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The Calligraphic Arts Guild of Central Iowa (CAGCI) is a non-profit organization of over 100 in-state and out-of-state members who promote and encourage the art of calligraphy and lettering. Membership includes all levels from beginning calligraphy students and hobbyists to professional lettering artists. Members in related fields such as graphic design, printing, fine art, and sign painting are part of CAGCI as well. Our goal is to educate and provide an exchange of ideas, techniques and resources to everyone interested in the calligraphic arts.
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Hire a Calligrapher - Central Iowa Calligraphers available for calligraphy hire.
Last February, the Iowa Soybean Association commissioned artists to paint giant fiberglass soybeans for the 2007 Soy on Parade. The Beans were displayed at the State Capital, county fairs, malls, etc, and are now all on display at the State Fair. Dot Prater's soybean depicts edible soy products in stacked Neuland brush letters with acrylic paint. Sept. 5, the beans will be auctioned off at Hoyt Sherman Place with the proceeds going toward Ag scholarships. Dot's bean is currently displayed at the Varied Industry building throughout the fair. A scavenger hunt is offered for those who want to hunt for all the beans, and submit their entree form for a prize. Letters on the Button Alphabet Workshop
presented by Louis Lemoine
Sonjia Amensen Kathy Schneider Christy Grubb Jean Wilson Sign-up / Guild Membership Form... Japanese Papermaking - Traditions Tools and Techniques Tim Barrett's Japanese Papermaking - Traditions Tools and Techniques has recently been reprinted by Floating World Editions in paperback and is available for $50; signed by the author. As a special fundraising effort to support the University of Iowa Center for the Book, 100 copies have been specially bound by Larry Yerkes; sewn on cords laced into the boards, blue goatskin spine, blue Japanese-made batik paper over boards, two tipped in paper samples made by Barrett and co-workers; also signed (and numbered) by the author. Price is $150 per copy. Contact the UI Center for the Book to purchase copies of either the special binding edition or the regular trade edition by calling 319-335-0447 or via e-mail at center-for-the-book@uiowa.edu. Write Erase Rewrite
It's beautiful, translucent and velvety. Forget everything you heard and feared about working on vellum. Forget that brittle, stiff, ink-repelling plastic marketed as vellum. Forget the comfort level of sticking to paper. Vellum has wonderful surfaces, and is a desirable tool for your own art. Cheryl Jacobsen, who learned about it after being commissioned to write a book on vellum, spent two days teaching us, with a stong dose of coaxing and coaching. "I think you do have to concede to one fear..that of the price and the danger of preciousness. It is expensive, but I had hoped that buying a whole skin and then being forced to just dive in and work on it would allow people to forget how much they just paid for one large sheet of writing surface!" says instructor Cheryl Jacobsen.
We each came with differnet expectations, attitudes and dreads. Sonjia Amenson explained, "I had a really hard time starting to write on such expensive material (OK, this is coming from someone who uses xerox paper a lot). My next 'excuse' was that my lettering is not as 'accomplished' as I thought vellum deserved. To counter that theory Cheryl told me that she prefers it when people use lettering they are most comfortable with, including their handwriting. As a final nudge Cheryl said, 'Just write Sonjia.' over my shoulder so I just dived in." Jean wrote, "I had no idea when I signed up for a workshop with Cheryl Jacobsen that I would find a new medium that has taken me in an interesting new direction. I had been working on pieces, on paper, for an exhibit for several weeks. They were fine, but I was more excited about the theme of blessings than the actual pieces of art. That morning I chose my first piece of vellum and I quickly started experimenting with words and tools." Cheryl showed up with slides, film, supplies, knowledge of the calligraphic and other artistic techniques useful for working on vellum, and loads of her workbooks, and work that is in progress and completed.
To drive home the point of the forgiving nature of vellum, Cheryl's first lesson was to have us write in ink or gouache then erase it. To emphasize the lesson, she showed us a correction made on the first page of a book.this is going to sound familiar.she had left out a sentence. But instead of starting anew, she scraped and sanded off the text and, in effect, wrote backwards to the top of the page. The first sentence, now left over, was dramatically recreated on the facing page with using enlarged letters that were decorated and illuminated. Jean Wilson said it this way. "Making mistakes is a good thing." More than that, by controlling and limiting the sanding, by removing just part of the lettering, we created dramatic effects by leaving ethereal marks, interesting textures, and spaces within the text block in which to add more text, illustration, or illumination. To protect defined spaces, we blocked off areas with clear drafting tape, then sanded exposed surfaces using 200-600 grit paper. We also taped around whole text blocks then sanded. Sanding left a fine dust on the vellum, thereby, tinting it the color of the painted text. This dust could be wiped away or left as is. We did it all. "The process of layering and then sanding was addictive" says Jean Wilson. Addiction usually includes a component of self destruction as well as some thrill seeking. Somehow, the destructive nature of sanding off the words, just written, balances out the thrill of trying each new layer and wondering if it will be the last layer. With each piece, there is a continuous stream of thought about which layer will be the last. I cannot put into words how I know that I am satisfied with the last layer. Experiences that cannot be put into words intrigue me. Putting words onto paper intrigues me. Putting words onto paper that are not easily deciphered is the most fun of all."
