Month: December 2019

Silence is Golden

In April this year members of South Wales Scribes took part in ‘lifelong learning’ demonstrations during The Swansea Learning Festival.

Swansea is one of only three UNESCO Cities of Learning in the UK and the intention of this city-wide event was to encourage members of the public to take up new learning activities.

Over two days an enthusiastic group of scribes spent a most enjoyable time working in the serene atmosphere of St Mary’s Church. The intention was to work towards creating a collaborative ‘Book of Silence’ (inspired by similar projects undertaken very successfully in Bruges and Cambridge) whilst inviting visitors to ‘have a go’ themselves under the guidance of tutor Judith Porch.

We were very pleasantly surprised to have so many interested visitors and the experience was a great success.

Members have been putting the finishing touches to their works and the gallery shows the results of our labours along with photos from the event.

Adapted and updated by Lesley Romano from an original article for the South Wales Scribes’ Newsletter by Gordon Wood

Lady Star of the Sea

To celebrate a hundred years of worship at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Mumbles, a flower festival  was one of many events held to mark the centenary. The theme was nautical and I was asked to write out the text of a hymn dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star.

I chose formal Uncials as their calm stillness seemed fitting in a church setting. The initial letter of the four verses is a painted versal which allowed me to use some colour and illustration. I used a square edged nib on Saunders hot press watercolour paper.

by Norma

Colourful collaboration

Grace Birt presents the finished Colour Collaboration Book | 2019 AGM

The idea for this collaborative project was originally discussed in the 2017 AGM. After a short discussion we settled on a book with the theme ‘colour’ and members were invited to contribute pages. 

Our Treasurer Grace has made a concertina book with a gorgeous fabric cover to hold the pages and the above photo shows our combined efforts. 

When looking at the contributions at this year’s AGM, we were fascinated by the different interpretations people had made of the theme.  Here are some of their thought processes and inspirations.

GRACE BIRT | As a child of the fifties and sixties I can remember the gradual change from all things grey to fabulous colour.  Britain became ‘MOD’ with chunky lettering, big patterns and vibrant colour everywhere.  I’ve tried to convey this huge ‘sixties revolution’ in my tiny nine by nine centimetre piece on a dull mat black background.
GORDON WOOD | An experimental idea for a page of pattern to add a variety of image and use of colour within the booklet. Powdered pastel was blended through a metal stencil with cotton wool to provide a graduation of colour within each separate design.