31st CLAS Festival 2026

From the 10th-14th of August Judith Porch was honoured to be asked to teach two workshops at the CLAS Festival 31 at Warwick University.

The first was “Fun with Finetec and Colour-Changing paint”. The second was “Trompe l’oeil for Calligraphers”.

'I was lucky to have 17 in each group and both workshops were sold out. With an enormous case packed full of handouts and art materials including over 80 colours of Finetec and 35 dot cards I set off with both excitement and trepidation … Did I have enough? Had I forgotten anything? Although it would have been difficult to fit any more in my car! 

I arrived early and was ready for the off on the Monday at 9am sharp! Everyone was very enthusiastic and seemed to enjoy my laid back style where we took our time to do everything thoroughly without rushing. We still achieved everything I had planned in a relaxed tmosphere. As anyone who knows me will know, I don’t do anything fast! Before I knew it we were halfway through the week and on change over day.

So on Wednesday morning I said goodbye to 8 of my students (including Mary Noble) and welcomed another 8 to join the loyal band of 9 who had signed up for the whole week.

That evening it was my turn to do an hour long talk about my life in calligraphy. Despite the sound being so loud at one point that I thought my ears would explode it went incredibly well and everyone seemed to enjoy. They even stayed awake which I took as a positive result.

It was wonderful to recognise that 4 of the new people at Festival this year were there because of the South Wales Scribes and Lifelong Learning. I was very proud to have Debbie, Elise, Liz and Sylvaine with me and very grateful for all their support during the week.

I left having made some wonderful friends and feeling very uplifted.'

Judith

'Goodbye' to Gordon

In our last newsletter to members we announced that, after a 10 year tenure, our Chair, Gordon Wood, was standing down due to his move across the border. 

Gordon was a founding member of South Wales Scribes and committed to the craft of Calligraphy. He was a major driving force for our society, steering us successfully through two exhibitions marking our 5th and 10th anniversaries, and was an invaluable contributor in all our joint endeavours

To say ‘Thank you’ from South Wales Scribes we produced a gift of a collaborative concertina book which was bound and presented in a small wooden box (pictured). It was sent to Gordon in December following his official retirement at the AGM in November.

On receiving the gift Gordon said:

I was totally amazed to receive such a beautiful and emotional gift as a piece of outstanding calligraphy prepared for me by my friends at South Wales Scribes. It is something that I will treasure and means a very great deal to me to have such a lovely tribute. I am aware to the difficult task of organisation in making sure everyone involved knows the specification and sometimes the timed schedule seems to be a movable feast. To achieve the end result so quickly is a tribute to everyone involved.

… the most wonderful gift of such a beautiful piece of calligraphy. It is absolutely delightful and I will treasure the beautiful presentation forever.

Thank you to everyone who took part in creating this meaningful gift.

Heritage Craft Bursary News

We are delighted to let you know that Lesley, a long-standing member and committee member of South Wales Scribes has been awarded the Heritage Crafts Association and Society of Scribes and Illuminators (SSI) Training Bursary. 

Lesley went through a short-listing and interview process to achieve the bursary and has been described by the two societies as “showing huge potential” and “an outstanding candidate”. 

The bursary, funded by the SSI but awarded by the Heritage Craft Association, will pay for a year’s tuition with three Fellows of the SSI, helping Lesley as she develops her career and furthers her training in both calligraphy and illumination . This is a wonderful opportunity.

Congratulations Judith Porch FSSI!

We at South Wales Scribes are on Cloud 9! We are absolutely thrilled that one of our founding members, Judith Porch, has attained Fellowship of The Society of Scribes and Illuminators. 

She is only one of 42 Fellows worldwide so joins a very exclusive club!

Spring has sprung - finally!

It has been a long time making up its mind, but it looks like Spring has finally arrived. Enjoy the longer days, sunshine, fresh breezes, rain and rainbows. The spring bulbs and new growth bring a brighter colour palette of yellows, oranges, pinks, purples and bright, light greens. Better late than never - here is a little tribute to Spring from South Wales Scribes.