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“The Cal ligraphic Sketchbook”
Seventeen eager calligraphers gathered together on November 13 and 20, 2004, for Doug Boyd’s class, “The Calligraphic Sketchbook”. Many of us have purchased sketch books in the past which are still blank because we didn’t want to spoil those beautiful empty pages. So – we weren’t asked to bring any paper on the extensive supply list…which made us use only our pristine sketchbooks for all the class information. That was hurdle #1. Next – he specified all kinds of pencils to bring…and we used them all! We made squares and penciled in each with various degrees of pressure…then we tried to erase them with different kinds of erasers. That exercise made us learn the differences in both kinds of tools and how we could best use them later. We did the same type of exercise with colored pencils and watercolor pencils…in these cases also learning the differences in co ol and warm colors on the color wheel.
We also studied letterforms and their history. At the conclusion of the second workshop day, we had a nicely organized 29-page booklet of handouts that traced the development of letterforms from Roman Capitals through variations over the years to the Uncial and Lombardi alphabets. We began to understand how differences in culture affected the writing of letters and how different tools (chisel, pen and brush) affected the development of mechanical printing. (Right: Doug Boyd)
 All this, while saving this infor-
mation in written and drawn examples in our sketch books. We were encouraged to let our sketchbook be whatever we wanted it to be. A reference we could go back to over time….a place to experiment so we’d know how or what could be used effectively at some future time when we had a calligraphy piece to accomplish. He explained how figures on a background are emphasized or softened with color, with outlining, or with changing size to accomplish the desired effect. (Left: Diane Reiter, Lisabet Wilson, Shirley Wineberg.)
As many of you know, Doug is a delightful teacher. He shared his knowledge and techniques with us while also keeping us entertained. So 16 of us left those two weeks with a great start and a new attitude about sketchbooks – no longer afraid to “spoil” a page. The 17th person (Lorraine Brown) has been doing this for years, even making her own books! I sat next to Lorraine and she not only puts the examples in, she DRAWS PICTURES and great illustrations to emphasize the points talked about…very intimidating. I’m not that free yet, but at least I’m no longer afraid to use this method of “journaling” as a wonderful resource for future projects. (Right: Jo Brisbin)
Doug informed us we were only halfway through the evolution of the alphabets…maybe we can persuade him to do the second half! It was a very enjoyable class. As always, my fellow students work was beautiful to see…each one’s interpretation of the letters and color was imaginative and we all can be proud of our new sketchbooks.
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