NOLAA meeting – November 14, 2015

Blackletter Workshop

*Please Note:   New Location We will meet at the North Kenner branch of the library at 630 West Esplanade at 9:30am

November’s meeting will be a hands-on study of blackletter led by Vince Mitchell and Yvette Rutledge of Mystic Blue Signs. We will begin by making the basic forms of this constructed alphabet, then we will follow the video of Reggie Ezell’s version of the same alphabet, step by step. We will use black ink as well as mixing colored gouache and watercolor for use in pens.

Materials:   For lettering,  you should bring
 *a broad-edged pen of of your choice:
  a parallel pen size 3.8mm or
  a dip pen like Speedball C1 or Brause #5
  (with bottled ink like Higgins Eternal) or
  a chisel-edge marker 3.5 mm
 *pencil, eraser, ruler, water jar, paper
  towels
 *practice paper–something heavy enough
  that the ink doesn’t bleed through
For working with colored gouache or watercolor,  please bring
 *a mixing tray, a small brush, a tube of
  watercolor or gouache paint.
  You will need to use a dip pen with this
  paint

 **Knowing the fundamentals of blackletter will be helpful at our spring 2016 workshop with Irish calligrapher Denis Brown, who will spend two of the four days he is in town showing us a cursive form of blackletter. (See the previous post “Save the Dates” below for more info)

Note: In 2017, Reggie Ezell will be teaching a year-long workshop for NOLAA where we meet for a weekend every two months. The workshop will cover many advanced techniques.  Our November meeting is a good opportunity to preview his teaching style.

2015 September Meeting

Back to Basics

September 12th at 9:30am at the East Jefferson Regional Library

(4747 W. Napolean Ave, Metairie)

We hope you will join us at our first meeting, Back to Basics, on Saturday, September 12 at 9:30am at the East Jefferson Regional Library.

NOLAA president Debbie Fleming will review Italic calligraphy and show a DVD on italic from calligrapher teacher Reggie Ezell.  Beginners, here’s your chance for a lesson in a basic calligraphy style in an informal setting. We will also explore different inks and papers. *There will be a small materials fee for non-members.

You should bring: (1) Pencil, ruler, eraser (2) Paper for practicing and taking notes (3) Chisel-edge marker or Metal Nib with pen holder:  Speedball type C-1 or C-2 chisel edge and a bottle of ink  or  “Parallel” pen that uses cartridges.

*Please register on the website (members and non-members) if you plan to attend. If you have questions, you are welcome to call Debbie Fleming at (504)401-0144.

At 9:30 there will be a short business meeting, where we will provide details of our October calligraphy exhibit, which is being hosted by Mystic Blue Signs.

NOLAA Calligraphy Exhibit —  Oct3-Nov 6

Art for Art’s Sake on Magazine Street is one of the biggest art events of the New Orleans scene. People from all over the world will see the exhibit. Please come to the opening reception Saturday, October 3 from 6 to 9pm, and bring your friends. There will be live music and refreshments.

The NOLAA show is unjuried, and we encourage calligraphers of all levels of experience to make a piece for the show. We hope all our members will participate.

NOLAA Program 2015-2016

The Board of the New Orleans Lettering Arts Association has been meeting all summer to plan very special activities for our calligraphers in the coming year.

We have organized:

~ a members’ calligraphy exhibit during Art for Art’s Sake

~ a major workshop with sensational Irish calligrapher Denis Brown

~ and monthly meetings covering techniques from basic calligraphy to bookbinding

Send in your dues today!

2015 May Meeting

New Orleans Lettering Arts Association meeting—Saturday May 9

Interlocking Monogram Design

East Jefferson Regional Library
4747 West Napolean Avenue, Metairie
10am — 1 pm

Please register on the website ( members and non-members) if you will attend the meeting so we can plan for the number of participants. {Fill in Meeting Registration  form on www.neworleanscalligraphy.org }

 NOLAA’s final meeting of the year will be a hands-on mini-workshop in designing interlocking script monograms. Whether drawing two- or three- letter combinations, vertical or slanted script, the principles by which we interlock initials into monograms remain the same.
Yvette Rutledge of Mystic Blue Signs studied monogram design while training as a hand engraver and has designed monograms professionally for many years.
She and her husband Vince Mitchel will demonstrate the principles for joining copperplate and  vertical scripts, along with methods for variation and finishing.

Participants can use tracing paper to reposition sample letters provided by Eve and Vince, or use flexible pointed nibs to draw their own. Transfer paper will be provided for carboning the design onto good paper before final inking.

Materials:
several sheets of tracing paper
pencils, eraser, ruler, scissors
smooth drawing or writing paper
fine point black marker like Pigma Micron #005, #1 or #2

optional:
flexible pen nib and holder for making script letters
your favorite black ink
small water bottle
paper towels

All designs copyright Mystic Blue Signs

2014 October Meeting

Rosaryville Retreat:    NOLAA has been invited to attend Write from the Source, a special creative retreat at Rosaryville Spirit Life Center on the north shore the weekend of October 10-12.  The weekend is focused on using letterforms as artistic expression through an open format of art workshops, allowing experienced letter lovers to work and study while newcomers can be introduced to tools and techniques, exploring different styles, or making books, creative envelopes, gilding, block printing with wood type, etc. NOLAA workshop chair LaVerne Parfait, staff member Rosaryville, has organized this weekend of creative play. Participants may register for the whole weekend (meals and accommodations at Rosaryville are included) or may commute for Saturday’s activities.

Visit www.catholicretreatcenter.org/coming-soon.html and scroll down to the  Write from the Source post for registration information