Eden Valley Scribes

Quarto Book Swap - January Meeting

2012-01-30T20:51:00.004Z

Last Saturday I travelled over to Sunderland to the Quarto book art group, we meet four times a year and it's a great time to exchange ideas, share stories and of course, swap the books we've made!

This meeting had the theme - Chinese New Year, which is the Year of the Dragon. We also had a lovely shared buffet - chinese to fit in with the theme!

The books each member made were fantastic - it amazes me each time how we all produce something different when we start at the same point.

I've popped a couple of photos below to show some of the work, hope you enjoy!

Penmanship Now! Calligraphy Exhibition Jan-Feb 2012

2012-01-15T16:31:00.005Z

Happy New Year everyone - after taking far too long off from our blog, I'm back up and running now!

Our 2012 exhibition starts tomorrow - 16th January and runs until 29th Febrauary.
We are lucky to be back again at the Penrith & Eden Museum in Penrith town centre where we have held our last couple of exhibitions.

I've popped a couple of photos below to tempt you - hopefully you'll come and visit us, and please leave some comments in the visitors book!

Penmanship Now
An exhibition by Eden Valley Scribes
16th January - 29th February 10am-4pm Mon-Sat
Free entry
Penrith & Eden Museum,
Penrith, Cumbria

Quarto - Sept meeting pics

2010-09-05T13:38:00.005+01:00

Paul's work

I had a brilliant workshop yesterday with the Quarto book arts group that meet in Sunderland. Paper artist Paul Johnson held a workshop on pop-up books, we were creating a row of market stalls that each had a different theme - toys, flowers and clothes.

Paul provided the templates so we could get on with the construction as quickly as possible - the hinges were all dovetail joints and so simple - just a triangle that slotted in and fixed to the paper.

Paul's work

Paul's work

We built the flower stall first, and spent some time using the coloured sheets that Paul provided to create the flowers. It was important to understand how to attach decorations to the pop up so that it all folds down correctly - I had to 'prune' my flowers so that the middle section folded properly!

Above pic - basic construction for one of my stalls.

It was also the ninth birthday of the group so Margaret brought cake for everyone! I'd recommend you visit Paul's website for more information on his work.

September meeting workshop

2010-09-05T13:29:00.003+01:00

Well, it's been a while since I last posted, we've had our summer break and will be back on Saturday 11th Sept for our next workshop. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone again although as usual it now feels as though the summer has flow by!

The workshop planned is with Terry Johnson - Presentation, layout & design. Terry is a local artist and architect so has become a regular guest with us over the last couple of years.

Our October meeting will be an in-house follow up session (so we have an opportunity to follow on from the work with Terry) and then in November we have another local artist, Sarah Colgate for a workshop on Pen & Wash. You may remember that Sarah came to visit us last year, so it will be lovely to have her back again. That leaves us with the December meeting as a follow up to Sarah (and time to exchange our Christmas Cards!)

Any new members are always welcome and can pop along or get in touch first for details. We meet at the United Reform Church Hall, Lowther Street, Penrith. From 10am - 4pm.

See you there!

Vellum examples

2010-05-16T15:53:00.004+01:00

At our May workshop John had brought with him some stunning examples of work on Vellum, the first here is a commission that Margaret Daubney produced - the client took the other version of this one.

Margaret had also commisioned fellow calligrapher Ann Hechle to produce this piece of work for John - it was a treat to be able to see this up close. Ann had also given John a series of detailed information about each of the squares that she had researched. Brilliant!

Following on from this John also had some of the tester pieces that Margaret had worked on - it's useful to be able to see the tests as so often all we see are is the finished version in a book or exhibition and we're left guessing how it developed and progessed into what we see. It maybe takes away some of the mystery but as an amatuer I love seeing the rough layouts and ideas as it helps me to work through a project and idea's develop as I go along. Some won't work, and some will but unless you follow them through how do you know this?

Photos from Kirkby Stephen Poetry Walk workshop

2010-05-16T15:40:00.005+01:00

here's some more photos taken from our workshop day - they are the various layouts that the group was working on during the day.

Kirkby Stephen Poetry Walk - workshop

2010-05-08T19:49:00.008+01:00

Today was our much looked forward to workshop with John Ward - on the Kirkby Stephen Poetry Walk. A series of 12 stone carving marking a year in the life of a sheep farmer, the lettering is carved by Pip Hall, a local artist to Cumbria.

Below are some of the examples from John's stone rubbings, you can see that he traces the letterforms from the original rubbings and then uses these to develop a piece of his own work.

After tracing the letter forms that John had produced from stone rubbings, we then looked at constrasting the large letters with the rest of the poem (or just part of it). Cutting the letters out and messing around with the layout is a great way to get a feel for what works, taking pics on a digital camera lets you move words around and keep a reference each time - brilliant time saver!

