Workshops

Projects

Workshops

Projects

Exhibitions

Workshops

Projects

Exhibitions

Workshops

Projects

Welcome


South Wales Scribes is a regional group for people interested in calligraphy and lettering arts. 


We welcome members from across South Wales from professionals to enthusiastic amateurs and those just starting out in calligraphy. Our aim is to ensure that everyone develops their calligraphy skills and that they have great fun doing so. Consequently we enjoy working together and supporting each other as we learn.


We usually meet in and around Swansea approximately five or six times a year: four workshops with external tutors well known in the calligraphy world and two meetings led by members where we work together, including our annual general meeting.


Membership is currently £15 per year. Workshop costs can vary but are around £35 for the day. For more information, please contact the secretary@southwalesscribes.co.uk / swscribes1@gmail.com.


South Wales Scribes is a non-profit making organisation and is affiliated to the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society. http://www.clas.org.uk

Croeso


Grŵp rhanbarthol yw Ysgrifwyr De Cymru ar gyfer pobl sydd â diddordeb mewn caligraffeg a’r celfyddydau llythrennu.


Croesawn aelodau ar o draws De Cymru gan gynnwys caligraffwyr proffesiynol ac amaturiaid brwdfrydig a’r rhai sydd newydd ddechrau gwneud caligraffeg. Anelwn at sicrhau bod pawb yn datblygu eu caligraffeg ac yn cael hwyl wrth ei wneud. Felly, mwynhawn weithio gyda’n gilydd a chefnogi ein gilydd fel rydyn ni’n dysgu.


Rydyn ni’n cwrdd yng Nghanolfan Cymunedol Glais yn Abertawe. Fel arfer, rydyn ni’n cael pump neu chwe chyfarfod y flwyddyn, pedwar gweithdy gyda thiwtoriaid allanol sy’n adnabyddus yn y byd caligraffig a dau gyfarfod a arweinir gan aelodau lle rydyn ni’n gweithio gyda’n gilydd, gan gynnwys ein cyfarfod blynyddol cyffredinol.


Ar hyn o bryd y pris aelodaeth yw £15 y flwyddyn. Gall costau gweithdai amrywio ond maent yn tueddu i fod tua £35 am y diwrnod. Am wybodaeth bellach, cysylltwch â swscribes1@gmail.com.


Nid ydy Ysgrifwyr De Cymru’n gwneud elw ac mae’n gysylltiedig â’r Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (www.clas.org.uk)

Workshop Programme 2024

Our next workshop: 27 April 2024

Saxon Scripts and Runes Revealed 

with Peter Lloyd 


A fascinating adventure into historic lettering and translation of mystic symbols to open up new avenues for you to explore. 

Contact Alison to book your place: 

Book Now

Future workshops:

The Staffordshire Hoard with Linda Lewis

8 June 2024

Archibald Knox Design with Josie Brown

5 October 2024


Workshop Reviews


03 | 2024 Embossing

with Keith Bolton

This embossing workshop was the first of the year and one of our increasingly popular ‘Member-led’ events. It proved to be a highly engaging day and a great start to our year of calligraphic workshops.

Click here for full review article


12|2023 Folded Star Workshop

Member led workshop

with Alison Allan and Grace Birt

Pencil Gothic

This workshop took a familiar tool – the pencil – to practice and create gothic letter shapes and use them in combination with a variety of different artistic effects.


The versatility of pencils and their range of “hardnesses” give the calligrapher scope for shading and many different textures, which can take your lettering in

different directions.


Soft graphite greys give a subtlety that sometimes the harsh black ink of ‘blackletter’ doesn’t, and the ease of adding some pencil embellishment can re-ignite a love of Gothic.

The Mariner’s Compass

After our very enjoyable Zentangle® workshop last year, Sheila is paying us a return visit. 


Following The Zentangle® Method, we will create a piece of art with a maritime influence known as The Mariner’s Compass. During the creative process we will hand draw and use various ‘tangle’ techniques to enhance and decorate our compass design. Our finished piece will be flourished with cardinal pointers to the North, South, East and West. We will also learn more about the history of the Mariner’s Compass and how it has been used for many centuries.  


