Category Archives: The Learning Process

Like riding a bicycle

If you still visit my little dusty, cobwebby corner of the internet, thank you. It’s been a while since I updated. Actually, it’s been a while since I touched my calligraphy tools. I still hold calligraphy near and dear to my heart, but I needed some time for other things – like my knitting, my garden, my health (mental & physical), my family, my cats, not to mention my full-time job. I was feeling overwhelmed in more ways than one, but during my time away, I really did miss calligraphy. I didn’t attend Letters California Style in 2023, but I did visit, had dinner with some lovely calligrafriends and dropped off my deposit for 2024. And suddenly here we are!

I didn’t practice at all – just dived into class cold turkey. I got my first choice, too – Romitalic with the fantastic Randall Hasson. When I read the class description: “A rounded, lyrical hand, with elements of traditional Italic and Roman forms,” I knew it was the perfect hand for me to learn and to get back into calligraphy.

Started with Roundhand, then Italic miniscules

I expected my hand to cramp up in pain, but I actually did okay! It took a while to warm up and get started, but with each letter, each word and each line, my muscle memory slowly came back, followed by sparks of mental notes from all my teachers in the past ten years of studying Italic. It really was like riding a bicycle – wobbly at first, but I somehow remembered how to do it. It was not perfect by any means, but I was pleased with how my practice sheets turned out.

Romitalic practice sheet of A-Z flower names. It took an entire day, but I did it!

It was great to catch up with friends and teachers as well as meet new ones. I’ve really missed being in the company of like-minded, letter-loving people! It was great to have Victor Kams join the Letters faculty this year, too. I met Victor at Rendez-vous in Montreal in 2019 and he’s such a rockstar calligrapher, so talented as well as humble and generous with his time and knowledge.

Victor Kams giving the captivated Letters audience a presentation of his work.

Three and a half days flew by just like that, and I had a fantastic time. Really enjoyed learning from Randall and with such enthusiastic and supportive classmates. So nice to learn, connect and share laughs. The love of Calligraphy brings us all together, no matter what generation we are.

Romitalic class at Letters California Style 2024. Great teacher and classmates!
[ L-R: Wendy, Jenny, me, Jan, Nina, Randy, Bill, Arlene, Adrienne, Tammy, Christine and Abigail ]

Really having fun with Romitalic. Now on to practice, practice and practice.

Rendez-vous – 2019 International Calligraphy Conference

The beautiful campus of Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

Bonjour! I am still feeling inspired and my heart is happy after spending a week at Rendez-vous, the 2019 International Calligraphy Conference. It was a wonderful to be able to travel to Montreal and experience the lovely Canadian hospitality. There is much beautiful lettering throughout, including hand-painted signs by Pierre Tardif.

I got into my first choice, Roman Capitals with Elmo von Slingerland. I first met Elmo in 2016 at the A Show of Hands conference, and was awestruck by his work. Roman Capitals always scare and intimidate me as a subject of study, but this time I decided to give it a go. Although I did some monoline practice and am fairly familiar with the letterforms and structures, it was still very challenging to do Roman Capitals with a broad edge nib in the clean, crisp, meticulous and deliberate way that Elmo does.

That said, Elmo is a wonderful teacher who would spend a lot of time with each student to do personal demos. He has a keen and sharp eye and can see where one needs improvement and then will sit down to show you how it’s done. He’s also incredibly humble and kind. I hope to learn from him again soon!

As with previous conferences, one of my favorite events is the faculty demo. This year I was able to capture the teachers who opted to do demo (not all do!). It’s always such a treat to watch them work. It’s so inspiring to see them work in person.

I was also super excited to see my friend Schin / @openinkstand do a demo at the John Neal Bookseller pop-up shop! Schin has a great new book out called Calligraphic Drawing : A how-to guide and gallery exploring the art of the flourish.

Of course, a week flew by as quickly as it had started – on the last day is the “Show and Share” event. It’s amazing every time! I loved seeing everyone’s work over the week and took mental notes on who I would like to study with in the future.

Me with my final piece for the class. Elmo is behind me. I was concentrating on the letters so much that I misspelled “inexhaustable!”

The best part about attending these conferences is meeting new friends and catching up with old friends. I had such a great time sharing my meals with calligra-friends, talking shop, walking to class and hang out at the evening events, relaxing on the grass, and of course, spraying mosquito repellent on each other (LOL)!

Megan, Michelle, Elyse, Hoang, me, Devina, and JB

Sylvia, me, Schin, Michelle, Sunny, Devina, Ale, and JB

Just look at all these beautiful smiles! Row 1: Michelle, Sunny, JB, Schin, Chisato, Sylvia. Row 2: me (holding Ariel’s badge because he’s camera-shy), Erin, Megan, Ale, Brenna, Devina, Elyse, Bakhyt, Claudio, Hoang, and Anna.

I look forward to see these friends again in 2021 in Dallas, Texas!

Q&A with Joy Deneen for Rendez-vous 2019

I’m not much of a “being in the spotlight” type of person, but I sure talked a lot about how much I love calligraphy and attending conferences in this Q&A! Thanks to Joy for reaching put and Vichana for the ASOH photos. I look forward to seeing all my calligra-friends and teachers at Rendez-vous 2019!

Read the Q&A here: https://rendezvouscalligraphy.org/en/blog/why-i-attend-the-international-calligraphy-conference

Seattletters 2018 International Calligraphy Conference

The historical campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA

When I heard the 2018 International Conference will be in Seattle, WA, my first reaction was, “When can I register?” :) I’ve never been to Seattle and have always wanted to visit. The conference is on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, about two hours North of Seattle, but it’s a great chance to visit the city after the conference.