John also talked us through the use of vellum and he had brought with him some stunning examples of work which I'll add to the blog over the next week....

North Yorkshire Scribes

2010-04-14T20:04:00.001+01:00

I was emailed just recently by Sarah from North Yorkshire Scribes who meet over in Yarm each month - they have a new blog so if you are interested then click here for more information.

April Open Day and workshops

2010-04-14T19:58:00.002+01:00

We had a great day on Saturday - with a full day in the Penrith shopping arcade, talking to a few people interested in commissions and interest in joining the group! Thanks to everyone who helped out and came along.

At the meeting room we were also joined by Beth, who was on her Easter break from Uni, and hopefully she'll keeo coming along whenever she is able to.

Our next meeting in May is a tutor workshop with John Ward - We'll be looking at the Kirkby Stephen poetry walk which I'm looking forward to.

April Open Day and Demonstrations

2010-03-15T21:04:00.003Z

-
Saturday 10th April
United Reform Church Hall, Penrith
and also at the Devenshire Arcade, Penrith
10am - 4pm

We are holding on open day with workshops, demonstrations and an exhibition - all for free!

We're hoping that if you are in the area and interested in seeing what we do then we'd love for you to come along and meet the group.

We will have an exhibition space in the Devonshire Arcade in Penrith town centre and also demonstrations and further examples of work at the United Reform Church Hall, on Lowther Street in Penrith.

We're hoping it will be a fun and lively day and the opportunity to try your hand and have a go yourself!

Kirkby Stephen Poetry Walk

2010-03-14T22:06:00.003Z

-
If you are ever in the area of Kirkby Stephen I'd recommend you visited the Poetry Walk, a signposted public path taking you through 12 months in the life of a hill farmers year. The Poetry Path is a celebration of the hill farmer's ancient and enduring relationship with the beautiful landscape in and around the upper Eden valley.

Along the circular route of public paths there are twelve short poems written by Meg Peacocke which have been superbly carved into stone by Pip Hall, a lettering artist. It's a lovely walk taking you either side of the River Eden and not too long.

We are focusing on the poetry walk in our May workshop with calligrapher John Ward which I am looking forward to. I'm not sure what we will be doing on the day yet but the letters carved are a lovely inspiration.

March Meeting and Handwriting competition

2010-03-14T17:31:00.003Z

It's been a while since my last post, we had our AGM in February and have now confimed our agenda for the year, we have three tutors coming - John Ward in May, Terry Johnston in September and Sarah Colgate in November. It's shaping up to be a really exciting year.

We welcomed two potential new members at our March meeting yesterday, Linda and Heather. I hope they both enjoyed meeting the group and their first taster session.

We also judged the Northern Pen Show Handwriting competition for the second year running. Five schools entered, again with three age groups (8-9yrs, 9-10yrs and 10-11 yrs). A piece of literature had been pre-chosen for each age group so that they were all judged fairly.

We picked a commended and highly commended for each school and age group plus and overall winner - like last year, all the winners will be announced on the day so I'm not going to spoil the suprise!

Best of luck to all the kids who entered!

Penrith Devenshire Arcade Project

2010-01-27T21:12:00.004Z

We've been able to take advantage of a project happening in Penrith with Eden Arts - they have been using empty shop windows to display art. This is such a brilliant idea, and much better than seeing empty shops everywhere. Eden Arts is an independent charitable trust, carrying out arts developments in Eden on behalf of Eden District Council. This is a great way of supporting local art groups and showing what is happening in the area. If it sparks a bit of interest then that's only a good thing!

Thanks to Peter for taking the photos for us.

Quarto Jan 2010 meeting

2010-01-24T14:21:00.004Z

Yesterday was our first meeting of the year for Quarto - this is the quarterly book arts group that I joined last year, it meets at Sunderland so it's a trek over on the train but well worth it!

The theme for this meetings book swap was Seasons - as usual there were no two books alike and it was great to see how the theme was interpreted.

I has decided to focus on Vivali's The Four Seasons - there were Sonnets written to match the music so this provided me with the content for each page. I decided to do the book pages shaped as violins which sounded great but was a bit tricky to cut out! Luckily it seemed to work ok.

In Loving Memory of Mary

2010-01-15T22:53:00.003Z

We've had such sad news with the group this week, one of our longest members passed away suddenly after a stroke last weekend.

Mary Burton was such a lovely bright person, a mother and grandmother - and a wonderful silk artist to boot. Although Mary wasn't a regular at our meetings any more due to her silk painting we always loved to see her when she popped in to say hello.

