Friday, November 30, 2012

OH MY CANADA EXPERIENCE!



 Barrie's





Kerri's


I can't say it enough-but I am still so surprised at the wonderful work that happens in my classes! I feel so honored to be able to watch artists work and just be there as a facilitator-I had the most wonderful experience at the BOW VALLEY CALLIGRAPHY GUILD in Calgary, Alberta for 4 wonderful days in November! I stayed with the talented Kerri Forster who was a wonderful host-despite an unfortunate incident. I taught Letterista Romans and Gothic and the great ladies and gentleman did inventive and grand work-here is just a small sample-you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the many pics on my flickr-( click on the link on the right) it is so inspiring!


                    Annette's




                      Anne Purdy's




                       Kerri's




Here are some samples from the next two day class that was Bali Lanterns-the theme was celebrating the everyday. I have to give a special shout out to my girls Anne Purdy, Kerri Forster and Thea Paul and everyone in my classes -...and whoa an art store inside the classroom!? Special thanks to Annette-thats her Autumn lantern up there-owner of  Kensington Art Supply who saw to our every art need and there were many!!

So now home to recuperate and get ready for the new year adventures! A solo show in February! An Art party in January! Letters California Style! ( My class is full but there are still spaces in several awesome classes! go to www.socieyforcalligraphy.org for the flyer)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

BRUSH SAN DIEGO!

Oh so lovely a weekend with the SanDiego Fellow Calligraphers at the Rancho Bernardo Swim and Tennis club! Here's what a new member, Abhirami wrote about the workshop! ( This is her work below and by the way she is a total beginner!)


*Brush Lettering by Lisa Engelbrecht on Nov 10-11 2012*

We started off by introducing ourselves and getting to know each other.
The class was a mixed group, ranging from those with no introduction to
brush lettering to those who've taught calligraphy classes. We spent the
first morning getting comfortable with using a brush, being able to
control our
movement while at the same time learning to let the strokes flow from
our hands freely. We practised simple (and not-so-simple) strokes




Nancy's Studio plaque!


repeatedly before getting started on the alphabet. Then, Lisa had us watch as she
demonstrated the lower-case letters one by one. We traced them using
graph paper and the handouts to get the hang of the letters and then
started trying to write them on our own. Lisa gave us thoughtful prompts
to think
of words we could write once we were familiar with the alphabet. We did
the same thing for the upper-case letters after that. By the end of the
day, all of us felt more confident with our brushes and were also able
to try our some words with watercolors and glitters.

Lisa started the second day's session by showing us demos of writing
styles with various types of brushes and pens; it was fascinating. She
provided some supplies for us to try out different effects and we spent
the morning writing more words on black paper with acrylic paints. We
practised a pointed script with micro-tip pens and also did a brush
version of the same. After lunch, we learnt a curly script with a more
fluid style and a lot of curls and flairs - it was my personal favorite!
When we put up Lisa's demo font on the wall in front of us, I thought it
looked fabulous. She then asked us to create our own variation based on
what we've learnt and have fun finishing our favorite words; we made a
booklet out of these at the end of the day. We had also got our plaques
set up earlier in the morning with gesso, to write one inspirational
word on it. Lisa then showed us different ways to decorate the scripts
with gel pens, oil pastels or water colors. At the end of both days, we
spent some time walking around  looking at everyone's creative work and
sharing our own - it was a great way to interact with everyone, share
techniques, learn from each other and feel connected.

Kristen's work and her wildest dreams!


Throughout the two days, everyone's good spirits and energy made the
place a wonderful environment to work in, full of laughter and
enthusiasm, and
made the overall experience very memorable.

Cheers,
Abhirami



She is the best and I couldnt have described it better! Thanks to Rose Smutko and Linda and Allen West for providing me with everything I ever needed down to the morning Starbucks and tech help with my presentation! HOW LUCKY am I? Off now to Canada -then to Seattle to see the girls-November is cray cray for sure!! GO LOOK NOW at the pics from the weekend at my Flickr site-link on the right-right there!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

HOUSTON CALLIGRAPHY GUILD MAKES FABRIC BOOKS!

A wonderful full full weekend in Houston with the Calligraphy Guild! I stayed with the wonderful couple, Don and Maureen Vickery who co-own the calligraphy business Pen Dance-go to their website and check it out! www.pendance.us  It is so great to see fabulously successful lettering artists! ( Their house was so lovely too!)



We painted and played and created wonderful books-here are a couple in progress!



One of my students was Beth Keitt Brubaker ( above) who really wowed us with her amazing work-check out her website at www.keittoodles.com
I also got to meet up with the enigmatic and super fun Mike Eros who showed me round the downtown area
I've posted all the Houston photos on my Flickr site here! www.flickr.com/photos/25736261@N00/\