THE BIRMINGHAM C ALLIGR APHY GUILD ’S NE WSLE T TERwww.birminghamcalligraphy.org

Issue #5 October 2009

We had a wonderful workshop with Master Penman Mike Kecseg of Chicago, IL the weekend of October 3rd and 4th. There were about 20 members in attendance with our meals catered by the incomparable Mary Raines Harper and Suzan Bishop! As always, the food was fabulous! The subject was “Pointed Pen to Pointed Brush” with the first day being all work with the pen and the second with the brush. The style of lettering he taught was one of his pointed pen variations called “informal pen”. It is written at the same slant as copperplate and involves the use of similar pressure and release techniques and loosely resem-bles an italicized copperplate. As an added bonus, after regular class on Sat. Mike gave a detailed 1 hour lecture and slideshow on his certificates and resolutions.

On Sunday many of us had our first intro to pointed brush lettering! We worked on the same informal pen that Mike taught on Saturday and he taught us the basics of how to load and palette our brushes and said it was more important to have good “spring” in the brush bristles than to spend a lot of money on a brush. Synthetic is fine as long as it has good spring and a nice point. Mike likes Pentel Colorbrushes for prac-tice and sumi stick ink for any finished pieces – either with the pen or brush - or to use after the ink in the color brush runs out of ink. Controlling the brush was challenging but rewarding and I think everyone in the class was told we had better results than we thought we were getting.

Mike’s tips for good lettering: (1) always line your paper AND draw in your slant lines for best results, (2) use a 2 or 3B soft sharp pencil for lining – don’t press hard – use the weight of the pencil to draw your lines, (3) work slowly and deliberately – these are made to look fast, not write fast! (4) Pencil in smaller titles first to get spacing correct – this is not practical for larger portions of text however.What a great weekend! Mike was a fantastic and patient teacher and I can’t wait to have him back to Bir-mingham again soon!

-Melinda Sapp

Mike Kecseg

Mark Your CalendarsUpcoming Events:November 14 & 15- Lisa Engelbrecht Lettering and painting on fabricSaturday, December 19- Holiday Brunch and Card Exchange at Bettie Perkins’s home in HuntsvilleMonday, Feb 8th - 6:30-8:30 PM Meeting with Hands-on-projectSat. March 6th- 8:30-noon: Barbara Mitchell’s Amazing UncialsMarch 15-19- Jacqueline SullivanMonday, April 5th - 6:30- 8:30 PM -Meeting with hands-on projectSaturday, June 5th- 8:30- noon Jim Davis “Bill Lilly tips for enhancing and embellishing your lettering”Saturday, August 7th- Meeting with hands-on project

MINUTESBirmingham Calligraphy Guild

October 12, 2009

Members present: Mark Cenczyk, Eve London, Louise Meredith, Kathryn Murray, Bettie Perkins, Ann Phillips, Sharon Phillips, Ann Steves, Alexandra Wadley, Wendy Wadley, Deb Warnat

President Bettie Perkins presided.

Treasurer’s Report (Ann Steves)To date the Guild has 35 members who have paid dues for 2009-2010.

Mike Kecseg workshop: Fees collected $1550.00 Expenses $1529.53

The checkbook balance is $3765.71 Of this amount, $107.50 is earmarked for the Tina Motoyama Fund. Seventy-seven dollars and 50 cents were collected for the fund from the silent auction of the materials donated to the Guild by Rosemary Kenney.

Newsletter:The Guild publishes a newsletter four times a year. Bettie Perkins stated that relevant information about mem-bers should be sent to Eve London for inclusion in future newsletters. Eve London reviewed the contents of the upcoming newsletter and requested additional items including recipes.

Recruitment Brochure: Eve London suggested that a brochure explaining what the Guild is about be produced for distribu-tion at Alabama Art, Forestall’s, and other venues. She volunteered to work on a design for the brochure.

Holiday Brunch: Bettie Perkins encouraged early responses to her December 19th brunch invitation so that she can let mem-bers who are developing cards know the number they need to make. She also suggested that someone coordinate a carpool for the event.

Member Profiles: A form was distributed to collect information (short bio sketch, favorite calligraphy tools, etc) about each Guild member. The information will be used to feature various members in future newsletters.

Submitted by Ann Steves

Reggie Ezell’s“Primitive to Modern” Class2 SPOTS OPEN!!!!Contact DanaJacobson (967-1489)An in-depth study of blackletter, vel-lum and gilding. You do not need to have taken the first Reggie class to succeed!(1 weekend every other month)

Meet Mark CenczykMark is a new member of the Birmingham Calligraphy Guild. In an effort to get to know our new members, we will feature a short bio about a new member in each news-letter! Welcome Mark!

Mark was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. After college in Boston, Mark met his won-derful wife, Anastasia in D.C. and followed her back to Birmingham. He is a self proclaimed “Carpetbagging Yankee”.Mark first became interested in calligraphy at the young age of 9, but did not pursue seriously until he calligraphed his wedding invitations.His favorite hands are uncial and foundation-al. Mark prefers Speedball nibs and is a huge fan of the Pilot Parallel Pens.His favorite calligraphy book is The Art of Calligraphy by David Harris. He is en-thralled with large medieval scrolls and certificates.

We have always been facinated with Bill Lilly’s writing style and presentation. Below are two examples of envelopes sent to Jim Davis (founding member of the BCG) from Bill Lilly.