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to her family at this time xx

With love
Alison

A star is shining brighter in the sky tonight

January 2010 meeting - cancelled due to snow

2010-01-05T20:33:00.006Z

Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you've all had a great festive season. I'd like to say a quick thank you to everyone who looks at our blog and comes back to visit us each month. We do appreciate it and hopefully you see something that inspires you!

***UPDATE****

Our AGM meeting is cancelled due to the bad weather. Our next planned meeting is now Saturday 13th February so we will be starting this with the AGM.

We will be finalising our agenda for this year and getting workshops confimed. I'll now post information on this in February.

***UPDATE****

We always welcome new members so if you are in the area and interested then please pop along and meet us (from Feb onwards!). We meet 10 times a year (Sept through to June) on the second Saturday. If you would like more information then drop me an email at mrstopham@hotmail.co.uk

Hope to see you soon!
Alison

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2009-12-19T19:42:00.005Z

Our December meeting was last Saturday - we've had a brilliant 2009, with tutors such as Sue Simpson and Manny Ling joining us for workshops. Thanks to both of them. We welcomed back a couple of new members Jo and Nick to this meeting and it was lovely to see them again.

One of our 'traditions' is making christmas cards for each other and today was no exception - it always amazes me that in the nine years I've been in this group I've had such a variety of cards, no two alike and they are always such a suprise. Below you can see a selection of this years!

We'll be holding our AGM in January, any new visitors are more than welcome. We meet on the second saturday of the month. If you want more details then just drop me an email at mrstopham@hotmail.co.uk

I'll be posting a list of our planned workshops after the AGM.

Best wishes and a happy new year to you all

Alison
xx

Impetuous Italics with Manny Ling

2009-11-15T15:27:00.004Z

Calligraphy by Manny Ling

The group relaxing at the end of the day!

It was our November workshop on Saturday with Manny Ling as our guest tutor. The theme for the day was Impetuous Italics and it was a fun and lively script to learn.

Manny started with a demonstration of the basic techniques - the strokes are much quicker than with formal italic and as your hand moves the pen it creates a natural and free movement, we found that's it's harder than it looks but with practice we were getting some good results during the morning. We also manipulate the pen quite a bit - lifting one corner edge of the nib to create fine lines and taper off on downward strokes - the examples by Manny at the end of this post show how this looks.

Throughout the day Manny gave various demonstrations and showed techinques to us, as we had a few members that couldn't make the meeting (sorry Heather and Moira) it meant that we had a lot of individual focus and help on our own work.

By lunch we had moved onto writing words and looking at how we consider what style of letter to write - basically as this is a loose and free script you can change the way you write a letter so it fits in with the whole word and the balance is right, different ways to write letter combinations such as ff, rf, st etc. all helped us to exlore and experiment with our own work.

Manny Ling demonstrating his lettering to the group

Mable and Cynthea working on their lettering

Manny demonstrating technique with Bernice

Susan Moor - Codex Amiatinus

2009-11-01T15:50:00.002Z

During the October Quarto meeting we were also lucky enough to have a talk from Susan who is an amazingly talented calligrapher, she was commissioned by Sunderland University and St Peter's Church, in Monkwearmouth to reproduce two pages from the Codex Amiatinus Saxon Bible which was originally produced at St Peter's.

To read more about it and to visit the Church click here

Quarto October meeting

2009-11-01T15:19:00.004Z

Well I was back off to Sunderland last week to the October meeting of Quarto - the Book Arts group I joined back in July. A bit daunting this time as I had to make my first book!!

We'd also invited another Book group called 'Bound to be Good' to visit us for the day. They are an offshoot from Calderdale Scribes.

The theme for the book swap was Windows and Apertures so I had decided to create a Tunnel Book that would have a window looking out onto one of my favourite views - Glastonbury Tor. Now this was the first tunnel book I'd made so it's a bit rough but I guess you've got to start somewhere (right??!!)

Well, as it's a swap group my Glastonbury Book went to Barbara from the 'Bound' group, I hope she likes it!!

I received a fanastic book from Anne - who loves all things Christmas!!

Everyone also brought along their previous books which had been made over the years, it was great to see such a varied and individual collection and truly inspiring. Everyone has such different styles and interests so even when you follow the same theme the books are very unique.

We also managed to sqeeze in making a book, thanks to Margaret Beech for this demonstration and providing all the paper. It was a really quick book to make but unusual in the rolled spine that you end up with. Starting with a sheet of A3 paper (although any size would do) you score folds and cut along a couple of lines, ending up with a the result below, we punched a couple of holes and tied ribbon through just to keep the spine rolled up. Brilliant!

The next meeting is in January and our book swap theme is 'Season's' so I'm busy thinking on that now!!

Lively Letters & Contemporary Calligraphy

2009-10-11T12:32:00.005+01:00

This was the theme for our October meeting - with fabulous tutor, Sue Simpson!