Don’t worry if you didn’t attend last year’s workshop – this one is still suitable for everybody.

with Alison Allan & Grace Birt

Member led workshop - Bister Inks and Little Books

Zentangle

Outline

Fun with Finetec

Judith Porch kicked off our 2022 workshop programme with this ‘Fun with Finetec’ workshop which has proved very popular with other calligraphy groups across the UK. 

Full review following shortly.

Rustics

Enjoy learning this most elegant of Roman Classical hands and discover that it is not as mysterious as you might have thought. 


This is a hand that can be adapted and modernised (if you wish) and is good for developing calligraphic skills.


We will use colour and some basic gilding to achieve some stunning results.

Creative colour for all occasions

Reviewed by Ingrid Eie Bowen


We met in a festive and warm Felindre Welfare Hall. It was a pleasure to meet Jan Pickett who has written the book, “Decorated Lettering”, which is now available in five languages. Some of us were lucky enough to have our book signed. Jan is teaching as far away as Japan.


She started the session with a bit of colour theory, stating there were six primary colours . . . two reds, two yellows and blues. Be careful with colour mixing as two complementary colours make grey.


First we had some fun with pastels and paper masking. Use templates (simple paper shapes) in increasing sizes. You use a sharp knife to get some colour on the templates and rub in hard with cotton wool, keeping the templates fixed. Draw lines or shapes with a hard rubber. No fixative is needed.


Next up was blending coloured pencils. We were advised to use colours that blend well. Colour very lightly and lift pressure from left to right. Use water in the middle and brush up into one colour and then down into the other to mix. When dry, decorate with a black fine liner, more colour, gold, etc.


Colour lift out gave a lovely effect, but was quite time-consuming. We also learnt to write with watery colour using an automatic pen, then adding skeleton letters, infills and variations. Use tracing paper to see if more decoration is needed.


Jan showed us the stained glass effect by colouring and painting either side of pencil lines, then rubbing out the pencil lines when dry. You can tape together two watercolour pencils to draw big letters and then add water to paint the effect.


It was a very useful workshop. Jan gave us lots of good advice, eg, to buy a good sable brush, Winsor and Newton Series 7 was best and size 1 would do for most work. Use 2H pencil for drawing first. Always have good paper – Bockingford advised. Her emphasis was always on having FUN.

Item link

Flourishing

Workshop on Flourishes reviewed by Pat Wright


David Simons led a very enjoyable workshop on flourishing. He began by giving everyone a superbly flourished personalised place card that he had created. These cards showed how flourishes could add both beauty and  magic to very simple content. Mine is now displayed on a bookcase for all to admire.


In the morning the group the group were introduced to ‘forearm writing’. Several practice exercises encouraged muscle memory for movements based on pivoting the forearm about its mid-point.


We also practiced rotating the pen angle between pull and push strokes and discovered how much we needed to move the paper to keep the hotspot within range.


After lunch we doodled some flourishes and finally added flourishes to words on one of David’s practice sheets where  words had been written minus ascenders and descenders.


It was great fun to explore the variety of flourishes possible, heeding David’s advice to choose where the swell came. People were encouraged to be adventurous discovering for themselves what worked and what didn’t. It was a splendid session led by a warm-hearted and very generous tutor.

Item link

Monoline Matters

Review by Keith Bolton


We started the session with a control. We wrote out an alphabet of capital letters as we would usually do this, and then hid it away until the end of the workshop.


Margaret supplied us with a workbook, an excerpt from her published book “Creative Lettering”. This equipped us with instruction in the creation of a classical capital alphabet, as well as ideas for future exploration and examples of what might be achieved.


We looked at the Classical Monoline Alphabet and practiced the construction of each letter. We realised there was a lot to (re-)learn. Moving on we studied extended and condensed versions of the classical Monoline hand following the exercises in the workbook. Working carefully we re-established the letters in our memories and moved on to inter-letter and inter-line spacing.


Day one was a busy day.


