CONNECTICUT VALLEY CALLIGRAPHERS

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2010 EVENTS

 
 


GENERAL MEETINGS


Meetings are free & open to the public.
They are held from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.

Monday, March 15th
Stone Carving by Adam Heller & Tracy Mahaffey of Samaritan Carvers

West Hartford Main Library, 20 S Main St
carved sample
Adam & Tracy will be bringing samples of their work, demonstrating and sharing with us a glimpse into the lives of their lives as stone carvers. Further samples of their beautiful work can be seen at: http://www.samaritancarvers.com/

 

Monday June 21st
If you can't fix it, feature it!!

We are going to talk about all the tricks on how to avoid making mistakes while you are lettering, and OOPS! how to fix them when they inevitably happen!

 

Monday, September 20th
Remembering Boston

We are so fortunate to be in the backyard of this year's international calligraphy confernece at Stonehill College near Boston. At this meeting, members will be sharing what they learned in their workshops. Come to share your learning or hear about what others experienced!

 

Monday, November 15th
Calligraphy & the Family Tree

Learn more about family trees and how calligraphy is a beautiful, graceful way to celebrate each unique lineage.

 

STUDY GROUP
All those in the calligraphic community are invited to attend an open study group at Debby Reelitz's home/studio in North Granby (directions). It's an opportunity to bring a project, a book, resource, material, an inspiration, whatever! to share!

We get started at 9 am, come a few minutes early to chat or get your cup of tea. If you like bring a nibble or beverage to share. Please send me an email if you are coming so I can plan for enough seating for all of us. We tend to go until noon. Please respond here.
2010 dates
The first Monday of each month

MARCH 1st

APRIL 5th

MAY 3rd

JUNE 7th

JULY 12th (week changed due to Holiday)
paste paper play day!

AUGUST (no meeting, summer break)

SEPTEMBER 13th (week changed due to Holiday)

OCTOBER 4th

NOVEMBER 1st

DECEMBER 6th (potluck brunch)


 
 

What's Already Happened! Here's what we did in 2009...


Monday, March 16th
A showing of the video, "The Music of Ink"
This movie documents the live performance and multimedia presentation given by world renowned Irish calligrapher, Denis Brown, gave at the International Conference of Letter Arts in Chicago 2008.
Click Here for a flyer with details

Monday, June 15th
Yankee Swap &
Presentation about Chinese Calligraphy
by Lorelei Chang
West Hartford Public Library
20 S Main Street

Lorelei Chang grew up in Beijing, China as a professional dancer.
Besides her early age vigorous dance training, she also studied Chinese
calligraphy and continued her passion on both careers ever since then. At our meeting she will be discussing Chinese calligraphy & sharing samples of her work.
http://dancenlight.org

Monday, September 21st
Presentation by Esther Glahn about Ketubahs (Jewish Wedding Contracts)
CVC members will receive a free copy of Letter Arts Review

Esther Glahn is a local calligrapher and watercolor artist raised in Austin, Texas and Petach Tikvah, Israel. Winner of the Francis Hook Award, Esther has been creating one-of-a-kind commissioned Judaica in watercolor and ink since 1988. She specializes in illumination of ketubot, Jewish marriage contracts.

Glahn Ketubah

Ms. Glahn will talk about ketubahs,
Jewish wedding contracts. She will show us samples of
contracts, including her own, as well as the rules around
ketubahs and their significance.

Presentation about Islamic Calligraphy by Elinor Holland

Elinor Holland at work

Elinor Holland of New York City, working on an educational panel at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Calligraphy in Arabic Script: Lifting the veil

This will be an excursion out of our usual world of Roman letterforms. Imagine yourself in medieval Spain in the year 1100. The continent of Europe is in darkness but there is a great light shining in the Muslim lands to the south and east. A whole civilization is flourishing and from its pen flows the beautiful Arabic script.  Translations of Greek philosophy and science, which later inspired the Renaissance, are being translated and copied in Arabic! Thousands of miles away, in Baghdad, a school of calligraphy is developing and forming the basis for the tradition of Arabic script calligraphy, which continues to this day.

This traditional art form is the highest form of art in Islamic culture and is an essential part of a civilization that exists from Morocco to Indonesia. The beauty of Arabic letterforms transcends culture and can be appreciated by all who view it. This lecture/slide show is meant as an introduction to those who have a little or a lot of exposure to this art. We will survey the important styles and developments and discuss method and materials, and view many beautiful masterpieces of calligraphy, with an emphasis on the great Ottoman tradition.

Elinor Aishah Holland is a professional lettering artist. Her passion and enthusiasm for calligraphy began during a visit to Istanbul as a teenager and has not ceased for many years. As a free lance lettering artist in Roman and Arabic scripts, her work includes all aspects of involvement with the art, including exhibiting, teaching, doing commercial and commission work. She has been a student of Master Calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya for many years, and travels to Turkey for additional tutelage as often as possible.  Ms. Holland has also studied with top teachers in the Western tradition as well, and continues to further her craft and knowledge of calligraphy and related book arts and illumination at every opportunity. She teaches, presents and exhibits throughout the US and Canada. Clients include the Smithsonian Institute, The NY Public Library, Clinton Global Initiative, NY Society of Scribes, Long Island University. She resides with her family in the suburbs of New York City.