Member SpotLight: Gretchen Weber
By Jane Robinette and Kristi Porter

Last summer many of us gathered for a reunion with Cheryl Adams, founder of CAGCI, at the West Des Moines Public Library. During our time together, Cheryl pointed out the banners hanging on the wall leading up the stairs. “Gretchen created those banners”, she said. Snapshots were taken, words exchanged, and a mental note was made: *Ask Gretchen for an interview*.

Time passed as time will and today I googled Gretchen for her contact information. What I found was a wonderful interview already in place on a site of which many of you may already be aware.

Lucid Planet (lucidplanet.com), the creation of Des Moines native Jane Robinette, is host to a weatlth of information compiled about Iowa Woman Artists. Jane shares text from the 79+ interviews she conducted in 1998 and 1999. The treasure and the charm is the recorded and preserved voices of each artist speaking about themselves, their creative process and their art - pure audio pleasurehighly recommended. With Jane and Gretchen’s permission, the text is reprinted here. This interview took place on March 31, 1999.

Biographical Sketch
Gretchen Weber was born in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1935. For the most part, she grew up in Jamestown as well, with her three younger siblings. She received her B.A. in English/Humanities from St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1957. She received her M.A. in Graphic Design/Calligraphy from Iowa State University. She is a professor at Iowa State. She is married and has four daughters. Her artwork is calligraphic and is often in the form of artist’s books. Gifted Hands in Ames carries her work.

Early Influences
“My mother was pretty fun-loving and fun to be with. She was a painter. She had studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and she’d studied violin in Chicago. So all of these sort of cultural things made me feel that we had something really rich—even though we didn’t have a lot of money. Music and art were both a good part of what she shared with us.

“We were kind of encouraged always to draw and make things and create. And when we were in high school, we happened to have a very good art teacher who was a nun—Sister Judith Stoughton. She was terrific; she was a college teacher who came. I think she was one of the biggest influences; in fact, she taught me calligraphy in high school, and I remember practicing with a brush on newspapers. She showed us how to do brush letters, which has been my specialty ever since.

Calligraphy
“With the children, I would say we always were appreciative of what they were doing and maybe encouraged their art, and let them paint on the walls. And always had art in the house. But I don’t think I was expressing myself very much.

“Barb [Bruene] and I took a course at The Octagon one summer. And the teacher invited Barb and me to
come and take his class at the University. So we both went to Iowa State and started this course with an emphasis in calligraphy. He got us in touch with a marvelous, worldclass calligrapher over in Davenport who he knew about, Father Catich. And Catich was the brush letterer who did inscribed letters in all the major buildings around from California to New York. So Father Catich was very instrumental in the quality of work that we were expected to do. Then it was a very serious, very intense, and rather difficult at the time with four little
kids at home. I remember having headaches. But I got through it somehow, and enjoyed it pretty much.

Artist Books
“I started as a two-dimensional calligrapher, doing wall pieces. When I made my first book, I put it into a traditional book form. And then I found other kinds of book forms that interested me even more– things that come out, or that stretch broadly and become a sort of a two-dimensional screen when they’re open, but that they have a life of their own that closes and opens, and reveals and conceals, and all of those kind of issues. So I collect things that I think might become objects for books, and then sometimes try to find the words that will
go with that walnut or those leaves or that ribbon or whatever. And then sometimes I find a text that calls for a particular material, and then I struggle to find that thing. Books are definitely my media. I really feel that’s where I belong.

Life vs. Art
“I get busy with lots of other things, and haven’t made it the primary concern to do my art. Teaching and committee work, of course, always goes along with the job, and I’m hoping that just cutting out committee work will help me to become a little more relaxed and get me time in my studio. And I think I’m going to have to schedule myself to do that, and just say that these days are for studio work. “We’ve gotten a lot of dinner groups going, and it’s a lot of fun to be with your friends. Making food is an art form for me, too. So I do enjoy that a lot. But it takes away from making the book and the calligraphy that I really find to be the most satisfying.

Making Art
“I feel very happy when I’m making art. I don’t know when I’m ever happier than sitting and doing the art. There’s always a struggle, but there’s so much satisfaction in it. It’s like practically nothing else that I know. I think I’m into my deepest self, and in touch with my spirit and sort of intuition more than probably any other thing that I do. It’s just very peaceful—I mean, even though the decisions are always a struggle, it’s most satisfying to work with the materials. And I love to make letters. It’s just a very happy experience of seeing that paint come out of the pen and making a beautiful shape—hopefully it’s a beautiful shape!

Advice
“Follow your heart. Don’t be discouraged. Try a lot of things. Collect things. Bring things together that speak to you. Don’t be afraid. Just have fun with it. Enjoy what you’re doing, and take time for that, because it’s easy to do a thousand other things, but probably the greatest joy is in making. That’s what I find.”

Sonjia Amensen Presents
Flourishing: The WOW Factor
By Sonjia Amensen

Flourishing is a talent that is high on my list of skills to master (question: why does this list get longer and longer while my list of skills I have mastered does not seem to grow?). Adding a flourish can turn mundane lettering into something that exudes the WOW factor.