We started the day practising in pencil with pressure release, loosening up our writing style and experimenting with bouncing letters and words around. Sue explained that she had developed this informal and lively style over time and it was actually odd to try to structure it into a more formal workshop - so much of this writing is personal style, preference and individual taste so it's not like learning a formal script at all.

Trying to organise the rabble for a photograph!! Bernice managed to sneak out before I'd got my camera ready so she's missing from the pic!

Sue's work is shown below - these are cards that she produces and sells, quirky and individual and a perfect gift.

Meeting Saturday 10th Oct

2009-10-05T21:54:00.002+01:00

Our next meeting is coming up this Saturday, and it's going to be a good session with our tutor, Sue Simpson, looking at 'Lively Letters & Contemporary Calligraphy'

Sue is the founder member and honorary President for North Yorkshire Calligraphers, I first met her years ago on a weekend course back when I was about 13 (far too long ago now!!) She is totally inspirational - overcoming worsening eyesight to continue with her profession. Have a look at her site for recent examples of work here

Hopefully the newer members will be returning for their taste of a tutor workshop with the group.

I'll be taking the camera so photos will be up early next week!

North Yorkshire Calligraphers - Exhibition

2009-10-05T21:49:00.002+01:00

The North Yorkshire Calligraphers have an exhibition this month at Ripon Cathedral 'Inspired by Words'

It runs from now until the end of October - click here for details

Long and Link Stitch book

2009-08-17T13:07:00.005+01:00

Well it seems this summer I haven't got much calligraphy done but I'm really enjoying developing my books skills. A while ago I'd bought some bits of suede and leather so I thought it was about time I made a practise book using one of the bits.

Here are the four pieces I have - I've also got a button to go with each which will act as the fastener for the wrap around cover

I've got 8 signatures going into the book - four holes on the spine so 2 signatures share a hole.

Book pieces assembled, measured and cut ready to put together.

I've used a Long and Link stitch for the binding, natural colour linen thread which looks good against the blue material

This is how the inside looks - just plain paper for the pages but torn on a couple of edges to give a rougher look

I had fun making this book - the first long/link stitch one I'd made since my weekend course back in May, I wasn't sure how much I'd remember but the notes that Michael had done were a great reference.

Now I've got three pieces left to practise with some more. Not sure if I'll use the same binding or try something different!

Coptic Book Binding - pictures

2009-08-17T13:02:00.004+01:00

Here are a couple of photos from my recent attempts at Copic/Link stitch. Still need to practise more although I found making the third book easier, I was also using a bulldog clip to hold the signatures together as I was going along which made it much easier to handle.

Quarto Book Art Group

2009-07-26T12:04:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I visited the Quarto Book Art group that meeets in Sunderland four times a year, they are a great mix of people and interests, some are also in local calligraphy groups. They each make a book to bring to the day and then swap that with another so everyone leaves the day with a different book - it's a great way to share and appreciate what everyone has done. The theme for this month was 'Bad Books' so they ranged from a books of bad jokes, a book made badly!, a book of bad quotes, a book on poisons (a bad way to die) plus lots more.

It was interesting to see how everyone interpreted the theme differently.

We also had three demonstrations during the day - Margaret Beech showed us various methods for pop-up books, Manny Ling showed us how to make a book using four needles (I though using one needle is hard enough but this wasn't as scary as it sounded!) and then Christine Blunt ended the day showing us how to make a star concertina book which was lovely.

I can't wait to go the next meeting in October with my first book to swap - the theme is appertures and windows so I need to get thinking!

Summer Break and Bookbinding Group

2009-07-24T12:52:00.002+01:00

Well, it's our summer break at the moment so I thought I'd take advantage of some free time and join a bookbinding group that meets quarterly in Sunderland. I met Ruth from the group when she came to visit our exhibition back at the start of the year. Manny Ling is demonstrating along with two others - Margaret and Christine so it looks like we should get 3 books made - I might get one done!

I'll be taking the camera so I will hopefully get some photos taken to show you all.

A few from the group are also taking advantage of the summer months and attending the CLAS festival and other residental courses in the area. I should get some feedback on these when we all meet again in September

It was a shame that The Cumberland Show had to be cancelled this year - there were three of us from the group who entered the calligraphy competition and Terry was judging this year. I'll upload photos tonight of the entries!

Japanese Stab Bound Cards

2009-06-30T22:46:00.002+01:00

Well since I went on a bookbinding course I've been practising a few other techniques. Japanese Stab Binding is perfect for cards so I've been making a few as practice. I love the decorative pattern that the stitching makes.

I've used a couple of good books for reference - Cover to Cover by Sheena LaPlantz is brilliant with easy to follow instructions for sewing (I'm not that good with a needle so this book has made my life easier!)

