May Meeting – AGM & Social
Please join us in-person on Wednesday, May 3 for the ECS Annual General Meeting and SOCIAL at the Mill Woods Senior and Multicultural Centre. Doors (where you will receive a gift of a variety of pen nibs) will open at 5:45 pm, and the AGM will start at 6:00 pm.
Several meeting topics will be discussed during this meeting including the Elections of the 2023/2024 Executive Directors and Volunteer Committee Chairs. Social activities (including door prizes) will ensue once the AGM is adjourned.
We invite you to bring some calligraphy (framed or not) to display and share with members – best of all it does not have to be your own! We hope to encourage your creativity and discussion of what makes for great calligraphy.
Please note that we will have savoury and sweet refreshments, tea and sparkling water available throughout the evening.
Hope to see you there!
Mill Woods Senior and Multicultural Centre
2nd Floor of 2610 Hewes Way (above the Mill Woods Public Library)
We Need You Now
“It is with heavy heart that we, the calligraphy guild known as ‘Write on Calligraphers’ of Edmonds, Washington, must announce our intent to dissolve our non-profit organization. The Membership and the Board of Directors each, separately, voted on February 28, 2023, to dissolve our guild, established over forty years ago, due to lack of volunteerism to fill the vacant seats on the Board of Directors, required by our By-Laws.
Many of you may have enjoyed our annual ‘Letters of Joy’ regional conferences, numerous workshops and/or any of four international conferences known as, SOUNDINGS – 1996, BLACK & WHITE I – 2004, BLACK & WHITE II – 2006, and SEATTLETTERS – 2018. We sincerely hope that they gave you as much knowledge and pleasure as they did us in presenting them.
Thank you for your support in the past.”
Yours in Continued Lettering Excellence,
The WOC Dissolution Committee
Dear ECS Members,
I have included this heartbreaking notice from the Write On Calligraphers because unfortunately, it is not unusual. When COVID first surfaced, the Edmonton Calligraphic Society had several emails from people around the US who were delighted to be able to join us on Zoom because their own groups had folded. They were missing the opportunity to learn calligraphy in a community of like-minded people.
All calligraphy groups encourage new members and hope that newer and younger people will step up to volunteer for the variety of positions which need to be filled to maintain a viable, strong, motivating calligraphy organization. Too often, the same people end up holding the group together until they burn out and the group collapses. We cannot let that happen to the ECS!
Don’t think it can’t happen. Several years ago, a few of us sat around a table discussing what we would do if we didn’t get enough people volunteering to sit in director positions. It was a scary time. I am extremely grateful to report that after our April in-person meeting, two ECS members contacted me and DID step up. Thank you to NEW MEMBER, Helen Pauls, who has volunteered to take over the Treasurer’s position! You do not need to have years of experience to be an ECS volunteer. Thank you to Kathy Gynane who volunteered to take over the vacant position on the Membership team. Those two wonderful people made my day! Since then, NEW MEMBER, Shellie Patzer volunteered to work with Henry and look after the library. I’m happy to have her join us!
That said, we still require several more important volunteers to ensure the ECS can function next year: President, Monthly Meeting Coordinator, Mentor Meetup Coordinator, and an Outreach Coordinator. Please consider joining our fabulous ECS team! I will send the job descriptions separately, so they get the attention they deserve. We need you NOW!
Gail Fournier
ECS President
Learning Opportunities
RACHEL YALLOP’S RULING PEN TECHNIQUES
Sept. 23 and 30 via Zoom
9:00 – 11:30 am
The ruling pen is a very versatile tool not least because it comes in more than one form: the folded, the pointed, and the Cola pen. Even then there are different shapes within these groups which affect the marks made. Unlike many of the tools we use that have specific purposes, the ruling pen requires the writer to determine what it will ultimately produce. It is capable of everything from explosive to subtle,and traditional to contemporary.
Information and Registration
If you have questions, you can contact either Jessica Tran (ECS VP & Workshops, pensnpapereh@gmail.com) or Barbara Keir (ECS OutgoingVP & Workshops, keir927@aol.com).
April Meeting
Pointed Pen Carolingian
Pauline’s Pointed Pen Carolingian Session
What a delightful evening of lettering fun we had at our April 5 Monthly Meeting! Twentytwo ECS members and one drop-in (soon to be a member?) enjoyed putting pen to paper under
Pauline’s guidance to learn her variation of the Carolingian hand. She developed onestroke, tiny letters with varied weight using a pointed pen in place of a broad edge pen. We were provided with blue folders containing some background information, two pointed pen Carolingian exemplars, several beautiful practice sheets, and some lined pages to copy and use for our lettering at home.
First, Pauline had us work through a page that broke the strokes down into their main components, then we practiced forming the individual letters on three alphabet practice pages. We also wrote the alphabet on translucent paper placed over the exemplar.
Pauline explained how we were to use little strips of paper she provided to write a quote, greetings, or words of our choice using our new, lovely lettering. She demonstrated how to fold our completed, lettered strips into adorable pockets suitable for adding a little card, tiny treat, or other surprise.
Everyone was enthusiastic about Pauline’s creative hand and I’m sure there will be many people using it right away to create their own projects. Of course, we hope to see your endeavours in the May Ink Drops. Please send them to amybollana@gmail.com.
Gail Fournier
P.S. I received this email from Kathy Gynane and asked her permission to share it with you. We love to hear your impression of the sessions the ECS offers as it’s a positive confirmation that we are providing you with programming you want and love. “That was an awesome meeting last night!! It took me back to the days when it was all about lettering and Pauline is a joy!! Thanks for such a fun night – heard nothing but raves all around the room and that alphabet was delightful and it helped my pointed pen confidence. I’m so grateful to all of the Exec for everything they’ve done and continue to do to provide these opportunities for us.
Kathy Gynane
April Mentor Meetup
Shaving Cream Marbled Paper & Projects
Instructor: Arlene Bowles
Saturday, April 29
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM MST
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
10127 145 Street NW, Edmonton
Register on Eventbrite
Learn how to use shaving cream and acrylic paints to make exciting marbled papers, whether you prefer them to be bold and dramatic or soft and subtle, or a mixture of both. Later, using your marbled papers, we will explore several projects, suitable for penning your favorite calligraphic messages.
Shaving cream, trays, stir sticks and acrylic paints will be provided. I will bring a couple of irons for flattening our dried papers.
Participants should bring:
Pencil, scissors or Exacto knife and cutting pad, ruler, glue
Assorted cardstock ( white works best but you may want to experiment with color), copy paper ( I used
32 pound weight)
Squeegee ($4 @ Dollarama) or sturdy plastic straight edge for scraping off shaving cream
Calligraphy pens I found the pens that wrote best on the “plasticized” paper were Tombow
Fudenosuke, Sakura gelly roll, Staedtler pigment liners, Sharpies
Things can get messy so an apron or old clothes is a good idea as well as disposable gloves.
Please bring your lunch and a water bottle so you can eat while the marble papers are drying. After lunch, we’ll use the papers to create some special projects.
If you are able to arrive early to help set up tables and chairs, it would be most appreciated. The main door will be locked so please enter through the Northeast door.
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