Day two was project day, an opportunity to play and to colour in. We were reminded throughout the day of the need to keep the basics in mind and look at spaces as we planned the finished project.


At the end of the day we looked back at the alphabet we wrote at the start of day one and could see the progress we had made. Margaret’s workshop proved to be an opportunity to work hard at the basics and to look forward to adventures with letters in the future.

Mouse Roman

It’s fun, it’s lively and it’s contemporary! This workshop was an introduction to a script which is easy to learn for beginners and a light-hearted contrast to other hands for those with some experience.


It can be carried out simply in monoline form or penmanship skills can be developed using press & release techniques. This script is particularly useful for informal and spontaneous work such as greetings cards, journals or little books and anyone can play with the letterforms, enjoying their happy-go-lucky stance on the page.


Review by Joan Mallett


Our first workshop of the year was held at a new venue for us, Llewellyn Hall, Penllegaer.


Josie started by telling us the origins of the Mouse Roman hand.  It is an informal version of Roman bookhand based on the Italian Bodoni typeface.


Firstly we looked at and compared various early typefaces and then went on to look at and discuss the skeleton lower case letters which are based on an oval ‘O”.


Our first task was to practice the letters in pencil quickly moving on to writing words so that we gave some consideration to spacing.  We continued using pencil to form the letters with their serifs and distinctive ’berries’ on the a, c, r, I, j, and y.


Following a demonstration from Josie we used pointed pen and ink to try and perfect our letters, both in monoline and using pressure and release to add weight.


This is an informal and modern hand and we were soon trying to make our letters bounce by hanging them from a top line, writing with a central line only or using only a bottom guideline which allowed the letters to bounce above it.  By trial and error we all discovered our preferred option.


Following lunch Josie showed us examples of her work and how to make a fun Woven Accordion book and tiny concertina books with covers, which I am sure we will all use at some stage.


The hand is relaxed and more effective and bouncy when written quickly so it will be very useful for cards and informal writing.  I think everyone enjoyed the workshop and it moved along at a good pace. Thank you to Josie for managing to get to us and for making the day lighthearted, interesting and fulfilling.


Joan Mallett

Logos & Monograms


Islimi Biomorphic Design

On a very sunny day South Wales Scribes enjoyed a workshop superbly led by Sylvie Gokulsing who explained that arabesque had nothing to do with ballet and everything to do with designs derived from images found in nature used to create rhythmic, scrolling and interlacing patterns.


For hundreds of years these stylised images have been found not only in illuminated manuscripts and on ceramics, but in buildings, carpets and textiles.


Arabesques made from leaves and flowers are called HataĹ·î, so we also learned a little bit of Turkish. These were widely used in Ottoman decoration from the 14th century but they exist in wall paintings from 600 years earlier and probably originated in Chinese Turkistan long before Byzantine artists developed their stylised versions of acanthus. So it was no surprise to find that HataĹ·î means ‘from Cathays’ i.e.China’.


To whet our appetite for the exquisite decoration that could be achieved Sylvie had brought along an A3 handmade book of stunningly beautiful Islimi examples, which she had created.


We started the day with 4B pencils and practice paper and the focus was on four basic design elements:


· stylised leaves (Yoprak);


· a flower with varying numbers of petals seen full face (the Penç);


· a half-opened flower seen from the side (the Goncagil);


· a flower seen from the side but with the centre visible (the HataĹ·î motif). 


Sylvie distributed several examples for each design element and people practised finding that magic combination of the one they most liked and the one they could draw well. She showed how combining these elements could create beautiful borders. Even better was discovering that drawing just one quarter of the design could generate the other three quarters. Indeed such tessalation could be used to fill a page.


Sylvie introduced us to two traditional colouring techniques both involving graduated tones – so monochrome was fine. In Halakar the heaviest colour came at the tip of the leaf/petal, whereas in Mun Hani the darkest areas were at the point of growth. in the latter technique there were usually three tones and the internal shapes were outlined.


The day ended with the class exhibiting an impressive variety of skilfully executed Islimi arabesques.