Vellum, being translucent, will reveal the writing and art on the back side of the page and is both a design consideration and opportunity. To align the writing on both sides, we first marked the text block by pin-pricking, then drew lines with pencil (erasable), or ink (you paid extra for the red lines 500 years ago), or engraved the lines between the pricks. As ink will pool in these engraved valleys, you letter between the lines. To lock the gouache onto the vellum, we added a bit of glair. Cheryl's favored glair was the clear liquid that weeps to the bottom of a bowl of hard-beaten egg whites. The glair imparted a soft sheen and deepens color. All writing surfaces have their quirks and vellum does change with the humidity. Cheryl took a work home from her studio. In the humid Iowa air, the vellum curled. In the dry conditioned air at home, it flattened back out. Actually, flat is a relative term with vellum. You can flatten it under weight for writing, but it will eventually curl.which is why medieval books were bound between wooden boards held closed with metal clasps. And wet inks and paints will soak through the skins causing cockling and worse. But that happens with rice and other papers. Cheryl Jacobsen says "Vellum is wonderful, quirky and sensual, forgiving and limiting in it's own way...kinda like people!" The vellum we had was expertly prepared specifically for writing by Jesse Meyer. Each piece of vellum is so different and different parchmenters may prepare the surface differently. Sometimes it's not as ready to write on as this stuff was, and you really have to spend more time sanding the surface just to get a good mark. I was hoping to make this a good experience for all so in case you have less than perfect vellum in the future you knew what to work for.
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Romancing the Pen Romancing the Pen, the 2005 summer CACGI members’ exhibit opened on Friday, June 3. It was a beautiful summer evening, and a fortuitous date as it coincided with Art Walk, bringing curious crowds strolling downtown Ames; strollers primed to look at art. Many stopped at the Octagon and were greeted by Mary Lou Powers as she displayed and demonstrated superb Spencerian script... afterwards the crowd strolled up to the galleries to see our exhibit. Ours was a dramatic 80+ works of art, a powerful display covering two gallery rooms. We had art, we had artists’ books, we had a live pianist, we had food and drink, and tables and chairs, and we had members. |
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CAGCI’s First Honorary Member Several of us gathered at the West Des Moines Library to honor Cheryl Adams as the first honorary member of CAGCI. A delicious and satisfying lunch was provided by members Sonjia Amensen, Barbara Breune, Tom Cameron, Joan Gordon and Christy Grubb, who also loaded the room with gorgeous garden grown flowers - one of the three bouquets in a 20 gallon tub! The table decorations were in place (thanks again, Sonjia). The sign-in “Thank You, Cheryl” banner was taped to the wall (thank you, Jean Wilson). Lunch was enjoyed and then the stories of inspiration began. I recalled my “closet calligrapher” days with Margaret Shepherd’s how-to books and the joy in receiving the artfully lettered “Calling All Calligraphers” invitation. I’ll add here the joy of hearing for the first time the term lettering artist. Jean Wilson spoke of Cheryl’s teaching style, the importance of first impressions, and the positive impact Cheryl made on her students. Joan McGrady Beach told us, “I wouldn’t be (in central Iowa) if it weren’t for Cheryl.” Joan moved to Dubuque from California, where she had been a member of Friends of Calligraphy and Pacific Scribes, so her husband could attend seminary. Cheryl saw her name in the Friends directory and wrote Joan a letter inviting her to participate in the guild. In 1994, when Joan and her family settled in Reinbeck, she contacted Cheryl and became active in CAGCI. It was Cheryl's friendly welcome that drew her to the guild. Charlene Ver Steeg, in whose livingroom the second CAGCI gathering took place, mentioned one could, “get into some big time trouble with Cheryl.” Cheryl invited Charlene to a national convention, she accepted, and lovingly recalled feeling like a, “kindergartner in a college class.” |
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