– Graceful Envelope 2014 "Best in Show" by Julie Gray. For more winning entries see page 7.

Above: A winning entry (done entirely in metal) from the 2014 Graceful Envelope Contest by Janet Kasper. See

information on the 2015 contest on page 7.

IN THIS ISSUE

– Membership News– Workshop Review

– Pangrams– 2015 Graceful Envelope

Call for Entries– Gallery Space

– Study Opportunities– New Publication

– 2014 Holiday CardExchange

– Meeting Information– Zapf Scholarship Info

FROM THE PRESIDENT...We’re off to a great start this Fall! Two good workshops and two wonderful evening programs from Carrie Imai and Peter Thornton, who were both welcome parts of our Fall with interesting and fun teaching and sharing. Now upcoming for us is a return favorite. Shane Perry is doing a mini-workshop, so called because it’s a one-day workshop, but there’s nothing mini about it. This time, Shane will teach “The Illuminated Letter” (no calligraphic skills required)! It will be on Saturday, November 8th – details on page 5.

On Monday evening, November 10th, we are having an evening program on Framing, from a framer that Chris Tischer holds in high regard, Ellen Collins, who will share her expertise on how to complete and complement your hard work. Details are found on page 8.

One last note: we need to find a new home for our library and archives. Lucinda is selling her large home and can not house it any longer. If you think you have space to keep our “precious” books and belongings, please be in touch with Lucinda. At this point she is checking on storage lockers, but we’d rather keep them closer at hand. Lucinda is quite willing to continue in her position, but needs our help now with an alternative location. Please give it some serious consideration. Thanks.

Enjoy your holidays ahead. They are, indeed, coming up so fast! If you have some articles or art of a Christmas/Hanukkah/Winter Holiday nature, please share them with us for our December “Holiday” Bulletin. We want to put out a members’ festive issue right for the season!

I leave you gleefully loading up my senses with all that Autumn brings,, Pamn

oct / nov 2014 b u l l e t i n

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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 December issue is November 15, 2014. 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. – artwork by Michael Clark

membership newsA very warm welcome to our newest members.We’re so very glad to have you! Christopher Eads – Harrisonburg, Virginia Abe Farsh – Rockville, Maryland Carrie Imai – Canoga Park, California Annie Jubb – Annapolis, Maryland Sandra Lumpkin – White Hall, Maryland Ashira Malka – Rockville, Maryland Jacqueline Persons – New Carrollton, Maryland Andrea Register – Annandale, Virginia Lisa Ridgely – Hanover, Pennsylvania Peter Thornton – Cleveland, Tennessee Katherine Torres – Alexandria, Virginia

Our sincere thanks to the following members who have renewed/joined at the Patron and Supporting levels. We truly appreciate your generosity!

patron Amy Dunne – Potomac, Maryland

supporting Marilyn Aquilina – Bowie, Maryland Donna Cella – Butler, Pennsylvania Patricia Fagan – Laurel, Maryland Jordenne Ferrington – Boonsboro, Maryland Helen Lebowitz – San Diego, California Marta Legeckis – Bethesda, Maryland Trish Malin – Alexandria, Virginia Janet Marano – Reston, Virginia Odilia Penn – Tulsa, Oklahoma Joan Pennington – Fairfax Station, Virginia Betsy Rivers-Kennedy – Norfolk, Virginia Joan Schmitz – San Antonio, Texas Yvonne M. Stroud – Oak Brook, Illinois Christine P. Tischer – Hagerstown, Maryland Mohamed Zakariya – Arlington, Virginia

washington calligraphers guild — board 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: Gilda Penn gildapenn@comcast.net / 301-315-0330

member-at-large: Tiiu Kera t.kera@verizon.net / 202-547-8295

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

education: can you help?

exhibits: can you help?

fundraising/calligrafest co-chairs: can you help?

librarian / archivist: Lucinda Huttlinger lucindahuttlinger@gmail.com

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

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

Peter T horntona workshop with

Peter Thornton, who took his first lettering class fifty years ago in October, presented a lively yet substantive workshop, Contrast – The Magic Ingredient, 11-12 October at the Columbia Arts Center. Much of the workshop’s content came from Design with Type, a book by Carl Dair originally published in 1952 and still available (www.amazon.com for $15). Peter advised that this little gem is worth getting just for the chapter on contrast.