All in all a highly stimulating, challenging and enjoyable day. Our warm appreciation to Sylvie for so brilliantly capturing the essence of Islimi in a gently flowing, carefully structured and delightfully balanced workshop.


Pat Wright     

Making Little Books

Janet began by talking about books as a means of displaying our calligraphy. The advantages of books are that they are more tactile than pieces displayed in a frame; they also create a sense of mystery and surprise, and they can be quite personal or equally make a nice gift for someone.


However, because books are handled there are things that need to be considered when using this form, rather than a hung piece, to display our work. We need to think about the form and how it will be viewed, the number of pages, the covers, the fastenings, how it will be stored and kept clean, such as in a box or slip cover. And, unlike a single page display, the direction of the paper grain.


There are a number of basic techniques used in all bookmaking projects and Janet led us carefully through each of what she considered were five essential skills, namely Measuring, Cutting, Folding, Sewing and Gluing, although not necessarily in that order (see Notes and Tips).


In addition to these five skills, an understanding of paper grain is crucial to making a successful book, something that doesn’t concern us if we are producing a flat piece of work.  Machine made paper has a grain because of the way it is produced. It is important to consider the direction of the grain when making books (and cards), which should be parallel to the spine so that the pages lie flat. Janet initially had us tearing newsprint to test this out: it tore in a straight line much easier in one direction than the other. We later discovered this was true of folding as well.


During the course of the day we made several different little books, each demonstrating and reinforcing one of the five techniques, although obviously there was some overlap when more than one of the skills were required to complete a project.


Most of us had, at one time or another, made the kinds of books we were making in this workshop but what made it particularly special and helpful were the many and varied little tips Janet gave us along the way, ways of making our work just that little bit more precise.


We were rather pushed for time to get everything finished by the end of the day but we went home with happy faces and a variety of little books to inspire future projects, thanks to the guidance of our excellent, and well prepared, tutor.


Recommended books:


Books, Boxes and Wraps   Marilyn Webberley (1995, 2nd edition 2014)


Unique Handmade Books  Alisa Golden (2003)


Cover to Cover   Shereen LaPlantz (1999)


Ann Sear

Unravelling the Celtic Knot

This workshop was an opportunity to learn how to unravel the intricacies of the Celtic Knot and design your own knotwork pattern.


With a few simple rules and a square grid students discovered how to construct the simplest knot and then build on this to make more complicated patterns as the day went on.


The patterns could be used with calligraphy, stone carving, lino cuts, stencils, embroidery, knitting or just on their own as a beautiful design.

Exploring Daiper Patterns

This workshop was an opportunity for students to learn the methods of creating a diaper pattern, a characteristic decorative feature of many medieval manuscripts.


Rather than produce one ‘finished’ piece, students experimented with different variations on a theme, exploring the possibilities, which could then be worked up into a piece at home.

Tools & Techniques

'Once one masters the ductus and has a thorough understanding of the structure of letterforms, we need to make them our own.'


​This class explored ways of looking at letters in a more abstract way while moving away from the rigidity of writing between two lines. 


The ultimate goal of this class was to develop fresh and unique styles based on your own existing style while exploring a variety of tools and techniques.

Item link

Backgrounds

This workshop would prove to be very useful for future work.


It was certainly a very busy day, full of usual techniques and unlikely tools and materials such as cling film, leaves and even credit cards!


At the end of the day students had a wonderful collection of backgrounds to act as a springboard for so many different types of calligraphic work.

The Secret of Spencerian

‘After studying Mechanical Engineering, I began teaching myself Spencerian and Round Hand after coming across the IAMPETH website around 5 years ago. At first it was a real challenge to learn how to use the pointed pen and to familiarize myself with the movements and pen, ink and paper combinations.


I have now developed a new modern style inspired by nature and the cosmos, based on the historical Spencerian and Round Hand scripts into an (hopefully) exciting new pointed pen “look”.


I think it is important to try to push the boundaries of the art that you are involved in, to try new ways of doing things and to look at lettering in a slightly different way.’


Roman Cursive

This workshop looked in detail at a historical script – the forerunner of the uncial scripts.