I've also found some sweet little metal charms that add a nice finishing touch.

June meeting

2009-06-18T18:20:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I've posted so we've a few things to catch up on!!

It was our June meeting last Saturday, our last before the summer break. It was a free session with no tutor planned so everyone was working on individual projects.

We had three returning new members, Pat, Jo and Nick which was lovely, it's always reassuring when new members come back. I don't know if this is the same across other regional and local groups but I sometimes think that it can be a bit daunting at first for beginners, we try to encourage as much as possible and so long as you are enjoying yourself then that's all that matters.

Got a couple of new projects that I'm on with which I'll pop up some photos for tomorrow - based on a Mark Twain quote.

We meet again in September (second Saturday as usual) and we have two tutors lined up for the October and November meeting which is fantastic. They are Sue Simpson and Manny Ling and I can't wait!!!

Bookbinding with Michael Burke

2009-04-29T19:46:00.005+01:00

Although this weekend course wasn't part of Eden Valley Scribes, I thought I'd post about it anyhow as it was fantastic!

I've always loved hand-made books so a weekend course at Tullie House in Carlisle on bookbinding using long & link stitching sounded excellent. The plan was to make four books over the two days, each getting more advanced and more intricate with the stitching.

Our tutor, Michael, was excellent, he demonstrated everything as we were going along and was so patient at explaining whenever we were stuck! He also provided all the paper and thread material (which just cost a little extra but was brilliant value for money). I'd be the first to admit that sewing isn't one of my strengths however that didn't really matter and it's probably made me slightly less afraid of needles now!

I got all four of the books made (with a little bit finished off at home). Here is a couple of photos of them. (left to right - tacket stitch, longstitch, long and link stitch and link stitch.

Michael Burke is a professional bookbinder and has his own bindery in the Lakes but he is also involved in bookbinding in America and holds regular workshops there.

April meeting with Sarah Colgate

2009-04-04T19:56:00.004+01:00

It was our April meeting today, a week earlier due to Easter. What a brilliant and lovely tutor Sarah was. The day was spent on pen and ink washes which is a bit different to our usual workshops but was very rewarding.

Sarah, who had brought with her a huge choice of fresh and dried flowers for us to use, started with a demonstration of pencil/pen techniques for us to follow, we then moved onto adding a wash to the pen drawings. After another demonstration (and lunch) we moved onto adding colour washes.

Using either non-waterproof or permanent ink gave very different results. When non-permanent ink bleeds into the wash the effects can be quite dramatic.

The group with Sarah (second left)

Example of our work from today

The next four images are pieces from Sarah Colgate.

April Meeting a week earlier

2009-03-30T21:08:00.002+01:00

Just a quick note to remind people that our next meeting in April is a week earlier than normal so it will be Saturday 4 April, as the next Saturday is Easter.

Hope to see you all there.

North Yorkshire Scribes

2009-03-16T20:53:00.002Z

We also had a couple of visitors from North Yorkshire Scribes on Saturday - Sarah and Ruth, who came to see our exhibition and then popped back to the meeting for a cup of tea and chat with the rest of the group.

It was lovely to see them both and I hope they enjoyed our work.

Their exhibition this year will be in Ripon Cathedral during October so I'll post some more information in it nearer the time.

March Meeting - new members and a handwriting competition

2009-03-16T19:30:00.007Z

We had 5 new members - yes 5! at our meeting on Saturday. All relative beginners so Terry took them under his wing and started them off with a Round Hand tutorial for the day.

I have to say many thanks to Terry for this as he was excellent with them and they all had a positive day. I'm looking forward to seeing them in April.

As we had no tutor this month the rest of the group all undertook the task of judging a handwriting competition! - this is part of the Northern Pen Show that is held on 25th April in Lytham, near Blackpool.

We had 6 schools enter, with 3 age groups (8-9yrs, 9-10yrs and 10-11 yrs). A piece of literature had been pre-chosen for each age group so that they were all judged fairly.

We took a school each and judged the winners of the three age groups, then came the harder task of choosing an overall winner - we went back and forward between a couple of entries for quite a while before agreeing on a winner - all the winners will be announced on the day so I'm not going to spoil the suprise!

But I will say WELL DONE to everyone who entered!

below are some images from the day

Terry's example of Capital Lettering

Judging the competition!

Hand-made cards - baby girl

2009-03-01T15:54:00.002Z

Well, finally someone I know has had a baby girl - everyone else has had boys recently so it's lovely to be able to do something in pink!

Hand-made cards - baby boy

2009-03-01T15:38:00.004Z

here are some pictures of the card I made for a baby boy - using handmade paper, watercolours and acrylic ink.

Just a little note...