Peter stated that while writing is meant to be read, calligraphy is meant to be looked at and felt. Contrast is perhaps the most important way to ensure that a calligraphic piece is exciting and visually interesting. The amount and types of contrast should be thoughtfully selected to support your intention with a particular piece. Yes, this implies that you should start with a goal or intention!

The workshop focused on six types of contrast:1) Size – height of the letters. With size, as with all types of contrast, a little contrast rarely works and often looks like a mistake.2) Weight – thickness/heaviness/dark space of the letters.3) Form – shapes of the letters, hand used, degree of formality. Peter believes that form is so important, one should spend a year concentrating on Roman capitals. However, Peter, never at a loss for pithy one-liners, also wants letters “burdened with affection, not perfection.” 4) Color – Color provides the greatest emotional effect. Whenever Peter fills in a letter space with color, he leaves a hairline of white around the color. He recommends not going right up to the black ink of the letters with color. This is from his overflowing bag of “subtle but powerful” tricks.5) Texture – tactile quality of the letters. In one of our exercises, we wrote four blocks of letters in a narrow column. Each block

contained letters with a different combination of size, weight, and form, resulting in four completely different textures. The effect was surprisingly tactile and interesting.6) Movement – the direction the eye moves when looking at a piece. This can be not only the usual suspects: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, spiral, wavy; but also back and forth in pieces with a 3D look.

One way to determine how to achieve contrast with a particular focal point is to write a list of adjectives that describes its lettering (e.g short, heavy, compressed, sharp, even, upright, lower-case, horizontal). Then make a list of opposites: tall, light, open, round, uneven, slanted, upper-case, vertical. Then select just A FEW of the opposites, the magic ingredients, for the secondary text in order to make the piece visually exciting and balanced.

Thanks to Peter’s many examples of effective contrast, his well-designed handouts and exercises, thoughtful critiques, and engaging sense of humor, participants at all levels left inspired with loads of ideas for dialing up the excitement on their own calligraphic art.

“contrast—the magic ingredient”

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– article by Terry Meisner

– photos courtesy of Joan Machinchick

– artwork and sample class handouts by

Peter Thornton

Pangrams or holoalphabetic sentences contain every letter of the alphabet at least once, with minimized repeat use of

vowels and rare repeat use of consonants.

The artistic aim of pangrams is to try to write the shortest possible sentence having a logical connotation. Pangrams are used to

display typefaces and for calligraphy practice such as:

The five boxing wizards jump quickly and Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is an English language pangram which

just about everyone seems to come across when first learning how to type.

Pangrams are also used in keyboarding exercises to reach all the alphabetical keys. However, they are also practiced as a form of constrained writing, where the goal is to

create the shortest pangram within the limits of the alphabet while making sense. A perfect

twenty-six letter pangram is considered an anagram of the English alphabet.

While my intention was to examine pangrams of the English language I got

sidetracked and came up with fascinating historical facts in the history of writing.

Here are some examples I came across when I began looking at pangrams in other languages:spanish: Es extrano mojar queso en cerveza o probar whisky en garrafa. – It is strange to wet cheese in beer or taste whisky in a carafe.french:Buvez de ce whisky que le patron juge fameux– Drink from this whiskey that the boss judged famous.italian:Che tempi brevi, zio, quando solfeggi.– Such short times, uncle, when you do-re-mi.german:Falsches üben von xylophonmusik quält jeden größeren zwerg.– Wrong practicing of xylophone music bothers every larger dwarf. - (used by kde)

Imagine my surprise when I started to look for a pangram in Latin.

This led me to Pedro Vizcaino Madariaga’s:Gaza frequens libycum duxit kartago triumphum.– The treasury of the Libyans is full: Carthage has led a tri umphal procession.

This particular pangram in Latin has been attributed to Pedro Madariaga.

The website http://bibliotypes.blogspot.com/2014/01/madariaga-pedro-caligrafia-espanola-en.html provides you with a treasure trove of calligraphic history, in Spanish. For those who don’t read the language very well I will try to provide a brief summary. This blog is particularly interested in the history of Spanish calligraphy. The author calls himself Marcos Welbi (I suspect a pseudonym).