The script Helen used as her starting point was derived from an example found on papyri discovered at Herculaneum in the Villa of the Papyri in Italy.


The papyri were badly damaged in the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and the hand we were looking at came from a just a scrap that had been copied by hand at the end of the eighteenth century and preserved in the Bodleian Library.

Colour – Adolf Bernd

Penny is a renowned calligrapher and botanical artist, and also a very experienced teacher, and it was a delight and privilege to have her visit South Wales Scribes for this extended workshop, along with her dog, Morgan.


This workshop was about experimenting with colour, particularly granulating colours, using the work of Adolf Bernd as an example. 


Adolf Bernd (1909 – 1994) was a commercial artist of some note for much of his life and it was not until he was in his sixties that he was able to develop his love of colour into the art form we see in his letter paintings, around which our workshop was based.


The real appeal of his work lies in his subtle use of colour, form and white space. His palette is more often than not limited to only one or two basic colours but in the combination of these colours he finds a whole new palette. And this is one of the main things we were looking at during the first day. 


Working through a series of exercises beginning with the basic principles, we learnt more about colour and its properties.  We looked at harmonious and complementary colours and the spectrum of colours produced by the gradual introduction of a primary colour into another primary colour.  Penny also gave us lots of tips and techniques about using water colour. 


Later in the day we looked at some design elements: ways of dividing up the available space in an interesting way and the use of white space to enhance the design. 


The second day we looked at the way Adolph Bernd used letter forms in his work and, by mirroring the shapes within the letter and extending them into the surrounding space, produced a pleasing design. Again starting with some prescribed exercises, we then moved on to producing our own personal interpretations. We first looked at simple letters and various ways in which they might be divided up using colour variations and white space and then moved on to producing a Letter Picture of our own.


It was a really inspiring and enjoyable weekend.  It was lovely to have the extra time to explore this topic in greater depth, although even two days did not seem long enough. I think it would be true to say that we were all very absorbed in the work and enjoyed the opportunity of 


Thank you, Penny.


Ann Sear

Teeny Weeny Writing

How good is your eyesight?  This was the most asked question before the day's workshop, but Mary was very wise - the work got smaller and smaller and we got more and more proficient as the day progressed so there was no need for concern ........ or a magnifying glass!


Having a very sharp 2H pencil and a clear ruler helped to ensure our line widths were accurately drawn.   A good sharp nib produced crisp lines and we experimented with both Mitchell and Brause nibs of different sizes.  Gum Sandarac helped to give the surface of the paper 'tooth' as did the wonderful 'Conte' pastels that we rubbed in carefully .......the pretty hues setting off our writing really well.  Different paints and inks were tested including  Iron Gall, Walnut, Indian and Quink before we began the count down.  


We started with 4mm ruled lines, then went down to 3mm, then 2mm and some of us were even brave enough to attempt one millimetre before the end of the afternoon.  Between these lines we used very attractive capitals that were easy to produce and read even when tiny.  Our final exercise was to copy some fifteenth and sixteenth century Italian Renaissance italic hands.


Who needs to go to yoga classes to reach a state of inner calm when you can spend the day focusing on 'teeny weeny' tasks with Mary Noble?


Grace Birt

Group Projects



Periodically we like to involve all members of South Wales Scribes in a combined group project or submit contributions on a theme.  It is always interesting to see the variety of contributions from individual members in response to the same brief and specification.  Here are some recent projects.

Christmas 2021


A festive feast for the eyes. 


Thank you to everyone who contributed to this Christmassy calligraphic review.


2022 will be a significant celebration of 10 years of South Wales Scribes. We look forward to our first gathering of the year on 29th January to make exhibition plan. So, until then, Happy New Year to everyone and keep scribbling!

Autumnal Inspiration


OCTOBER 2021


Summer is well and truly behind us and many of us are looking forward to, or have just started another year of calligraphy classes or workshops.


We asked for some ‘Autumnal Inspiration’ from South Wales Scribes members and we weren’t disappointed. Thank you to everyone who responded to our request for details of work on an Autumn theme.