2009-02-17T13:02:00.003Z

We always hope that by having an exhibition we will encourage new people to come and meet our group and hopefully join. It's already looking like we'll have around 5 new visitors to our March meeting which is fanastic and I'm looking forward to meeting them all.

Like everyone else I always have a long list of things to do in my spare time and weekends so sometimes it can be hard to commit to a monthly meeting, but I cherish the days when I know I can leave the housework and shopping behind and I have a day to do what I love with a group that feels the same way. It's pure escapism!

alison x

February Meeing - update

2009-02-14T16:59:00.002Z

Well today was our Feb meeting but unfortunately our tutor Sarah was unable to come through illness.

However, our day wasn't wasted as we had our AGM meeting and a new possible member come for a morning session, in the afternoon Shirley and Bernice gave a demonstration of their brush lettering which we all had a go at and followed on with trying our hand at using chisel edged wood!

February Meeting

2009-02-11T21:21:00.002Z

Our next meeting is coming up this weekend (Feb 14th!)

We are lucky to have a tutor coming to this session - Sarah Colgate, who is going to hold a Pen and Wash workshop with us.

I'm looking forward to this session a lot as it's so useful to be able to create simple washes and backgrounds for calligraphy and it can transform how a piece looks.

I'll post some photos after the day to hopefully show what we produce.

Lymm Festival of Calligraphy 2009

2009-01-28T13:22:00.004Z

Calligraphy Inc are holding their 3rd Annual Calligraphy Exhibition this year in Lymm, Cheshire. The event is part of the Lymm Festival that is on during June and July.

27 Saturday and 28 Sunday June 2009
at The Village Hall
Lymm, Cheshire
FREE Entry

Click here for more information

Calligraphy Inc are a group of about 12 people that meet in Comberbach, Cheshire

Radio Cumbria interview

2009-01-26T12:27:00.004Z

Well my voice has found it's way on to the airwaves and Radio Cumbria!

Thanks for Liz Rhodes and Andrew for inviting me into the studio to talk about calligraphy and our group - hopefully it'll attract more people to visit our exhibition and to join if they are interested!

You can listen to the interview for 7 days after it's aired through the BBCiplayer, click on the link here for more information Radio Cumbria - Liz Rhodes

The interview is between 11.30 and 12 noon

Eden Scribes Calligraphy Exhibtion

2009-01-12T20:59:00.009Z

We've put the finishing touches to our exhibition which runs from 15th January to 28th March 2009 at the Penrith & Eden Musuem (in Penrith town centre).

Our last exhibition was in 2006 so we've over 60 pieces of new work on display! I hope everyone that is able to visit enjoys our work, we certainly have enjoyed producing it. Below are a few more examples.

Any comments and feedback are most welcome, just drop me an email - mrstopham@hotmail.co.uk

Barry McKay Rare Books

2009-01-12T20:35:00.007Z

I had a lovely email today from Barry of Barry McKay Rare Books, in Appleby (there, I think I've mentioned his name enough!)- he specialises in art and calligraphy books both new and out-of-print so please visit his website for more information and to see his current stock list. www.barrymckayrarebooks.org

Autumn leaves and Palindromes

2008-12-19T23:10:00.003Z

Two peices by Mabel which I think are lovely and will be in our exhibition. The text for the Latin Palindrome can be dated back to 70AD.

Samuel Alex Graham

2008-12-19T23:05:00.002Z

This is the piece for Stephen and Kathryn's baby Sam. In acrylic ink with gold leaf.

Gold leaf lettering

2008-12-16T23:20:00.002Z

These are some examples of lettering by Terry Crellin - ready to go into our exhibition with the remaining alphabet

Christmas Cards & Boxes

2008-12-11T23:15:00.002Z

Christmas cards for the rest of the group and some boxes I made a while ago, they are brilliant for putting little christmas presents in.

More from Lord of the Rings

2008-12-11T23:09:00.003Z

There are just so many good bits to choose from - this is probably the most famous quote from the book (although not the full version, that's another project!)

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

2008-12-11T23:04:00.003Z

One of my favourite extracts from The Lord of the Rings that I've finally got finished. Uncial lettering with gold leaf

Cai Waterhouse

2008-11-17T23:43:00.003Z

another couple of friends have had a baby boy so perfect opportunity to practice an idea I saw on the creative-spirit blogspot (Thanks Sue!)

The Art of the Scribe - exhibition 2009

2008-11-10T13:46:00.001Z

We've just finalised the dates for our calligraphy exhibition which will be
15th Jan - 28th March 2009
at Penrith Musuem

more details to follow

Guilding - first attempt!

2008-11-10T13:30:00.003Z

My friends, Stephen and Kathryn, had their baby boy born yesterday so this was a perfect opportunity to practise my guilding following on from the workshop with John Ward.

