Julie Wildman (left) speaks to the class
I attended a wonderful Society for Calligraphy workshop over the weekend – The Passionate Pointed Brush with Julie Wildman who was visiting us from Chicago! Julie has been working as a designer and artist for over 25 years.
The class took place on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. The classroom was nice and big, and we had so much room on big work tables!
My practice sheet, with name tag lettered by Julie
I have always loved the pointed brush. It’s definitely quite challenging because it is so different from using a steel nib. Julie shared some great exemplars with us, including her own, as well as work from pointed brush master calligraphers such as John Stevens, Yves Leterme, and Carl Rohrs. She also showed us letterform variations, such as the different ways to do each letter. I loved watching her do demo – she has such great control of the pointed brush and has such a light touch.
Go C.C.!
I had some of the best SfC calligraphers as classmates in Julie’s class – Kristi Darwick, Susan Longerot, Victoria Kibildis, C.C. Sadler, not to mention Yukimi Annand and Jane Shibata (two of my favorite teachers in the SfC!). There was so much beauty all around. When Julie had us put up our work at the end of the class, I was totally in awe.
My classwork
Of course, I always seem to take my time and slowly digest things. I don’t think I did very well in class, but I was so inspired by Julie and everyone else that I was motivated to keep on playing and experimenting!
Pointed brush practice piece, inspired by Star Wars!
I also decided to address all my holiday correspondence in gold sumi ink and pointed brush! The pointed brush is fun and casual and I think lends itself perfect for spreading a little holiday cheer. The Yasutomo sumi red gold ink in a round ceramic dish is one of my favorites. It mixes up so smooth. Just add distilled water and a few drops of gum arabic and you’re good to go!
Thank you Julie for inspiring me to keep trying and experimenting with the pointed brush!