Meetings Archive 2021–2022
Below is a summary of the meetings held during this year.
Programs will be added to our YouTube channel when possible.
June 1, 2022
Show & Share Your Art!
Coordinated by Elizabeth McKee
After a year of inspiration, it’s time for you to show off the wonderful art you created this year!
At the June meeting, we also elected officers for the 2021–2022 session.
May 4, 2022
Cyanotype as Ink
Presentation by Trish Meyer
This program has been recorded and will appear on YouTube when edited. View slidedeck.
Cyanotype sensitizer is normally used to create photograms or photographic cyanotypes. But did you know you can also use it as ink?! Experimental artist Trish Meyer will share how she mixes the cyanotype formula and how to use it for lettering on paper and fabric. Cyanotype lettering can be exposed simply in the sun – easy to do in New Mexico with 300 sunny days a year!
Once developed in water, the color is akin to Prussian Blue so you can also layer with matching watercolors or acrylic (shown above in handmade book). The color can be altered by toning with tea and other recipes, and texture inside the lettering can be achieved by layering with transparencies (used in the image above). See more of Trish’s cyanotypes on her website.
When you become familiar with the basics, you’ll find many creative ways to incorporate the technique into your art. It can create beautiful backgrounds for layering with gouache, a process that Tatiana Gebert will share as a bonus tip!
Cyanotype solution is a mix of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. If you would like a free sample to experiment with, please bring TWO small containers (two 1 oz glass jars would be perfect) to our next in-person meetup (Saturday, May 21st). Please wear gloves when handling cyanotype sensitizer.
April 6, 2022
The Replay video is now posted to our YouTube Channel
Lettering with Liquid Chalk
Presentation by Heather Martinez
Heather Martinez will share works created using three different types of chalk ink: semi-permanent, wet wipe, and handmade chalk paint using construction chalk. She will cover the different brands, surfaces, uses and when to use which types. She will then give tips on choosing lettering styles and tools for the project, pro tips for sign painting, and cheats for personal projects.
If you are familiar with this medium, bring your chalk inks, substrates and ideas you have on hand so we can share, brainstorm, and refine your workflow after Heather’s demo of how to work small on glass.
Heather Leavitt Martinez is a visual practitioner, art coach and lettering artist living in Durango, Colorado. After studying with master sign painters, graffiti artists, and calligraphers – which she continues to do today – Heather decided to translate what she learned to teach other visual practitioners the tradecraft of breaking down any lettering styles into the professional tools they use in their work. Heather believes that what we write on the wall is more than mere handwriting – letters are the building blocks of communication.
Heather’s graphic recording work has been featured in Letter Arts Review where she was named an Amanuensis to master calligrapher, Mike Gold. A peak-career experience that bridges the gap between art and being a visual practitioner.
Neuland Ambassador, Heather’s award-winning book, Lettering Journey was inspired by her North American cross-country trip. You can sign up for her free online course Unlock Your Neuland Markers at LetsLetterTogether.com.
March 2, 2022
This was a member-only presentation and will not be shared publicly on YouTube.
Winsor & Newton Calligraphy Inks
Presentation by Carol DuBosch
Carol DuBosch is excited to share what she has learned about the Winsor & Newton Calligraphy Inks. These inks are densely pigmented, lightfast, watersoluble, and work with any tool: edged pen, pointed pen, folded pen, brush, and fountain pen. The colors blend easily with one another. Mixing the Yellow Ochre with the Dark Blue creates a most exciting palette of muted tones, whether you are using the inks full-strength or diluted. Carol will share her experience with these two colors and the many pieces of art she has create using only two colors!
Carol has been a calligrapher in Portland, Oregon since she was first introduced to nibs and ink in 1959 as a high school art student. In the years since, she has gained a degree in Graphic Design and has studied with every major calligrapher in the US and Europe. She has taught college level and private classes in the Northwest along with workshops throughout the United States and Italy. She has also directed three International Calligraphy Conferences in Portland, bringing 500 scribes together for a week of studying and sharing.
She is interested in every aspect of the field of calligraphy from the formal invitation to writing on walls. She enjoys seeking out ways to stretch the boundaries of her art. As a life-long learner, she is always looking forward to the next new thing. Visit Carol's website.
February 2, 2022
This was a member-only presentation and will not be shared publicly on YouTube.
Bister Inks
Presentation by Amity Parks
If you’ve been hearing about Bister inks and wondering what the fuss is all about, then join Amity ‘live’ on Zoom as she demonstrates different ways to use these rich and earthy ink powders. She will start with showing you how to mix them and use Bister inks in a broad-edged pen, and then she will touch on ways to create bold background effects.
