Map Your Space

MAP YOUR SPACE, a map design workshop

 WITH ANNIE CICALE

OCTOBER 4 – 6, 2019, CARY, NORTH CAROLINA

Fundamentals of map design will lead you to basic design skills, while thinking about many kinds of maps, from geographical depictions to imaginative maps of places unknown.

With GPS and Google Maps, you might think mapmaking skills are no longer needed, but a handmade map can be a treasure. In this workshop we will talk about the many kinds of maps and then learn ways to make them. We’ll talk about the different information included on maps, see some historical versions that might surprise you, and think about how we engage with the territory.

You’ll choose a topic and then learn some cartographic techniques. You can make a camera-ready version of your space or you can make a fine painterly map to hang on a wall. Those Tolkien maps of Middle Earth can’t be found on your smart phone, and you too might want to design a map of your own imaginary space.

What kind of maps can you imagine making? It is easy to think of a map to your home or a wedding, or a map that captures a trip you have taken. There are also mind maps that display ideas arrayed around a central concept. What about a pair of hiking boots with “scars” from different hiking trails? Or an artist’s apron with splotches of paint from diverse projects? Or even a favorite pizza with information about the assorted ingredients?

We will review the letterforms you know, adapting them to various places on your maps, from simple place names to complicated titles. We’ll learn some of the cartographic traditions to make your map accessible and reliable for your audience, whether it is a map to your house from the airport, a map to a wedding reception or a map of a fantastic place you made up yourself. The emphasis will be on learning the skills needed to make a map – with a bit of fun thrown in as well!

In preparation for our weekend’s work, Annie is offering a Friday evening slide show.

A preview of things to come, the discussion will set the stage

for an interesting and enjoyable learning experience.

** All levels of experience are welcome. Come as you are. **

The world of books and writing has captivated Annie since she was a child. After a short career as a chemical engineer, she turned to the visual arts, specializing in calligraphy, painting, printmaking and drawing.

The visual qualities of writing became her focus when she discovered the expressive power of calligraphic forms. She brings visual expression to words to expand their meaning, using both abstract and illustrative imagery. She is fascinated with the visual nature of text on paper, working in both traditional and contemporary ways.

With an MFA in graphic design, she teaches lettering, drawing and painting for calligraphers throughout the United States and Canada, in Japan, Spain and Australia, as well as at most of the international calligraphy conferences. Travels to Europe and Asia have expanded her visions of the calligraphic form. She has had numerous one-person exhibits in Montana, Tennessee, Illinois and North Carolina.

Her work has been included in many calligraphic publications, including Bound & Lettered and Letter Arts Review. Her artist’s books are in private and public collections, including Yale University. She is the author of The Art and Craft of Hand Lettering, (revised in 2018). She was co-director of A Show of Hands 2016, the 35th international calligraphy conference, held at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina.

Her interest in maps came from her love to travel, finding that she is often the navigator with a map in her hand. A course in cartography completed the circle, and she began designing maps for clients, as well as assigning map projects to her college students. These highly inventive maps fueled her interest in teaching mapmaking to others.

ANNIE SUGGESTS …

For a fascinating book on maps in general, look for MapHead, by Ken Jennings.

It’s a delightful history of all kinds of maps, with many insights and some clever jokes.

To date, Jennings is the ‘winningest’ Jeopardy contestant of all time, which means

he brings a great amount of intriguing trivia to this discussion.