sending in a piece or two from time to time!

My holiday wishes for all of you are for a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a season of memory making no matter how you celebrate this season of joy. May your traditions include holidays filled with warm greetings and special gatherings you may take with you into the new year. I wish you good health, comfort and peace, and no spilt ink in 2013!

My best to you and yours,

Warmly, IN THIS ISSUE- Membership News

- Save the Date!- Christmas Card Exchange

- Julian Waters Workshop- Gallery Space

- November Meeting Highlights

WASHINGTON CALLIGRAPHERS GUILDBOARD OF DIRECTORS

officers:president: Pamn Klinedinst pklinednst@aol.com / 301-654-6049

vice president: Gretchen Elson gmelson@cox.net / 703-591-5482

treasurer: Derrick C. Tabor dtab221@yahoo.com / 301-330-7729

secretary: Felecia McFail wcg_sec@fohta.com / 703-892-6262

member-at-large: Louise Harris louikecole@comcast.net / 301-596-7773

past president: Theresa Daly tcarrolldaly@aol.com / 703-780-9448

registered agent: Bob Flory bobandsue@theflorys.net / 703-569-4331

standing committees:audit: John Stackpole jstackpo@alum.mit.edu / 301-292-9479

budget & finance: Derrick C. Tabor dtab221@yahoo.com / 301-330-7729

bulletin: Lee Ann Clark glaclark@comcast.net / 410-415-5846

education: can you help?

exhibits: can you help?

fundraising / calligrafest co-chairs: can you help?

library: Iris Anderson iris.anderson@comcast.net / 301-598-0392

mailings: Phyllis Ingram / 703-385-9750 pgingram1@verizon.net

membership: Sue Flory bobandsue@theflorys.net / 703-569-4331

nominating: appointed in January

programs: can you help?

publicity: can you help?

scholarship: Marta Legeckis morkaleg@yahoo.com / 301-493-8907

scripsit liaison: can you help?

website: Lorraine Swerdloff swerdloff@gmail.com / 202-723-4635

workshops: Christine Tischer chris@calligraphybychris.com / 301-745-4633

The Bulletin of the Washington Calligraphers Guild is published eight times per year

from September - May with a special workshops issue in January.

The deadline for submissions for the February issue is January 15, 2012. We welcome your contributions. Please send digital files for text, photos and artwork (reflecting all levels, from

beginner to advanced) to pklinednst@aol.com. Your submissions will be interpreted as permission to use in the Bulletin, unless otherwise specified. We will use your submissions on a space-available basis and may reduce your artwork to accommodate available space. Mention in the Bulletin does

not constitute endorsement by the Washington Calligraphers Guild.

The Washington Calligraphers Guild, Inc., is a Virginia non-profit corporation, with an IRS tax designation of 501(c)(3). The guild’s mailing address is P.O. Box 3688, Merrifield, VA 22116-3688.

Visit our website at www.calligraphersguild.org.

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MEMBERSHIP NEWS A very warm welcome to our newest members who recently joined/rejoined. We’re so very glad to have you! Karen Ackoff – South Bend, Indiana Nathalie Marinoff – New City, New York Odelia Pena – Tulsa, Oklahoma Sharon Reynolds – Greenville, South Carolina Ron Ross – Gallatin, Tennessee June M. Sloan – Toledo, Ohio

Our sincere thanks to the following members who recently renewed as Supporting Members. We truly appreciate your generosity.

PATRONS Charles A. Gibbs – Manassas, Virginia Derrick C. Tabor – Gaithersburg, Maryland SUPPORTING Karen Ackoff – South Bend, Indiana Iris N. Anderson – Silver Spring, Maryland Pam Bennett – Uwchlan, Pennsylvania Stephanie Chao – Laguna Niguel, California Marta Legeckis – Bethesda, Maryland Susan Makris – Falls Church, Virginia Margaret Natsume – Monterey Park, California Odilia Pena – Tulsa, Oklahoma Katherine Rehm – Burke, Virginia Sharon Reynolds – Greenville, South Carolina Yvonne M. Stroud – Oak Brook, lllinois

our annual holiday party is almost here!monday, december 10

6-8 pm in the party roomat the madison park condominium

5000 battery lane, bethesda, maryland

Please plan to join us for an evening of fun, friends and fine food! The Madison Park Condo’s party room is the same great location we enjoyed last year and is easy to find even for Virginians who think Maryland roads are a mystery.

Plans include a potluck buffet, including your favorite dish. We will fill in the menu after you let us know what you will bring. Sharing something is very much appreciated, but all are welcome whether you choose to bring something or not.

More information is on the website:http://www.calligraphersguild.org/meetings.html

Please RSVP to Pamn Klinedinst at 301-654-6049 or pklinednst@aol.com.

Save the Date!

Over Columbus Day weekend (October 5-8, 2012), nine Washington Calligraphers Guild members attended a most enjoyable and comprehensive workshop given by Julian Waters

at Sheila Waters’ studio in Pennsylvania. In the latter part of the workshop, various styles of capitals were explored, and Julian

introduced us to the ruling pen. However, most of the workshop was about the many facets of Blackletter. Julian prepared an

extensive two-part 170-page bound sourcebook for each of us. It included historic samples of Blackletter, from simple Textura to

more complex Fraktur, a range of modern 20th century

A WORKSHOP PRESENTED BY JULIAN WATERS

MODERN BLACKLETTER & CAPITALS- Anne Trotter

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European examples, plus many examples of Julian’s own work. It showcased lettering

created in a variety of media including ink, woodcuts, metal type and stone, along with extensive descriptive and informative texts

written by Julian.