Pedro Vizcaino Madariaga was born to a noble family in the town of Arratia (Spanish Basque country) around 1537 where he was schooled in letters and humanities. He was a student of Juan de Iciar in Zaragoza. Iciar was a very illustrious Spanish calligrapher from the Basque country who taught calligraphy in Zaragoza. Iciar is considered one of the pioneers and innovators of the Italic hand.

In 1562 Madariaga ended up in Valencia where he introduced a new style of writing (Italic) and was granted a professorship at the University. His style of writing uses the element of the triangle as a base. This allowed him to streamline his writing style and ease teaching it. Among his works is Pride of the Scribe or (Honra del Escribano) 1st Ed in 1565 in Valencia, and Art of Writing, Orthography of the Pen.

Marcus Welbi’s blog contains plates of Madariaga’s book where you can see the triangular-based system of writing, illustrating the manner of constructing the triangle and the progression to shaping letters, words, sentences and paragraphs.

– by Nick Olmos-Lau, MD

Bibliography:

a logological history by Eric Wassenaarhttp://www.fatrazie.com/EWpangram.html10 notable pangramshttp://listverse.com/2012/05/16/10-notable-pangrams/pangrams: 40 extraordinary alpha-sentences by Jack Q. Sphinx and Fubuyg V. DrolmetzPedro Madariaga in bibliotypes blog:http://bibliotypes.blogspot.com/2014/01/madariaga-pedro-caligrafia-espanola-en.htmlBiographic data from Aunamendi, Eusko Entziklopedia.http://www.euskomedia.org/aunamendi/90732

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Pangrams and Pedro Madariaga

The Second Edition of Books, Boxes and Wraps:Binding & Building Step-by-Step is now available. This edition

is an expansion and refinement of the first—more projects, more information, more instruction.

Described as “a workshop in a book,” Books, Boxes & Wraps is an invaluable aid to teachers. It’s been assigned as a college textbook

and is often employed as a creative resource for classroom projects.The clear, step-by-step instructions and graphic (yet beautiful!) line

drawings offer easy-to-follow guidance for both the novice and the seasoned artist. All projects can be made with the simple tools

listed in the first chapter—which also describes how to use these tools, where to find them, and, in some cases, how to make them.

Information on choosing papers, inks, adhesives, cloth, ribbons, and threads is given in the final chaper, and an up-to-date list of

resources is one of the appendices.

For crafters and calligraphers, bookbinders and writers, artists and homeschoolers—this is the guidebook for you! It’s a concise

yet comprehensive workbook on creating all different kinds of books and boxes—from traditional to comtemporary, from rustic

to elegant, from large to small.Books, Boxes & Wraps is a treasure, but you should be

forewarned—opening this book can easily lead you to create many, many more!

For more info and a 20% early discount code go towww.marilynwebberley.com/books.

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Announcing theWashington Calligraphers Guild 2014 Holiday Card Exchange!All skill levels can participate; the card exchange is to celebrate shared interest in calligraphy. Renew your calligraphy friendships and make new ones! Some participants send their cards in December and some like to send their cards in January.

Traditionally, about 30 calligraphers participate. You can choose to send to everyone on the list, or to just half of the addresses. After the December 1, 2014 sign-up deadline has passed, everyone will receive an e-mail list by December 2 of the people with whom they will be exchanging cards.

If you’d like to participate, send an email to Phyllis Ingram at pgingram1@verizon.net with the following information by December 1, 2014:

– Your name and address– If you would like to send to all participants or only half– If you will be sending your cards after January 1, 2015

Shane Perry will be teaching a mini-workshop entitled “The Illuminated Letter” on Saturday,November 8, 2014 at Concord-St. Andrew’s

Social Hall from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Price will be $30 (illuminating supplies included). Register at pklinednst@

aol.com or 301.654.6049. Space is limited to 12 participants, so be sure to register early.

The illuminated manuscript has been around for centuries, from the times of the Egyptians, through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and is enjoying resurgence today. The term “illuminated” comes from the Latin word “illuminare” which means “to light up,” which

is truly what these pages do. In this workshop, students will learn how to create an illuminated letter, including transferring and outlining a design, applying gold leaf, and painting. There is no calligraphy or illumination

experience required for this workshop.

The Second Edition of Books, Boxes and Wraps: Binding & Building Step-by-Step is now available. This edition is an expansion and refinement of the first—more projects, more information, more instruction.

Described as “a workshop in a book,” Books, Boxes & Wraps is an invaluable aid to teachers. It’s been assigned as a college textbook and is often employed as a creative resource for classroom projects.

The clear, step-by-step instructions and graphic (yet beautiful!) line drawings offer easy-to-follow guidance for both the novice and the seasoned artist. All projects can be made with the simple tools listed in the first chapter—which also describes how to use these tools, where to find them, and, in some cases, how to make them. Information on choosing papers, inks, adhesives, cloth, ribbons, and threads is given in the final chapter, and an up-to-date list of resources is one of the appendixes. For crafters and calligraphers, bookbinders and writers, artists and homeschoolers—this is the

guidebook for you! It’s a concise yet comprehensive workbook on creating all different kinds of books and boxes—from traditional to contemporary, from rustic to elegant, from large to small.Books, Boxes & Wraps is a treasure, but you should be forewarned—opening this book can easily

lead you to create many, many more!

• For more info and a 20% early discount code go to: www.marilynwebberley.com/books

assorted notes of interest

the annualholiday cardexchange

theilluminated letter

mini-workshop

more notes...

– above: “Gates” by Michael Clark;below: Honorable Mention winning envelope (d0ne with fabric and thread) by Jan-Marie Ecker

Washington Calligraphers Guild encourages all Guild members to submit artwork for publication by sending a high resolution file (.jpg, .tif or .pdf) to Pamn Klinedinst at

pklinednst@aol.com along with any information regarding the work.

gallery space

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notes of interest, cont...

Marta Legeckis will be teaching Pointed Pen/Copperplate for Beginners at the Brookside Gardens School of Botanical Art and Illustration. The class will run once a week for four weeks. The dates are February 6, 13, 20 and March 6. For more details about registration, etc., please go to www.montgomeryparks.org and look under Course Calendar.

Dear Friends,I am pleased to invite you to participate in a spring trip organized by The Abbey Studio to four very lovely spots in Europe. Our next Manuscript Trip will take place May 20 through June 2. We will fly as a group from Boston and visit Paris, Mont Saint Michel/Avranches, London and Dublin.

The focus of this trip is museum visits to view illuminated manuscripts and other sites related to the times and production of these manuscripts. The fare for the trip includes airfare to and from Boston, train/air within Europe for our various city visits, as well as ground transfers related to train/air travel. It also includes hotel accommodations and admission to each of the museums we will be visiting. To view photos and read about previous trips of this itinerary, please visit our website at www.theabbeystudio.com and select the ‘trips’ link, or click http://www.theabbeystudio.com/pages/manuscript_trip.html.

Our itinerary will be as follows:– flight from Boston to Paris– three nights in Paris within walking distance of Musée Cluny and other sites on our agenda– train travel from Paris to Mont Saint Michel– three nights at charming hotel in Avranches, within walking distance of Scriptoria d’Avranches– full day visit to Mont Saint Michel– train travel (Eurostar through the chunnel) to London – three nights in London within walking distance to the British Library and British Museum– visit to the British Library and other calligraphy-related sites in London– air travel to Dublin– three nights in Dublin within walking distance of Trinity College– visit to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, and other manuscripts in Dublin– air travel from Dublin to Boston

A registration form is available on the website. You will see on the registration form that an initial non-refundable deposit of $200 is due by November 15 to be included in our trip. We only have space for eight travelers, so please don’t wait to register. Remember that spouses/travel partners/friends who are non-calligraphers are also welcome.

If you have any questions, please contact me. I look forward to welcoming you on our next trip! Thank you!

Maryanne

Clockwise from top left: “Gathas” by Sally Wightkin; “Kate Bush final” Stephanie Fishwick; “Space” by Ann Bain; “Words” by Michael Clark

2014 contest winners include (from top) Carol DuBosch, Jeri Hobart and Catherine Langsdorf.

The envelope named “Best in Show” by Julie Gray is shown on page one.

Contest theme: There’s No Place Like HomeHome is your town, your state, the address your letter carrier visits six days a

week. But home might also mean a holiday meal, a cat in the window or a comfy sofa. It’s being homesick, saluting your ancestral home or feeling for the homeless.

Transform an ordinaryenvelope into a work of art!

Receipt of entries will not be acknowledged and entries will not be returned. Artists will be notified of the final status of their entries in early June 2015 and winners will receive certificates. No prizes will be awarded.

Winning envelopes are displayed online. Adult winners are also exhibited at the National Association of Letter Carriers Headquarters building in Washington, DC.

The 21st annual Graceful Envelope Contest is sponsored by the Washington, DC

Calligraphers Guild and the National Association of Letter Carriers.

For the complete Call for Entries and to view last year’s winning envelopes,

go to www.calligraphersguild.org.

Winners will be chosen based on artistic hand lettering, creative interpretation of the theme

and effective use of color and design, including incorporation of postage stamp(s).

There is no entry fee. Entries must be postmarked no later than Monday, March 30, 2015,and addressed artistically by hand to:

The Graceful Envelope100 Indiana Ave. NWWashington, DC 20001

See www.calligraphersguild.org for complete rules.

Entries must be processed and delivered through the U.S. Postal Service as First Class Mail and may not be wrapped in a separate envelope or protective covering. You may enter only one envelope. Legibly print your name, mailing address and e-mail address on the BACK of the envelope. Students must also indicate their grade, because judges will consider entries in the following categories:

Adult Grades 9-12 Grades 5-8 Grades 1-4

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National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIOwww.nalc.org 202-662-2851

Deadline for entries:March 30, 2015

raceful EnvelopeContest

CALL FOR ENTRIES~ please distribute ~

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The 21st annual Graceful Envelope Contest is sponsored by the Washington Calligraphers

Guild and the National Associationof Letter Carriers.

For the complete Call for Entries and to view last year’s winning envelopes go to

www.calligraphersguild.org.

Winners will be chosen based on artistic hand lettering, creative interpretation of the theme

and effective use of color and design, including incorporation of postage stamp(s).

please distribute 2015 Call forEntries

— directions to guild meetings — Concord-St. Andrews Church

5910 Goldsboro RoadBethesda, Maryland 20817-6034

Concord-St. Andrews Church sits on a hill at the intersection of River Road and Goldsboro Road in Bethesda, Maryland. Take the

Beltway to River Road (exit 39 towards Washington). Turn left onto Goldsboro Road. The driveway to the church property is almost

immediately to the right. Enter the Social Hall through the first door on the left side of the church. Board meetings are held in the Chapel

on the main level of the church.

november meeting "T hings that Picture Framers

Would Like Artists to Know"

monday, november 107:00 p.m

Ellen Collins will talk about matting and mounting choices and provide many helpful hints to showcase your artwork, and show pictures of her award-winning frames. Ellen is a member of the Professional Picture Framers Association, a world-wide organization, of which she is Vice President.

deadline is near! Zapf

Scholarship FundIn 1988, at the first Letterforum Conference,

Professor Hermann Zapf endowed a scholarship fund,the Hermann Zapf Education Fund, for members of

the Washington Calligraphers Guild.

The awards are distributed semi-annually (Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer) through the encouragement and generosity of Professor Hermann Zapf and his wife, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse. Designed to assist promising students of calligraphy and its related arts with ongoing expenses to further their

study of the historical hands using the broad-edged pen, the grants can be used for workshops, classes, books, conference fees, private studies, etc. The Washington Calligraphers Guild

is deeply grateful to Professor Zapf and his wife for their ongoing generosity and friendship.

October 31, 2014, the deadline for applying for a Zapf Scholarhip, is fast approaching. The Guild is anxious to

support calligraphers who want to continue their study of the art. This is a wonderful opportunity for serious students to

receive support in their studies. Complete informationand application form may be found athttp://calligraphersguild.org/zapf.html.

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

address service requested 11 / 2014

nonprofit org.u.s. postage

paidmerrifield vapermit no. 742