Italian Adventure with Amity and Brody at La Romita- my travel journal

In September, I traveled to Italy for a workshop with Amity Parks and Brody Neuenschwander at La Romita in Umbria on a hilltop above the city of Terni. I want to share my travel journal with you.

I love this file folder book structure.

We stayed in one place and took day trips to several Umbrian hilltop towns.

Each day offered new experiences in the studio along with the day trips.

La Romita School of Art provided a wonderful place to stay- loved the staff, accommodations, food and studio.

Our wonderful group of artists inspired one another and made the whole workshop fabulous.

We visited San Gemini, a hilltop town close by-

Amity shared her use of Bister powders to make ink for lettering and dye for papers.

Brody cut us each a quill which I really enjoyed using as seen in my lettering on the left- love the spatters

One feature of this journal that I like is the pockets to keep postcards and other ephemera-

This trip ranks high on my list of favorites. I see another European adventure in the future.

Book Created in Suzanne Moore Class at Seattletters

Last week, I attended the Seattletters International Calligraphy Conference in Bellingham WA.  I was very fortunate to take a class with painter, print maker, book and lettering artist- Suzanne Moore. We learned her studio practices and techniques for painting, lettering and book binding with an eye to juxtapose image with text, highlight contrasts in creating our books.

It took me a week to select a quote that held lots of contrast and meaning for me. I chose a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 Nobel Laureate Lecture.

 Cover

 Title Page

Title Page Close up

Page

Center Page

"Injustice Transformed" Center Page Opened

Taking one or two words, we created abstract lettering and later added color. I love the feeling of this page, how the lettering almost becomes an image. It will be fun to explore this process of using contrasts to tell a story through a chosen text. The text in my book is Uncial which was often used to letter Medieval Bibles. I wanted to highlight Reverend King's religious faith and his belief in democracy. 

Mary Oliver Poem for Final Spring Term Project

A couple of years ago, I made a piece of eco-nature printed paper. One of my Portland Art Collective friends at an October Menucha retreat had us collect leaves, place them on paper, roll it onto a two- inch piece of  PVC tied tight with string and boil the roll for a couple hours. The colors or dyes in the leaves transfer to the paper. I love the subtle hues and ghost prints of the plants.

During Carol DuBosch's Spring Term calligraphy class, I made a book for my final project with this paper and wrote in Uncial Mary Oliver's poem "Today".  When I put the book together, I had no idea where the dark leaf would show up. To my surprise, it graced the front cover. No planning, it just happened. It's this serendipity in the creative process that excites me.

I plan to make more eco-nature printed paper in August at the Oregon College of Art and Craft called Natural Impressions.

Happy Summer Solstice

One of my favorite rituals each season is to hang the weather grams that friends lettered to a lilac tree in our front yard. Each phrase expresses the summer spirit. Happy Summer Solstice!

Spring Fever

Transitioning from Winter to Spring

My art group, the Portland Art Collective, is doing another challenge. Each artist describes her project and what we are to create for her. Robin Olsen had us create a couple 4x4 inch collages based on the four seasons. I was assigned Winter and Spring. I enjoyed making these two collages from bits and pieces in my collage bin.

The inspiration for the Winter collage came from an online class I took with Lendon Noe "Inspired by Lives and Letters".

Final Winter Calligraphy Project

I chose Woody Guthrie's 1943 'Rulins or his New Year's Resolutions for my final calligraphy project last term with Carol DuBosch.

He wrote thirty-three in his notebook and I selected seven to highlight. I first saw them on the website- The Improvised Life.

Here are my rough drafts-

 

 Donya Burmeister  framed the artwork and I'm pleased with the results

Guatemala Trip

In March, I took a trip to Guatemala for an illuminated journal workshop with Amy Bogard. I shared the experience with a great group of women.

In January, I stitched the cover for my journal, made the title and calendar pages. It was fun to add to the calendar what we saw or did each day.

Joan Youngberg and I visited Lake Atitlán a few days before we met our group in Antigua. This has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. We stayed at La Casa del Mundo in room 12 at the top of the hill (300 steps of stairs). It was worth every step.

 We met our group in Antigua, another beautiful place surrounded by volcanoes. I love the mountains and Guatemala didn't disappoint me.

Here are some more sketches from my journal-

The courtyard at our Posada San Sabastián

The central plaza and park fountain with Clara selling her embroidered and woven fabrics-

The view from our Posada rooftop. It felt good to share this experience with others, be in the sunshine and eat delicious Guatemalan food, a week to remember.