I used Wrights of Lymm Acrylic Gold Size and laid it with Medium pressed transfer 23.5 carat Gold Leaf

It's a bit lumpy in places and not very even but everyone has to start somewhere right?!

Guilding workshop with John Ward

2008-09-14T10:35:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we held our September meeting, with John Ward as our guest tutor. The workshop focussed on Guilding, with a little bit on Pressure Release while we were waiting on various glues and mediums drying.

I have to say I really enjoyed the day, I was always a bit frightened of Guilding and the various bits of equipment required, John laid all our fears to rest and talked us through the various products, methods and latest equipment available which all he brough along with him for us to try.

We started by learning how to lay the adhesive medium (the hardest part) John had printed lots of shapes onto thick paper for us to practice with. This was a great idea to get us used to filling in square, triagles, circles etc. as smoothly and quickly as possible. Laying the gold (either transfer or leaf) was the easy part!

I'll update the blog later on toady with photos from the session.

Keswick Calligraphy Exhibition

2008-09-14T10:30:00.002+01:00

Calligraphy and the History of Writing by Raymond Duckworth

The exhibition on calligraphy and illumination includes lettering examples of historical scripts beginning with the Roman period (AD1) and Celtic Insular scripts, Carolingian Minuscule lettering, the Gothic period, the Renaissance to the modern Copperplate and Foundation.

The Exhibition runs from 30th September to 31st October in the Keswick Musuem & Art Gallery, Fitz Park, Station Road, Keswick, CA12 4NF

"A Way With Words"

2008-09-10T14:08:00.003+01:00

The North Yorkshire calligraphers exhibition is running now at the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough and runs until Sunday 2nd November 2008.

here's an example of their work

September Calligraphy Meeting

2008-09-10T14:02:00.002+01:00

Our first meeting after the summer break is this Saturday - we are having a tutorial workshop with John Ward, focussing on Illumination/Gold Leaf with possibly a bit of Pressure Release work if we have time!

if you are in the Cumbrian area and are interested in joining, please email or phone for details.

and has thou slain the Jabberwock?

2008-07-28T08:54:00.003+01:00

Again, this is another one that has always been on my 'to do list'!! finally making a start on it, now if only I can find my vorpal blade!!

2008-07-28T08:51:00.002+01:00

The Flowers is a piece that I've been meaning to write for years, it was one of my favourite poems from R.L.Stevensons book 'A Child's Garden of Verses' I still haven't decided whether this is the final version or not, maybe flowers either side is too much...

Benjamin

2008-07-28T08:48:00.003+01:00

Our friends Mike and Emma have had a baby boy now so this is for them, the background still needs to be added to it though. It's based on the Stephen Raw capitals that we had a workshop on last year.

The Cumberland Show - Calligraphy Entries

2008-07-20T14:03:00.003+01:00

A few of the group entered the Calligraphy category in The Cumberland Show this year, held in Carlisle. Here are the winning entries from myself (top image) and Shirley (bottom image). Terry also entered and came third.

Purple Pixie on Etsy

2008-04-03T13:00:00.004+01:00

Sue Simpson has a new Calligraphy shop open on the Etsy website - click on the link below to visit the site
www.thepurplepixie.etsy.com

North Yorkshire Calligraphers

2008-03-31T17:48:00.002+01:00

North Yorkshire Calligraphers have their website up and running now - click on the link below to visit the site

http://www.northyorkscalligraphers.org.uk/index.html

Faery Beam

2008-03-31T16:13:00.002+01:00

Another finished piece - the main lettering is stencilled then laid on the paper, the purple gouche is sprayed over using a very technical piece of equipment (an old toothbrush!!) Once this is dry the rest of the lettering is added. I'm now thinking of doing another version but with straight lettering instead of angled.

Stardust - finished piece

2008-03-31T16:10:00.002+01:00

The moment of truth!

Stardust - wash

2008-03-31T16:08:00.004+01:00

Just put the purple/blue wash over the lettering written in resist

Stardust Project

2008-03-29T19:56:00.003Z

This is a project that I'm ongoing with at the moment - just practising with the coloured washes now before I do the finished versions.

Terry Johnson - Calligraphic Surgery

2008-03-29T19:52:00.004Z

Terry will be holding a one day session on the 10th August. Contact Greystoke Cycle Cafe of visit their website for more information

http://www.greystokecyclecafe.co.uk/

Lymm Festival - Calligraphy Inc

2008-03-29T19:50:00.000Z

The Second Annual Exhibition of Calligraphy

by Calligraphy Inc.

on Saturday and Sunday

28th and 29th June 2008

at The Village Hall, Lymm, Cheshire

10am to 4pm

March Meeting - photos

2008-03-29T19:47:00.002Z

updating slightly later than planned! here's the pictures from the March meeting with Terry - subject for the day was Sharpened Italics

March Meeting

2008-03-08T21:07:00.002Z

Sharpened Italics - with Terry Johnson

Just had our March meeting today with one of our regular tutors - Terry Johnson. Last year we had a couple of workshops on the basic Italic script so it was a nice development to look at the sharpened variation today. Lots of practising the strokes and technique in the morning and then progressing onto words/sentences in the afternoon.

