Workshops

After our very enjoyable Zentangle® workshop last year, Sheila is paying us a return visit. 

Following The Zentangle® Method, we will create a piece of art with a maritime influence known as The Mariner’s Compass. During the creative process we will hand draw and use various ‘tangle’ techniques to enhance and decorate our compass design. Our finished piece will be flourished with cardinal pointers to the North, South, East and West. We will also learn more about the history of the Mariner’s Compass and how it has been used for many centuries.  

Member-led workshop - Bister Inks and Little Books

Outline

It’s fun, it’s lively and it’s contemporary! This workshop was an introduction to a script which is easy to learn for beginners and a light-hearted contrast to other hands for those with some experience.

It can be carried out simply in monoline form or penmanship skills can be developed using press & release techniques. This script is particularly useful for informal and spontaneous work such as greetings cards, journals or little books and anyone can play with the letterforms, enjoying their happy-go-lucky stance on the page.

Review by Joan Mallett

Our first workshop of the year was held at a new venue for us, Llewellyn Hall, Penllegaer.

Josie started by telling us the origins of the Mouse Roman hand.  It is an informal version of Roman bookhand based on the Italian Bodoni typeface.

Firstly we looked at and compared various early typefaces and then went on to look at and discuss the skeleton lower case letters which are based on an oval ‘O”.

Our first task was to practice the letters in pencil quickly moving on to writing words so that we gave some consideration to spacing.  We continued using pencil to form the letters with their serifs and distinctive ’berries’ on the a, c, r, I, j, and y.

Following a demonstration from Josie we used pointed pen and ink to try and perfect our letters, both in monoline and using pressure and release to add weight.

This is an informal and modern hand and we were soon trying to make our letters bounce by hanging them from a top line, writing with a central line only or using only a bottom guideline which allowed the letters to bounce above it.  By trial and error we all discovered our preferred option.

Following lunch Josie showed us examples of her work and how to make a fun Woven Accordion book and tiny concertina books with covers, which I am sure we will all use at some stage.

The hand is relaxed and more effective and bouncy when written quickly so it will be very useful for cards and informal writing.  I think everyone enjoyed the workshop and it moved along at a good pace. Thank you to Josie for managing to get to us and for making the day lighthearted, interesting and fulfilling.

On a sunny September morning we were delighted to extend a warm welsh ‘croeso’ to our speaker Julia Baxter - Ahead of us lay a day learning about how to create calligraphic monograms and logos.

Julia's interest in writing began at primary school. She always had a great love for painting and drawing and studied and gained a BA(Hons) in Graphic Design from Maidstone College of Art, followed by Adult Education classes in Calligraphy and a subsequent an Intermediate Diploma from CLAS. For the past 15 years she has developed and honed her calligraphic skills and now teaches and undertakes private commissions.

Julia's biggest influences are creative contemporaries such as Thomas Ingmire, whose work encourages her to take risks. She especially likes using modern Gothic script based on Textura. This interest was triggered following a workshop she attended by Professor Ewan Clayton on modern Gothic, which alerted her to it's lively and decorative nature. She is equally inspired by the traditional skills of the medieval scribe and examples of highly skilled lettering. 

Our morning session was spent developing a monogram - a design consisting of two or more alphabet letters combined or interlaced. Working initially in pencil, Julia demonstrated the step by step process she always follows when producing a monogram. Starting with skeleton letters we learnt how to play with the shape of the letters and determine whether any strokes could be shared, overlapped or juxtaposed. Once a satisfactory combination was achieved thoughts then turned to script style. Reference was made to script exemplars and a pencil template sketch was made of our chosen style. Modifications were made to the weight of strokes, adding curves and plumping the strokes if needed. This sketch was then traced and tweaked and used as a base to develop our final designs in pen and ink. By using repeated tracings and tweakings a final design was made in black gouache, fineliner or marker and tidied up with white gouache. We were provided with excellent handouts which illustrated the stages of the design process and also numerous examples of calligraphic monograms from which to gain inspiration.

The afternoon session covered logos or logotypes which are graphic representations or symbols of a company name, trademark or abbreviation. Many logos are produced by graphic designers using computer fonts but there is often a requirement for logos that capture the individuality of hand lettering . 

Following on from the monogram designing we now faced the challenge of playing with more letters to develop a logo. A new logo design is seen as a 'problem to be solved' and the client and calligrapher need to work closely together to have a vision of what is required.

