Denis Brown

A note from Denis Brown with a link to his homepage. http://www.quillskill.com/
(Purchasing his 6 part series might be a good purchase for our guild.)


Denis Brown here with my calligraphy news mail for August 2011


A 3rd module, 'Freeing the Rhythm: Variation & Swing' is complete & available by online subscription and for those who have pre-ordered the DVD set.
6 new movies on 'Wild Swash Capitals' were uploaded today to Calligraphy.TV to complete the third module in the program, 'Italic Rhythm to Polyrhythm, Expanding Writing Dynamics'. With 108 minutes of video, this is significantly larger than either of the preceding modules on Italic, yet remains at the same price.

Link 1: Subscription and pre-ordering info.
Link 2: Watch the Calligraphy.TV sample movies.

The program as a whole is outlined at www.calligraphy.tv, below is a note on the new module.

Freeing the Rhythm: Variation & Swing
Advanced exercises to liven the italic with increased dynamics and a freer interpretation of rhythmic principles outlined in the Italic Theory & Practice module. Extremely advanced techniques with 'Dangerous lines' and 'Wild swash capitals' will challenge even highly experienced calligraphers. Nonetheless, all levels may be thrilled just watching the live video demonstrations, and picking up useful information without feeling need to master all that is presented right away.
Well over 5 hours of video is now online at Calligraphy.TV including basic advice all the way up to precise instruction on my advanced personal techniques. I have previously announced the complete program would include six hours worth of videos, now it looks likely to have more than eight hours. It may be 2012 before it is all complete, although I am devoting all my time to this when I am not traveling to teach.

Those who have pre-ordered may feel excitement from experiencing the development of this ambitious project as they watch new sections online, as they are released. They may also feel good that their pre-payment directly facilitates my commitment of time to the project. Also they benefit from remaining unaffected from likely price increases due to bad US dollar performance against Euro, as they look forward to a very special package in the mail on publication. (See the forewarning below about impending price increase).

My travelling for workshops in Chicago, Minnesota and Switzerland will provide a break from production until September, and then I shall be developing the more experimental module of the program regarding polyrhythmic calligraphy.



Apple's iPad with its ultra flat 9" screen may be the coolest way to watch calligraphy.tv right at your calligraphy table. Since I received my iPad 2 I've been working to making sure all works well on this device, as also on PC and Mac desktop and laptop computers.

A Forewarning!
Weak US Dollar rate means pricing must increase in September. Pre-order now to save. I live in Ireland and use Euros but for the convenience of my many US buyers, I price in dollars. The dollar has devalued a lot against the Euro in the past year and my pricing unfortunately needs to be redressed. This notification is a chance to get ahead of the price increase. Those who pre-order are fully pre-paid and will be immune to any price changes.





Images above from live video discussion& demonstration of 'Wild Swash Capitals', a subsection of the new module 'Freeing the Rhythm' in the program, Italic Rhythm to Polyrhythm'

Thanks for reading,
Denis Brown, Dublin, Ireland

Turn your calligraphy into Christmas Cards . . . starting: now!

Time again to think about working smart.  There are only 146 days left until Christmas so now is the time to get thinking, planning and implementing those vague concepts you’ve been stashing away at the back of your brain.  If you want to do a bit of back-planning, you have about 12 weeks to get your design into a finished form, ready to print.  

If you spent the next two weeks on design, that would leave you 10 weeks to work out the execution of your idea.  After that you would have about three weeks for production (copying or scanning, printing, assembling), addressing envelopes and then being ready to mail your cards in late November or ready to hand out at a certain December Guild meeting. Think about it and decide to make your own action plan to finish on time and not stressed.

Portland's International Conference

Apparently Portland's enthusiasm for next year's international
calligraphy conference is catching on like wild-fire! If you're
thinking about coming to conference you should register soon, we're
nearing capacity and a wait-list is in our near future! You can find
the list of faculty and registration info on our website.

www.2012calligraphyconference.com


We're looking forward to welcoming you to Portlandia!

New Date for Back to Basics-Gothic

We've had to change the date for the next Back to Basics class to Saturday, June 25, same time, same place, Kathy Sullivan's house. Hope to see you there.

Living Social Deal: Meininger's - Denver, Boulder, COS

Log onto LivingSocial.com today to find the deal - $20 for $40 worth of art supplies - yippee!

Back 2 Basics Saturday Class on June 19th

To inspire you, our Guild is now offering Back 2 Basics classes.  Back 2 Basics  is a continuing series of classes that will be offered six times this year  Upcoming classes include:  Uncial (April 23), Gothic (June 18), Italic (Aug. 20), Pointed Pen (Oct. 15) and Carolingian (Nov. 19).  Classes will run from 9 a.m. to noon.

All Guild members are invited to participate.  Registration is first-come, first-served, up to eight people per class.  The cost is $5 per class.  When you attend a class, paper, nib, nib holder & ink will be available for in-class use.  Catalogs for ordering your own supplies will be available.

The third Back 2 Basics class on Saturday, June 18th is  Gothic taught by Kathy Sullivan.  

Registration will open on June  7th for this second class.  To reserve your spot, e-mail Sally Liverman at springsS_9@msn.com beginning on June 7th.  Only e-mails received on the 7th or after will be considered for registration.  Cost is only $5 and you’ll need to pay your $5 at the Guild meeting on June 14th or at the class. 

If you are one of the first eight to register, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail and the location of the class.  Each class will meet at one of the teacher’s homes, giving you the opportunity to see their workspace and tools. 

Minutes from May

Meeting Minutes 10 May 2011
22 present

The meeting started at 7 pm after some “shopping time” spent looking at paper, mats, frames, books, and ribbon Lonnie had to part with. All donations were added to the guild funds, per Lonnie’s request. THANK YOU!! Lonnie!
Cecelia made a few quick announcements and asked for any additions from the members. *Kristen Doty is planning on coming out for our fall workshop.
*The next play date will be next Saturday the 21st at Cecelia’s where we’ll be stenciling her logo SUMMIT SCRIBES onto tee-shirts we bring washed from home.
*Pre-registration for the 2011 International Calligraphy Conference in Portland opens June 1st.
We had a time of show and tell from what we worked on last month (several Zentangle works of art!) Cheryl passed around her handouts from last month for those of us who weren’t able to make it.
Kay did a great job opening up the world of lettering on fabric to us. She brought washed muslin taped to boards for us to practice on and gave us tips and helpful hints along the way such as the best pens, pencils, and paints to use when writing on fabric. She told us the advantages of acrylic inks and paints and reminded us NOT to use them with our good brushes and to wash our nibs out right away! She encouraged us to look on line at textile printing or painting sites for more ideas.
THANK YOU, Kay!