The calligraphy is inspiring as well as beautiful!Thanks, Jim, for sharing these spectacular envelopes!

Weneed

your birthdate so you’ll

receive something special!

Nibbler Bits

Congratulations Deb!Deb Warnat received first prize in the Mixed Media category at the First An-nual Juried Art Exhibition sponsored by the Shelby County Arts Council on September 3, 2009. The ceremony

was held at the Arts Council exhibition space in Columbiana.

Who Do I Contact?For workshop details? Suzan Bishop, 326-3926

sofbishop@gmail.comMeeting Information? Bettie Perkins, 256-881-6198 bettiejoyce@bellsouth.net Workday Information? Marsha Lassiter, 967-0969

mml4205@charter.netJoin or pay dues to BCG? Ann Steves, 956-5493

p47ams@yahoo.com

W O R K S H O P SBarbara Close Workshop

LIVELY ! FUN ! FAST-PACED! INNOVATIVE !

The Holiday Cards Workshop with Barbara Close held July 11-12 was all that and more for the large group of attendees. It was also a great

kickoff for the IAMPETH Convention in Nashville which immediately followed. Many of the workshop participants followed Barbara to

Nashville.

Barbara’s instruction was so clear and inspiring that the group ended the weekend with many cards and more importantly, lots of ideas for creat-

ing additional cards.

Eliza Holliday Workshop 10/10-11, Gulfcoast Calligraphy Guild,

Pensacola, Florida

“Windows and Tomatoes – Brush Uncial and Blackletter”

Eliza offer so much in just one weekend and was an extremely valuable experience. Day one we learned basic brush strokes and made quilt patterns out of them and then lauched into the

Uncial hand. Day two we worked in blackletter all day and even had a few minutes at the end of

the day to do brush lettering on fabric. It was a perfect tie-in between Mike Kesceg’s pointed

brush lettering and Lisa Engelbrecht’s writing on fabric. You’ll see some of the quilt patterns in the group picture. All twelve of us had a great

time and are looking for Lisa to come back soon.

Deb Warnat

londone@bellsouth.net, 870-5418

Greetings !

” There is no beautifier of complexion or form of behavior like the wish to scatter joy , and not pain, around us “.

------Ralph Waldo Emerson------

One way to scatter joy is through calligraphy ! To that end the Guild has several upcoming events to round out 2009. First, though, let me take this opportunity to thank Past President Louise Meredith, her board and standing committee chairs for the outstanding leadership they have provided . At a time when many guilds are experiencing dwindling membership rosters and lackluster attendance, this guild is vibrant and growing. We say, “ Thanks, Louise , and team for a job well done “ !

A special way to use what we have learned in past workshops, conferences and the 2 workshops coming up is the making and exchanging of cards and envelopes. In December we will be do-ing a Christmas/Hanukkah handmade card exchange at a brunch in Huntsville on December 19. There will be more about that in a separate message but this is just to remind everyone to put card-making ideas on the front burner.

It takes many volunteers and shared activities to keep any organization afloat and our guild is no different. We welcome all input to help us stay connected so please jump in…….say yes………attend……….pay dues……..and mostly pick up your pen at every opportunity to scatter joy !

I look forward to seeing you and working with you at future meetings and events.

Sincerely,Bettie Perkins

SCatter J

oy!

Want to Carpool to Huntsville???

Contact Eve London

Officers of the Birmingham Calligraphy Guild(Les Elumineurs*)

President- Bettie PerkinsVice President-Marsha Lassiter

Treasurer/Membership- Ann StevesRecording Secretary- Melinda Sapp

Workshop Chairs- Suzan Bishop, Deb Warnat,Barbara Mitchell and George Dorsey

* founded 1987

The Birmingham Calligraphy Guild welcomes both amateurs and advanced calligraphers. All you need is an interest in hand lettering.

If you would like to join:Contact Ann Steves

p47ams@yahoo.com

Dues are $25.00 to Birmingham Calligraphy Guild(September 1- August 31)

Mail your dues to:Ann Steves

5637 Hampton RoadBirmingham, AL 35210

205-956-5493

Being a member keeps you up to date with events and workshops! Don’t hesitate... Join today!

Ambrosia CrunchMary Jane Wooten

Southern Lady magazine

3 cups Rice Chex3 cups Corn Chex3 cups Cheerios2 Cups stick pretzels2 cups peanuts1 (12 oz bag) plain M&M’s1 12 oz bag peanut M&M’s1 (12 oz bag) white chocolate morsels

Mix all ingredients except white chocolate in a large bowl. Melt white chocolate according to the package directions. Pour white chocolate over the mixture and toss well to coat. Spread on waxed paper and let sit until the white chocolate hardens. Store in an airtight container.

Note: Bettie reports that she had difficulty get-ting the white chocolate chips to melt to a good consistency. She had much better luck substitut-ing a 16 oz bag of vanilla bark squares

Nibbles

CARROT SOUFFLE

2 lbs carrots1¼ cups sugar

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk1 cup melted margarine

¾ cup flour4 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Cook carrots. Process in food processor until creamy. Let cool. Add milk, sugar, margarine,

flour, eggs, and vanilla. Process until mixed. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

and pour carrot mixture into it. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 min. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F and bake another 30 min or until brown. Makes

10-12 servings.