Julia again provided us with handouts illustrating a suggested working order based on actual commissions she had worked on and how the designs were developed. Another handout illustrated a wide range of examples of logo examples. Armed with this information we were provided with a range of logo challenges and briefs and asked to come up with our own designs and interpretations.

Working from a basic pencil sketch of skeleton letters we played with letter shapes, sizes, spacing and flourishes and produced our own interpretations for the logos.

At the end of the session, as is customary at our workshops, our combined efforts were jointly displayed and discussed.

The day was extremely enjoyable and provided us with a fascinating insight into the skills and expertise of professional Graphic Designers.

On a very sunny day South Wales Scribes enjoyed a workshop superbly led by Sylvie Gokulsing who explained that arabesque had nothing to do with ballet and everything to do with designs derived from images found in nature used to create rhythmic, scrolling and interlacing patterns.

For hundreds of years these stylised images have been found not only in illuminated manuscripts and on ceramics, but in buildings, carpets and textiles.

Arabesques made from leaves and flowers are called Hataŷî, so we also learned a little bit of Turkish. These were widely used in Ottoman decoration from the 14th century but they exist in wall paintings from 600 years earlier and probably originated in Chinese Turkistan long before Byzantine artists developed their stylised versions of acanthus. So it was no surprise to find that Hataŷî means ‘from Cathays’ i.e.China’.

To whet our appetite for the exquisite decoration that could be achieved Sylvie had brought along an A3 handmade book of stunningly beautiful Islimi examples, which she had created.

We started the day with 4B pencils and practice paper and the focus was on four basic design elements:

· stylised leaves (Yoprak);

· a flower with varying numbers of petals seen full face (the Penç);

· a half-opened flower seen from the side (the Goncagil);

· a flower seen from the side but with the centre visible (the Hataŷî motif). 

Sylvie distributed several examples for each design element and people practised finding that magic combination of the one they most liked and the one they could draw well. She showed how combining these elements could create beautiful borders. Even better was discovering that drawing just one quarter of the design could generate the other three quarters. Indeed such tessalation could be used to fill a page.

Sylvie introduced us to two traditional colouring techniques both involving graduated tones – so monochrome was fine. In Halakar the heaviest colour came at the tip of the leaf/petal, whereas in Mun Hani the darkest areas were at the point of growth. in the latter technique there were usually three tones and the internal shapes were outlined.

The day ended with the class exhibiting an impressive variety of skilfully executed Islimi arabesques.

All in all a highly stimulating, challenging and enjoyable day. Our warm appreciation to Sylvie for so brilliantly capturing the essence of Islimi in a gently flowing, carefully structured and delightfully balanced workshop.

Pat Wright     

Come along and learn how to unravel the intricacies of the Celtic Knot and design your own knotwork pattern.  

With a few simple rules and a square grid you will discover how to construct the simplest knot and then build on this to make more complicated patterns as the day goes on.  

Use these patterns with calligraphy, stone carving, lino cuts, stencils, embroidery, knitting, etc, or just on their own as a beautiful design.

The workshop is an opportunity for students to learn the methods of creating a diaper pattern, a characteristic decorative feature of many medieval manuscripts.

Rather than produce one 'finished' piece, students will experiment with different 'variations on a theme', exploring the possibilities, which can then be worked up into a piece at home. 

Once one masters the ductus and has a thorough understanding of the structure of letterforms, we need to make them our own. 

This class will explore ways of looking at letters in a more abstract way while moving away from the rigidity of writing between two lines. The ultimate goal of this class will be to develop fresh and unique styles based on your own existing style while exploring a variety of tools and techniques.

• Writing common groups of letters, both upper and lowercase in skeletal form.
• Looking at the length, angle and position of each stroke and their relationship to one another and how they can be altered for effect.
• Exploring how far the strokes can be pushed and the extremes of letter design without losing clarity.
• Looking at how they change when weight is added and different tools are used.
• Experimenting with a variety of tools and how they can be used to achieve certain effects.
• Combining tools and techniques with the creative letterforms practiced.

‘After studying Mechanical Engineering, I began teaching myself Spencerian and Round Hand after coming across the IAMPETH website around 5 years ago. At first it was a real challenge to learn how to use the pointed pen and to familiarize myself with the movements and pen, ink and paper combinations.

I have now developed a new modern style inspired by nature and the cosmos, based on the historical Spencerian and Round Hand scripts into an (hopefully) exciting new pointed pen “look”.

I think it is important to try to push the boundaries of the art that you are involved in, to try new ways of doing things and to look at lettering in a slightly different way.’