During the workshop, Julian gave an overview of the history and development of various Blackletter styles. He talked about

important 20th century writing masters, type designers, teachers and their students,

including Koch, Schneidler, Spemann, Zapf, Poppl, Linz and others, and the migration of

influences which we can learn from. A review of the many samples of Blackletter and their

contexts helped us gain some appreciation and understanding of the forms. In our own

writing practice Julian started us with simple black and white textures, using separate, then connected strokes and patterns, then moving into basic letterforms, exploring “soft” and

“hard” textures, before becoming simple Textura writing. All along, Julian stressed

the importance of “thinking ahead” and visualizing what you are about to do before

you do it -- to have the form in your head so it will look good on the paper (to paraphrase

Hermann Zapf). He stressed regular optical spacing, working for the strength of the

writing texture as a whole while avoiding being precious about individual letter shapes.

He encouraged us to “carve around the white” while making our black strokes. As he said in the sourcebook, “In Blackletter, it’s all about the White” – an approach that applies

to all fine lettering. Julian stated that there is no such thing as a perfect letter. “Each individual letter is only effective when its

shape works harmoniously with its neighbors and with the letter spacing.

Our writing textures gradually morphed from simple Textura into more complex writing where the diagonals are out of parallel, the tops are more shallow, strengthening and connecting the top of the x-height line, and the bottom diagonals point down, more vertically, giving more separation between the “feet.” We moved from simple construction to increasing complexity to modify the texture, lifting the pen at each corner of each shape, to using pen-lifts with overlaps, to pen-slides with overlaps, to pen-rotation techniques toachieve particular shapes. In much of Julian’s work he uses

pen rotation, cornering, multi-stroking and other refinement

techniques. He freely shared his methods under Sheila’s document camera while we gamely attempted the same

at our desks. Julian showed how Blackletter can be “warmed up” if every straight stroke is actually slightly curved. This

concept opens up many variations and style possibilities. Late in the Blackletter class we experimented with clustered

alphabet compositions and using split pens,poster pens and ruling pens.

Over the course of the four days, Julian brought in some very rare books and examples for us to view. Included were

books designed by legendary German calligrapher and type

designer Hermann Zapf, Julian’s teacher & mentor, and of Zapf’s wife, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse. A very rare sight was an original metal plate for Zapf’s “Feder und Stichel” book, hand engraved by August Rosenberger. We even viewed a short video made about Hermann Zapf in which he demonstrated some of his writing techniques. In addition, we were most fortunate to see two very early original works from Julian’s collection, a Johann Neudoerffer from 1538 and a Giovanni Cresci copy book from the 1570s. Julian also brought in samples of his own work. This workshop was a great learning experience with a great group of people.

— Julian Waters

gallery space

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Above: Map for Emily and Wes by Carolyn Milligan

Left: Jesuit Volunteer Corps annual card created by Sally Wightkin

Above: 2005 Best in Show winning entry byCatherine Langsdorf

Left: 2006 Best in Show winning entry byShane Perry

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november meetinghighlightsThe November 9 program meeting highlighted the Graceful Envelope

Contest, which is administered each year by the Guild. Although the subject was “What Makes a Winning Graceful Envelope,” the insights offered by past

contest judges Shane Perry and Mary Lou O’Brian were valuable to anyone beginning a lettering project or trying to appreciate a work of art.

Along with contest coordinator Lorraine Swerdloff, the judges discussed the qualities that set past winners apart from the competition, including skill in

lettering, effective use of color and design, creative interpretation of the theme, and even incorporation of postage stamps into the design.

Guild members got to see examples of winning entries mailed in from around the world, ranging from student winners in the junior and children’s divisions

to intricate designs by professional calligraphers. The judges described how the rules of the competition helped artists to focus their creativity—since entries are

limited to the size of an envelope and the designs must include a lettered address and proper postage.

The speakers encouraged members to enter the 2013 contest. The theme, “A World of Change,” asks calligraphers to create a Graceful Envelope inspired by

changes that have shaped our world in the past or the kind of change you would like to see in the future. Visit the Guild website, www.calligraphersguild.org,

for complete rules and many colorful examples of past winning envelopes. Deadline is February 25, 2013; there is no entry fee.

p.o. box 3688, merrifield, va 22116 • www.calligraphersguild.org

address service requested 12 / 2012

nonprofit org.u.s. postage

paidmerrifield vapermit no. 742

A ll Guild Members

Let’s enjoy each other’s creativity this year by exchanginghand-made holiday cards!

To register for the exchange, please e-mail Phyllis Ingram atpgingram1@verizon.net by December 11. She’ll collect all the names and

addresses and then e-mail everyone who registers a complete listof participants.

You then mail each person on the list one of your holiday creations and enjoy receiving the same.

Creative card-making is a great way to start the holiday season!