Will be posting the pictures up tomorrow!

Association of Belgium Calligraphers

2008-02-04T20:19:00.000Z

I received an email today from the Belgian Association of Calligraphy, Plumes et Calames, who have set up a new English speaking forum on their website

http://site.plumes-et-calames.be/modules/newbb/index.php?cat=13

The hope is to attract more calligraphers from around the world to share their thoughts, comments, ideas, discuss projects and generally just chat about calligraphy.

Click on the above link to have a look....

Happy New Year!

2008-01-14T12:32:00.000Z

Well we've now had January AGM, it was a good meeting and nice to catch up with everyone after the festive season.

Mabel Little has now taken over as our Chairman for this year.

We've got our agenda set, with John Ward and Terry Johnson coming to visit us (Sue Simpson's date is still to be confirmed) - please email me if you would like to attend, we have places available for non-members. The workshop session fee with a Tutor for non-members is £20.

If you want to come to a session, then please do. We meet the second Saturday in the month. 10am-4pm and would love to see you. Call me if you want some more information.

Leicestershire Calligraphers exhibition

2007-10-15T18:19:00.000+01:00

Leicestershire Calligraphers are having their exhibition from 19th Nov '07 to 4th Jan 2008 in the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, Long Street, Wigston Magna. Entrance is Free. For more information click here exhibition

Northumbrian Scribes exhibition

2007-10-15T17:53:00.000+01:00

Northumbrian Scribes have an exhibition on at the moment at Bede's World in Jarrow titled A Fine Line. It's running until 13th November '07. For more information on the group visit their website at www.northumbrianscribes.co.uk

Watch out for our website coming soon!!

2007-10-13T18:41:00.000+01:00

Our website is currently in development so watch this space for more details. The site will be www.edenvalleyscribes.co.uk

Cut Lut Lettering with Terry Johnson - Oct 2007

2007-10-13T18:36:00.001+01:00

Today's workshop was with Terry Johnson, a local calligrapher and artitect that has visited us to do various workshop sessions over the past few years. This time we looked specifically at Cut Out Lettering, experimenting with the effects and patterns that are created.

Cut Out Lettering workshop - October 07

2007-10-13T18:33:00.000+01:00

Some examples of our work with Cut Out Lettering with Terry Johnson

Terry Johnson workshop - October 13th 2007

2007-10-13T18:22:00.000+01:00

Brilliant examples of Terry's work with cut out lettering

September meeting - Experimental Colour

2007-10-13T18:19:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately I missed this session so I'll update it with photos when I can get some from the other members of the group

photos from June workshop on Italics

2007-10-13T18:13:00.000+01:00

Jilly Hazeldine - Italic Workshop - June 9th 2007

2007-10-13T17:59:00.000+01:00

Gillian visited us in June to to a workshop on Variations on Italic - this was a really useful day which provided us with a good opportunity to develop our Italic hand. (Jilly, centre in blue top)

2007-05-14T23:31:00.000+01:00

A few of the group practising their Roman Capital lettering before we started on Stephen Raw caps.

2007-05-14T23:29:00.000+01:00

John Ward demonstrating Stephen Raw capitals on Saturday 12th May 2007

2007-05-14T23:24:00.000+01:00

Calligraphy by John Ward, based on Stephen Raw capitals

2007-05-14T20:00:00.000+01:00

We met for our May meeting last Saturday and had John Ward as our guest tutor for the day. John (far left in picture) is a lovely chap from Bolton who teaches calligraphy in the local area and has been to visit us as a guest tutor for a few years now. Our day was spent looking at Stephen Raw inspired capitals (see link to Stephen Raw website).

We were honoured that John brought with him some of the wonderful pieces of calligraphy that his wife Margaret Daubney had created before she sadly passed away last year. As a group we were devestated at the loss of Margaret, she had visited us as a tutor a couple of times and she was an amazing inspiration to us all.

More images to follow....

2007-05-13T12:41:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Eden Valley Scribes - we're a local calligraphy group that was founded over 10 years ago in Penrith, Cumbria UK. We meet once a month to explore, learn and enjoy the art of calligraphy and letterforms. Each month we hold either an in-house workshop or arrange for a professional calligrapher to hold a workshop for us.

It's also a great way to meet other people with a similar enthusiasm and an interest in calligraphy

If you want more information about us then contact me at mrstopham@hotmail.co.uk

See you soon!