James gave a comprehensive handout at the beginning of the session and briefly explained development of the hand from English Roundhand to Italic Cursive and Circumflessa developed by Italian Scribes.  It was then simplified by American Scribes to become Engrosser’s Script, which was mainly used for formal script, and diplomas and it developed into the Spencerian hand which was used widely in American handwriting.

James explained how his Spencerian Script is an exciting and contemporary development of the letterforms, influenced by his interests in Cosmology, Astrophysics and the polyrhythms heard in ‘Jungle’ metal and dance music, using whole arm movement and rhythm.  He frequently holds workshops in Italy and America.

We used oblique penholders, adjustable metal flange preferred, but the ordinary plastic variety was used by most of us and a variety of flexible pointed pen nibs.  Iron Gall ink was thought to be the best but Walnut Ink or good flowing black ink is suitable.

Our first exercise was to draw oval shapes in the air using a whole arm movement to develop muscle memory, and then to draw the ovals lightly using pencil onto the paper, drawing ovals on top of each other in a continuous movement.  We then progressed to moving the ovals along slightly sideways and then to move the direction of the ovals.  We progressed to drawing the ovals with pen and ink. This method develops lightness of touch, freedom of movement and muscle memory.

James then demonstrated the individual strokes used to form each letter and letter group and progressed with demonstrations to show, ascender and descender flourishes, angle of slant, and where and how to add pressure.  After practicing the individual letter shapes and groups we started to join the letters together to form words.

Throughout the session James frequently demonstrated wonderful examples of his exquisite lettering. It looked as if his pen hardly touched the paper but his lettering was so delicate, all the thick and think strokes were there together with wonderful flourishes and shading.  We concentrated mainly on lower case letters in this session, upper case will be for another visit.

James explained and showed us examples of his contemporary work using colour, shape, ink blots and splatters.

The workshop was taxing for most of us but James was charming and there was lots of laughter, it was a joy to watch him work and demonstrate. Lots more practice required from us I think.

We finished off the session with a group photograph taken outside the hall.

Review by Joan Mallett

This workshop was about experimenting with colour, particularly granulating colours, using the work of Adolf Bernd as an example. 

Adolf Bernd (1909 - 1994) was a commercial artist of some note for much of his life and it was not until he was in his sixties that he was able to develop his love of colour into the art form we see in his letter paintings, around which our workshop was based.

The real appeal of his work lies in his subtle use of colour, form and white space. His palette is more often than not limited to only one or two basic colours but in the combination of these colours he finds a whole new palette. And this is one of the main things we were looking at during the first day. 

Working through a series of exercises beginning with the basic principles, we learnt more about colour and its properties.  We looked at harmonious and complementary colours and the spectrum of colours produced by the gradual introduction of a primary colour into another primary colour.  Penny also gave us lots of tips and techniques about using water colour. 

Later in the day we looked at some design elements: ways of dividing up the available space in an interesting way and the use of white space to enhance the design. 

The second day we looked at the way Adolph Bernd used letter forms in his work and, by mirroring the shapes within the letter and extending them into the surrounding space, produced a pleasing design. Again starting with some prescribed exercises, we then moved on to producing our own personal interpretations. We first looked at simple letters and various ways in which they might be divided up using colour variations and white space and then moved on to producing a Letter Picture of our own.

It was a really inspiring and enjoyable weekend.  It was lovely to have the extra time to explore this topic in greater depth.

Review by Ann Sear

How good is your eyesight?  This was the most asked question before the day's workshop, but Mary was very wise - the work got smaller and smaller and we got more and more proficient as the day progressed so there was no need for concern ........ or a magnifying glass!

Having a very sharp 2H pencil and a clear ruler helped to ensure our line widths were accurately drawn.   A good sharp nib produced crisp lines and we experimented with both Mitchell and Brause nibs of different sizes.  Gum Sandarac helped to give the surface of the paper 'tooth' as did the wonderful 'Conte' pastels that we rubbed in carefully .......the pretty hues setting off our writing really well.  Different paints and inks were tested including  Iron Gall, Walnut, Indian and Quink before we began the count down.  

We started with 4mm ruled lines, then went down to 3mm, then 2mm and some of us were even brave enough to attempt one millimetre before the end of the afternoon.  Between these lines we used very attractive capitals that were easy to produce and read even when tiny.  Our final exercise was to copy some fifteenth and sixteenth century Italian Renaissance italic hands.

Who needs to go to yoga classes to reach a state of inner calm when you can spend the day focusing on 'teeny weeny' tasks with Mary Noble?

Review by Grace Birt