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.
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)!
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!