Amity Parks is an artist and calligrapher living in Missoula, Montana. For many years she has been studying calligraphy in weeklong and private tuition classes with internationally renowned instructors. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tulsa, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana. Her work has been featured in national and regional exhibits and publications. She has been a long-term active member and teacher in her local and state calligraphy guilds and travels within the US and internationally to teach workshops, including serving on the faculty for multiple International Lettering Arts Conferences, for the SSIW Conference in Melbourne, Australia, the Midwest Art and Lettering Retreat, Letters California Style and LaRomita School of Art in Umbria, Italy. More information and artwork can be found on Facebook, Instagram and at her website, amityparkslettering.com
Wednesday, January 5, 2022 @ 5:30pm (note earlier time)
Board Meeting
Board Meeting will be held online (via Zoom). Check your email for Zoom Meeting info.
All members are welcome to our meetings!
December 18, 2021
Holiday Party
Member only holiday party with refreshments & fun!
December 1, 2021
Replay video available for members now. Edited video in progress.
Inks from Nature
Presentation by Judi Pettite
Judi will provide an overview of small batch ink made from plants, insects, mushrooms and mineral pigments, followed by an introduction to the process using cultivated plants or locally foraged materials. The focus will be on water-based mediums, as well as sumi style and shellac-based ink for use with brushes or pens.
Judi Pettite is an artist and educator working with natural pigments. Her artwork combines a variety of disciplines and scientific fields to more closely examine our relationship with the landscape in a contemporary art practice. She teaches workshops in the U.S. and abroad and produces artist ink and watercolor under the name BioHue.
November 3, 2021
The Mysteries of Stick Ink
Presentation by Reggie Ezell
Watch Replay on our YouTube Channel
In this presentation you will learn the contents of black stick inks, the process of grinding them, the different types of ink stones, and other mysteries will be clarified about this wonderful writing fluid.
Reggie Ezell is a teacher. For over three decades his year long course “26 Seeds: a Year to Grow” has been among the most highly regarded and sought after in the U.S. and Canada. For a decade before that he taught calligraphy at Loyola University and the Newberry Library of Chicago.
For the last ten years his new extended studies course “PRIMITIVE TO MODERN”, as the title suggests, has been an intense fusion of millennia old materials and techniques; calfskin vellum, gilding, quills, dry pigments, and designs (eg. Codex Aureus) with computer and inkjet generated backgrounds, modernized alphabets, contemporary and innovative designs and techniques. The structure, geared to flexibility, generates finished works based on the student’s preference for structured examples or individual initiative and interest. These exciting works have been emailed out weekly since 2009 as “Pic of the Week”, all archived on his website www.reggieezell.com.
Since 2013, Reggie has produced a series of instructional calligraphy DVDs and Portfolios for purchase on his website. Free “trailers” are available on his YouTube channel. In recent years he has offered Zoom workshops and extended studies for students around the world.
October 6, 2021
Zoom replay video link is emailed to current members.
The Properties of Watercolor
Presentation by Jeffrey Olson,
Art Education Director,
Royal Talens North America
Watch Replay on our YouTube Channel
Did you know that watercolor painting dates all the way back to 4000 BCE in Asia? Did you know that gum arabic, the binder for watercolors, comes primarily from sub-Saharan Africa?
Join artist and educator, Jeff Olson, Art Education Director for Royal Talens North America, as he shares some of the amazing history, manufacture and working properties of watercolors, including a description of some of the newest and most unique colors available to artists today.
Royal Talens
The mission of Royal Talens, founded in 1899, is to facilitate and stimulate creative expression in painting and drawing. We market inspiring and innovative top-quality products including Rembrandt Watercolors. Talens’ Art Education mission is to provide “resources for artists and instructors that engage, inform and inspire artistic experimentation and expression.”
Jeff holds a BA and MFA in painting and drawing and is a working artist exhibiting for more than thirty years. He has more than a decade of college and university teaching experience in studio art, and more than twenty years in the art material industry with product expertise in a variety of mediums; Olson’s lectures deliver meaningful insights into the history, development, and application of artists’ materials.
September 1, 2021
The Earth Pigments
Presentation by Erin Allen
Erin Allan from The Earth Pigments Company will join us for a Zoom Meeting on September 1st to introduce us to their online store, EarthPigments.com.
With 68 pigments and mica powders to choose from, the selection can seem overwhelming. Erin will explain the different pigment colors, where they come from, and what may be the best choices for calligraphy inks.
Erin is the child of artists, having parents that were an integral part of the New York Illustrators Society in New York. Erin says: “My Father, Don Crowley, later became a prominent Western Artist. I started The Earth Pigments Company 14 years ago after being introduced to a representative from our parent company, The Society of Ochers of France. Always having a passion for color, the desire to offer these amazing pigments was too hard to resist.”
August 4, 2021
Show & Share Your Art!
Coordinated by Elizabeth McKee
The August Program will be a show and share of what we did this summer. Many of us attended the Legacies III calligraphy conference and have lots to show and talk about, plus there were other classes going on like Ghost Ranch. Not to mention that you may have produced work on your own. Images can be shared on Padlet.