The days are now noticeably shorter, the mornings are cooler and mistier and the natural world around us is changing colour – from summertime green to the amber, rust, chestnut and deep reds of Autumn.


Our autumnal collages feature a wide variety of creative work using different media for written hands, drawn lettering, illumination and gilding. We hope they provide you with some inspiration for your own ongoing work. One advantage of the longer, darker nights is perhaps more time to settle down to some creative calligraphy without the distraction of good weather or the smell of a BBQ outside!



Envelope Exchange 2020-2021


Covid restrictions throughout 2020, and into 2021, meant that we were unable to meet for our regular workshops. However frustrating this might have been the ‘lockdowns’ also meant that some of us in fact had more opportunity to indulge in our hobbies.

One aspect of Covid was the change in the way families, friends and groups communicated. We saw an increase in the use of technology with the advent of the ‘Zoom’ and ‘Teams’ virtual gatherings, work meetings, quizzes and workshops. This change enabled many of us to take part in calligraphy workshops that would have been impossible pre-Covid. I for one took part in two calligraphy workshops with practitioners in America, something I never dreamt of pre-lockdown.


In total contrast there was an increase in more conventional, old-fashioned methods of communication – parcels and letters were welcome distractions from the concerns of Covid.


It was in this climate that one of our members Doug Adams suggested an ‘Envelope Exchange’ in 2020 to enable us to keep in touch creatively and socially.  I was always thrilled when the monthly envelope landed on my doorstep and I wasn’t only greeted by a beautifully crafted envelope but I had the added pleasure of reading a hand written note enquiring how I was and describing how the envelope had been derived, designed and what media had been used in its creation. 


We would wish to take this opportunity to thank Doug Adams for organising two very successful Envelope Exchange projects. The members who took part thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the activity when it was not possible to meet up due to the Covid19 situation.


Lesley Romano


Collaborative Colour Book 2017


It was suggested in our November AGM that it might be an idea to keep just a little bit of pressure going after our busy exhibition in February 2016 by producing a small collaborative piece to be completed for the next annual meeting. This was something to keep us working as a whole – as we did last year – I for one found it very enjoyable being part of such a creative team. Grace Birt

The brief was to produce a small page of calligraphy (size 9cm/9cm) to be included in a concertina book that members could borrow in the future for ideas and inspiration. The title for the project was ‘Colour’ and members were invited to interpret it in any way they wished; using any calligraphic style, illustration, text and medium.  Here are the resulting images:

Exhibitions



Tenth Anniversary Exhibition

The Written Word : Y Gair Ysgrifenedig   

August - November 2022  |  Swansea Museum


Transformation : Trawsnewid  

February 2016   |  Swansea Museum



Tenth Anniversary Exhibition

August - November 2022


We were delighted to be exhibiting once again in the historic Swansea Museum. The exhibition occupied Gallery One – a fantastic space providing a superb opportunity to show what we do as a group more widely.


The exhibition featured collaborative projects as well as individual pieces, from 23 members, reflecting a variety of calligraphic styles.


There were demonstrations and ‘try-your-hand at calligraphy’ sessions every Saturday, for the duration of the exhibition, which proved to be very popular and resulted in several new practising enthusiasts!


The exhibition closed on 6th November 2022 after a very successful and inspiring run.


‘Very impressed by the quality and diversity of your artwork.’

(RC – Mercian Scribes)


‘It was impressive to see such a range of calligraphic ideas and techniques used to create your beautiful exhibition. Well worth a visit from Shropshire. (PF – Shropshire Scribes)

Swansea Museum February 2016


Member's Gallery | Alison

SWS Secretary

Member's Gallery | Grace

SWS Treasurer

Member's Gallery | Joan

Committee Member

Member's Gallery | Lesley

SWS Website and Newsletter Design

Contact Us

Mon - Fri
-
Sat - Sun
Closed

Secretary | ALISON ALLAN     swscribes1@gmail.com

 

Chairman | GORDON WOOD

 

Treasurer   GRACE BIRT

 

Workshop Coordinator   JUDITH PORCH

 

Website & Newsletter   LESLEY ROMANO


CONTACT

Contact Us

Share by: