April 29 & 30, 2022
Annual festival of
Calligraphy and Lettering Arts, sponsored by
Write On Calligraphers
Welcome to Letters of Joy 2022, featuring Amity Parks
We welcome all of you from near and far to join us in our love for letters! Our conference is virtual again this year, so you don’t have to choose your classes in advance – just select the class you wish for each session and whatever you miss will be available as recordings later on this site!
The Letters of Joy online conference includes an evening lecture on Friday, April 29th at 7pm, followed by a full day of classes on Saturday, April 30th.
This year we are offering 2 additional class sessions, so you have four classes to choose from for each afternoon session.
Session 1 class | 9–11 AM PDT
Everyone joins the keynote speaker’s class, Graphite Effects with Amity Parks.
Followed by an hour break.
Session 2 classes | 12 – 2 PM PDT
Choose from four classes (come back later to watch the others.).
Followed by a half hour break.
Session 3 classes | 2:30 – 4:30 PM PDT
Choose from four classes (come back later to watch the others).
Join us live for the lecture, keynote class, and your choice of afternoon 2-hour classes,
but enjoy a total of all nine 2-hour classes plus the lecture with your conference pass.
Recordings will be available for up to two months.
All times are Pacific Daylight time. Enrollment for event is limited to 200.
Click on the class images below for descriptions and more details.
The full conference pass costs just $100 – Register now and checkout through our secure payment system.
KEYNOTE SESSION
Those Hill Towns With Their Stamp-Size Squares
Finding inspiration in the cobbled streets and squares of Italy
Amity Parks is an artist and calligrapher living in Missoula, Montana. For many years she has been studying calligraphy in weeklong and private tuition classes with internationally renowned instructors. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tulsa, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana. Her work has been featured in national and regional exhibits and publications. She has been a long-term active member and teacher in her local and state calligraphy guilds and travels within the US and internationally to teach workshops, including serving on the faculty for multiple International Lettering Arts Conferences, for the SSIW Conference in Melbourne, Australia, the Midwest Art and Lettering Retreat, Letters California Style and LaRomita School of Art in Umbria, Italy. She spends many hours in her studio on her personal and creative work, finding a balance between her teaching commitments and her busy family life. More information and artwork can be found on Facebook, Instagram and at her website, www.amityparkslettering.com . You can also visit her Etsy shop here .
Post Conference Workshop
May 1 & 2, 2022
Slow and Steady
Painting Letters with a Pointed Brush
with Amity Parks
There are times when our lettering calls for a new way of working to achieve the effect we are looking for. Sometimes our traditional pens don’t work to create the forms we want or we are lettering on a surface that is not friendly to the pen. Other times we would like to use a medium that won’t flow through our pens. In these cases, it’s nice to have the skills for ‘drawing’ our lettering using a pointed brush. This tool allows unlimited freedom to produce any letterforms and to write on many surfaces. In this class we will do exercises to familiarize ourselves and develop skills with using a pointed brush. We won't be 'writing' with the brush as many calligraphers do, but rather drawing and painting with it. This is a slow and steady process that is a good skill to have in your tool kit. Once we are comfortable with the tools, we’ll explore a variety of letterforms that lend themselves well to these techniques such as Roman caps and a more playful and naive version of caps inspired by old Italian inscriptions. Next we will experiment with creating interesting compositions and adding other illustrative designs as well. I’ll offer some tips in how to transfer our designs onto surfaces using patterns, and then finishing our designs using our pointed brush and water-based paints such as gouache and watercolor.
To register (check or Paypal), visit the Write On Calligraphers website:
Slow and Steady, Painting Letters with a Pointed Brush
Order Your Supplies
Order your supplies from John Neal Books for your classes and the post-conference workshop.