South Wales Scribes
Ysgrifwyr De Cymru
Group Projects
2024 Group Project
At our 'get-together' workshop on 9 March 2024 members discussed and agreed on the specification for the Group Project for the coming year. We decided to aim to complete the project for display and review at the Annual Review Meeting on 23 November. All members are invited to participate.
Subject:
Each SWS member to chose a location of interest in South Wales. This may be a place, building, monument, etc.
Hopefully we will all have different suggestions but, if there are any duplications, we may have to discuss someone changing their first choice.
In order to start the project off in plenty of time, please notify your suggested South Wales Destination if you wish to participate by the end of March to gordon.wood@lairdwood.co.uk
Specification:
Watercolour paper 140lb/300gsm smooth or textured.
White or tinted paper.
Size to be a single leaflet 135 mm x 297 mm to be worked in portrait orientation. Both sides to be used to promote your 'South Wales Destination'.
Work should include some form of illustration or patterning or mapping and the lettering style is up to each member.
The calligrapher to decide design, layout and how much or how little information is to be included.
You may do your piece bilingually (Welsh and English) if you wish.
Medium of your choice but remember it will need to be fairly durable as people may wish to remove the sheets from the display (design of which is yet to be agreed) to read the details.
Examples of destinations chosen so far:
Grace - Maen Madoc, Sarn Helen.
Keith - St Govan's Head and chapel.
Gordon – Mumbles Lighthouse
Christmas 2021
A festive feast for the eyes.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this Christmassy calligraphic review.
2022 will be a significant celebration of 10 years of South Wales Scribes. We look forward to our first gathering of the year on 29th January to make exhibition plan. So, until then, Happy New Year to everyone and keep scribbling!
Envelope Exchange 2020-2021
Covid restrictions throughout 2020, and into 2021, meant that we were unable to meet for our regular workshops. However frustrating this might have been the ‘lockdowns’ also meant that some of us in fact had more opportunity to indulge in our hobbies.
One aspect of Covid was the change in the way families, friends and groups communicated. We saw an increase in the use of technology with the advent of the ‘Zoom’ and ‘Teams’ virtual gatherings, work meetings, quizzes and workshops. This change enabled many of us to take part in calligraphy workshops that would have been impossible pre-Covid. I for one took part in two calligraphy workshops with practitioners in America, something I never dreamt of pre-lockdown.
In total contrast there was an increase in more conventional, old-fashioned methods of communication – parcels and letters were welcome distractions from the concerns of Covid.
It was in this climate that one of our members Doug Adams suggested an ‘Envelope Exchange’ in 2020 to enable us to keep in touch creatively and socially. I was always thrilled when the monthly envelope landed on my doorstep and I wasn’t only greeted by a beautifully crafted envelope but I had the added pleasure of reading a hand written note enquiring how I was and describing how the envelope had been derived, designed and what media had been used in its creation.
We would wish to take this opportunity to thank Doug Adams for organising two very successful Envelope Exchange projects. The members who took part thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the activity when it was not possible to meet up due to the Covid19 situation.
Lesley Romano
Autumnal Inspiration 2021
Summer is well and truly behind us and many of us are looking forward to, or have just started another year of calligraphy classes or workshops.
We asked for some ‘Autumnal Inspiration’ from South Wales Scribes members and we weren’t disappointed. Thank you to everyone who responded to our request for details of work on an Autumn theme.
The days are now noticeably shorter, the mornings are cooler and mistier and the natural world around us is changing colour – from summertime green to the amber, rust, chestnut and deep reds of Autumn.
Our autumnal collages feature a wide variety of creative work using different media for written hands, drawn lettering, illumination and gilding. We hope they provide you with some inspiration for your own ongoing work. One advantage of the longer, darker nights is perhaps more time to settle down to some creative calligraphy without the distraction of good weather or the smell of a BBQ outside!
Lesley Romano
Collaborative Colour Book 2017
It was suggested in our November AGM that it might be an idea to keep just a little bit of pressure going after our busy exhibition in February 2016 by producing a small collaborative piece to be completed for the next annual meeting. This was something to keep us working as a whole – as we did last year – I for one found it very enjoyable being part of such a creative team.
The brief was to produce a small page of calligraphy (size 9cm/9cm) to be included in a concertina book that members could borrow in the future for ideas and inspiration. The title for the project was ‘Colour’ and members were invited to interpret it in any way they wished; using any calligraphic style, illustration, text and medium. The resulting images are in the gallery below.
Grace Birt