When class assignment was announced, I was really happy to get my first choice – Italic Variations with Diane von Arx. I’ve been working hard on improving my Italic Hand, so the chance to study with Diane was on the top of my list!

Diane personalized a folio for each student. My work sheets are in the background.

Playing with Italic variations and textures.

I really enjoyed learning from Diane. She encouraged us all to try different elements to create variations in Italic Hand – using a small nib with a tall x-height, using a large nib with a small x-height, and so on. The practice above creates different textures and create visual interest. I ended up purchasing an Automatic Pen from John Neal Bookseller’s popup shop and used it for the large Italic-style block above. Isn’t it a cool effect?

Speaking of JNB, how awesome is their popup shop? It was in the Library and in a beautiful hall.

On the first night, Sir Donald Jackson gave a talk about his journey to becoming a calligrapher as well as his work on the St. John’s Bible. It was most inspiring and illuminating. We were able to view all 7 books of the Heritage Edition on display!

As a participant, one of my absolute favorite events is the Faculty Demo. I was able to capture 16 teachers before a fire alarm interrupted us! It wasn’t anything serious, but firefighters had to inspect the building for safety, and the faculty demo night was cut short ;(

One week flew by, and we all worked hard towards Show & Share on the last day. Each class has a table set up with everyone’s projects, and we all walk around admiring the beautiful work from each class.

Last but not least, here I am at our classroom table.

We had the opportunity to take a group photo with Sir Donald Jackson as well as some more group photos!

Me, Sunny, JB, Mr. Jackson, Devina, and Elyse

Calligra-friends! Elyse, Sunny, Megan, Joy, me, JB, and Devina

I had a great time at Seattletters. See you all next near for Rendez-vous in Montreal, QC, Canada!

Chalkboard Lettering Demo

The chalkboard style flyer I created for the demo

After attending the fantastic Chalkboard lettering class with Cora Pearl at Letters California Style in February, I was asked by Society for Calligraphy‘s Membership Chair, David Mark, to do a free demo for new members of the guild. Cora very generously and graciously let me share some of her teaching material with the new members!

One of the new members, Mila, was very kind to provide our classroom space. We expected maybe 10 people in the class, but ended up with a total of 14! I was super nervous as I’ve never done a demo/teaching session before, and really wanted everyone to have a great experience. Looking at how hard everyone was working and how fast a few hours flew by, I think it was pretty successful. Thanks David, and Society for Calligraphy for the opportunity, and huge thanks again to Cora for the guidance!

Letters California Style 2018 – Chalkboard Lettering with Cora Pearl

Ready for Chalkboard Lettering with Cora Pearl!

Before I started attending Letters California Style, February used to be one of those months that were just there. The month quickly passes and we’re ready for Spring. But now that I’m part of the Society for Calligraphy, the annual mini-conference over President’s Day weekend is something I always look forward to every year.

This year, I was lucky to get into Cora Pearl‘s class, The Art of Chalkboard Lettering. Cora is a professional calligrapher, artist, and teacher in Portland, Oregon, and I have long admired her work, especially her lettering! I’ve always wanted to learn how to do chalkboard lettering. When done right, it is such a beautiful way of layering information that totally speaks to the graphic designer side of me.

On the first day, Cora showed us a few of her chalkboard lettering styles. We used Micron markers on layout bond to become familiar with the letters’ structures and shapes. Cora spent time with each of us and gave excellent critique and instructions.

On day two, we all had a WOW! moment as we switched to white charcoal pencil on black paper. It looked SO beautiful and I just love the vintage/retro styles of these letters!

Cora is an incredibly organized teacher who is also positive and encouraging. If I ever become a calligraphy teacher, I want to be just like her. :) I learned some great techniques and styles from her, which I will definitely put to use! I hope SfC will invite her back to teach again very soon!

Letters California Style 2017 – The Art of Certificates and Scrolls with Robbie Saslow

Over Presidents’ Day weekend, I had the best time at Letters California Style, the member’s conference that takes place every year on that weekend, organized by Society for Calligraphy in Southern California. This year I was in Robbie Saslow‘s class, “Fabulous and Functional: The Art of Certificates and Scrolls,” along with nine other calligraphers from California, Texas, Nevada, and Washington State. We all enjoyed learning from Robbie who shared wonderful stories, knowledge, and great tips! He was such a fantastic instructor.

Robbie doing a class demo.

Our first class assignment was to create a certificate, picking one out of three choices with different criteria and styles. Most in the class opted for a certificate for the “Golden Poppy Society of Southern California” (a fictitious organization). We sketched drafts and worked on our designs with Robbie’s guidance for the first two days:

Snap shots from class: Robbie doing a demo and shared his beautiful work for the Los Angeles County; beautiful certificates done by Schin Loong, Diane Reiter, Kathy Barker, and Cindy Haller.

I ended up choosing a baby name certificate, which had the requirement of: baby name should be prominent, with a style that is casual, playful but clean, no pink, and must have three cats. I felt it was the most comfortable for me to dive into!

Rough draft of my certificate.

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun with this one, using pointed pen styles, sketching cats, lettering with colored pencils and using green with FineTec gold!

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A Sharp Pencil and a Keen Eye

Last weekend, I spent the weekend in San Diego learning from Amity Parks! I was really sad to have missed the opportunity to learn from her last year, so I was glad that San Diego Fellow Calligraphers invited her to teach her workshop A Sharp Pencil and a Keen Eye, and they had an opening!

The last time I visited San Diego was in 2013 for Pat Blair’s Copperplate workshop, and I really enjoyed the experience. SDFC’s classroom space is big and open, and everyone was so kind and welcoming.

Amity demos for our class