My first attempts at adding pizzazz to my lettering looked more like random scribbles and then ‘improved’ to resemble bad graffiti. Neither outcome improved my lettering. I am always amazed when people can effortlessly add graceful strokes that make their lettering look both fluid and cohesive. My struggle is that when I try to dress up my lettering I end up with a Second Hand Rose’ theme rather than ‘My Fair Lady’; not exactly what I was going for. Am I the only person who could just slap those people who ‘just do everything, including flourishing, without a lot of thought‘? Luckily I’m not a violent person or I would have slapped several CAGCI members silly long ago. I know, be patient and practice and you will eventually develop
the technique – easy to say when you have natural ability. My sister has a favorite slogan that she whips out when she has heard enough whining from me: "accept the given fact" which translates to ‘you have to work with what you have’ (which I then spin into the sharp retort ‘thanks a lot for the encouragement Marcia!’)

I know this sounds like an insult to my family and friends; but it does not take much to impress them when it comes to lettering; adding the ‘flourishing touch’ seems to grab their attention. Since joining CAGCI my signature has slowly and subtlety evolved; eventually it will look nothing like my ‘official’ signature at the bank! I find myself adding little up/down sweeping strokes to my regular handwriting; I use an upsweep at the end of some letters and curving lines when I cross others. Maybe subconsciously I am doing this to subvert a potential forger; good luck duplicating a moving target.

I signed up for the Diane von Arx workshop because I wanted to learn proper flourishing techniques. In my trial and error stabs at adding flourishes to my work the results looked either stiff or distracting. It always annoyed me that my best strokes seemed to happen when I was doodling – if only I could bottle the relaxed attitude and use it when needed. OK, back to reality. If I had a hope of overcoming my flourish roadblock I needed to learn techniques that would guide me.

Diane emphasized that the flourishing strokes should go up, down, left and right. We were encouraged to stand in order to fully maximize our free arm movement; using a lapboard can have the same effect when sitting. Just a thought: I wonder if maestros are natural born flourishers. My hand hovers in sweeping motions over my paper; just like an airplane coming in for the landing. If only I can keep up the ebb and flow so that when I land on the paper it is not a simulation of an airplane crashing and burning. With ‘air practice’ I hope for a safe landing as I come in for the final descent. At times I’m left with the feeling that my best work is still lingering in the space above the paper. When I’m studying a flourish (why reinvent the flourish if a great one already exists) I look for the starting point and follow the path; each time I do this I think about the flight of a
bumble bee or a wand waving in the air to help me imagine the flow of the line.I discovered that the more relaxed my and/arm
movements were the more spontaneous and fluid my flourishes looked - just the effect I wanted. I came away from Diane’s workshop with the credo that I should keep it simple and know when to quit. When you‘force’ a flourish on a letter it does not work as well as adding it later without actually connecting to the letter. I appreciated her tip that a flourish can be a small touch placed at the end of a word; since some letters scream ‘flourish me’ while others seem to say ‘flourish if you dare’ I found this to be a quick way to jazz things up without pushing the bounds of flourish etiquette.

The flourish does not have to be complex to add effect. Diane demonstrated using the tip of a ruling or technical pen for flourishing to allow you to complete large flourishes without stopping to refill. When two of the same letters are next to each other flourish one of them in order to follow the’ keep it simple’ credo. A few simple strokes can be used to add emphasis, drama and framing to your work. I love to experiment with various tools: pointed pen for hairline and shaded; chisel nib for a heavier effect and brush strokes for less structure. Alternating between thick and thin strokes and adding flourishes with contrasting colors can add interest. I am most successful when I avoid thinking too much about the strokes (analysis paralysis) and just go with the flow.

In Diane’s handouts were examples that framed the lettering to great effect. I loved the exercise where we lettered around an indented border with flourishes that filled the center and outside of the paper. Flourishing can be a tool for covering up your ‘mistakes’ by taking a misplaced stroke and extending it. In my own experimenting I’ve discovered that the flourish you intend to do changes during execution and the best results are attained through ‘happy accidents’. One downward flourish can blend into the upward flourish below it or lettering that is not spaced well can be corrected by adding strategically placed flourishing.

When I think of flourishing as an art form the name of Michael Sull immediately comes to mind. The ornamental flourish he adds to his Spencerian text is awe-inspiring. During his workshop demonstrated flourishes that incorporated feathers, quills, birds and scrolls. You can almost hear text written in the Spencerian hand whisper ‘flourish me’. I believe we have a close competitor to Michael Sull for ‘flourish master’ in our own E.T. Taylor. His entry in the 2004 Spring Exhibit entitled Feathers’ was an exemplar for flourished birds and feathers. When I saw it I was reminded of the examples from the 1800’s contained in one of Michael’s Spencerian books.

I looked up the definition of Flourish in the dictionary and felt the results were worth sharing. When used as a noun the word flourish can mean ‘an ornamental stroke in writing or printing’, ‘a decorative or finishing detail’ or‘showiness in the doing of something’. When used as a verb the meanings include ‘to make bold and sweeping gestures’ and ‘to wield with dramatic gestures’. I searched the Internet for the term flourishing and found that the majority of the links are associated with people making the most of their lives (self-actualization involving the use of one’s individual talents, abilities and virtues in the pursuit of chosen values and goals). Out of curiosity I typed in the address www.flourishing.com; but since I’m not interested in purchasing filters I did not add it to my list of favorite sites – hey, it was worth a try.

Any way you look at it; to flourish is to add something that is hard to ignore. OK, I am really into giving my own definition for a term, so here goes: Flowing Lines Of Upturns Reaching Impressively Soaring Heights