Those Hill Towns With Their Stamp-Sized Squares
Finding alphabetic inspiration in the cobbled streets and squares of Italy
A Lecture by Amity Parks
Friday, April 29, 7PM PDT
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. from 2000–2013. Her work is also available through her Etsy shop, https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmityParksLettering
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:
