Standard Meeting Dates/Time:
Dates: Meetings are on the second Saturday of the month (unless otherwise noted) from September through May.
Time: 10 am to 1 pm.
Programs: We will always have someone teaching us and sometimes we will also have Show & Tell.
See meeting dates for program description and list of supplies you’ll need to bring. Coffee and tea are not provided, but you’re welcome to bring your own.
Some of the afternoon workshops require advance registration. See individual program descriptions on this page and in the blog section.
Location:
Note: Due to Covid-19, as of March 2020, all meetings and workshops are meeting online through zoom meetings, rather than in-person. TCG newsletters will include the zoom links for the upcoming programs.
Meeting Location:
Resurrection Lutheran Church
100 Lochmere Drive West
Cary, N.C. 27518
Google maps:
Directions:
On Kildaire Farm Road, traveling south (away from downtown Cary), pass Walmart on the right. If you come in on Tryon Road, Cary Parkway, or Maynard Road, you’ll turn south onto Kildaire Farm Road. Continue past Crescent Commons and Crescent Green and turn right onto Lochmere Dr.
Program Line-Up For 2021/ 2022
10/9/2021 – “Textured Letters” with Barbara Close
11/13/2021 & 11/14/2021 – “Fundamental Flourishing” with Pat Blair
12/11/2021 – Holiday Party
Details of 2021/ 2022 Program Year
Saturday, January 8, 2022
“The Spencerian Hand: History of American Penmanship and the Practice of Arm Movement Writing” with Gray Harris
(This meeting will be in-person, at usual meeting. location of Resurrection Lutheran Church. The program will be recorded and put on the TCG website for you to enjoy if you are unable to attend. Please contact Robin or Karen with any questions you may have.)
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Synopsis Have you ever wondered why people don’t have “Grandma’s handwriting” anymore? Join us on January 8th for a fascinating dive into the history of penmanship in the United States followed by a practical lesson in arm movement writing. You’ll learn about the cultural and technological forces that shaped the evolution of handwriting from around 1800 to the modern day. Brief profiles of each hand will be accompanied by examples of actual handwriting, from their most famous practitioners to that of everyday people. As you awaken from deep slumber – my wife tells me this is a side effect of repeated exposure to my enthusiasm for the topic – you’ll join an interactive lesson in arm movement writing. We’ll cover the basics of position, pen holding, warm-up drills and as many letters of the alphabet as we can cover. Materials Choose your own adventure! I will have extra materials on hand, if any of these materials prove difficult to obtain, or if you’d like to try a different adventure path that day. I will have paper lined appropriately for you to use as a guide underneath blank sheets. Arm movement writing? Sounds scary.
I’d like to get a feel for what it would have been like in 1890!
I LOVE ornamental penmanship. I also enjoy suffering and do not mind exploding nibs or ink splatter! (Congrats, you are my people!)
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Saturday, December 11, 2021
Annual TCG Holiday Party
This year our holiday party will be held at the church, Resurrection Lutheran Church, 100 Lochmere Drive West, Cary, NC. 27518, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11th. Please bring any food dishes you would like to share! We will provide plates, utensils, napkins, cups, and ice. In keeping with a holiday theme, A Few of my Favorite Things, we’d like you to think of a few of your favorite calligraphy tools, hints, ideas, discoveries, holiday items/ideas you’ve come across, and share them with us! We can use the dry erase board in the church room to write our Favorite Things down to share.
Saturday, November 13, 2021
“Copperplate Flourishing,” with Pat Blair
We are so pleased to have Pat Blair, former U.S. White House Calligrapher, with us in person at Resurrection Lutheran Church on November 13th and 14th, 2021. Pat will be covering the essentials of Copperplate Flourishing, teaching basic flourished strokes and embellishments with the pointed pen. We will work with these strokes to produce a finished cartouche design in the morning class. The meeting will be available in-person and via Zoom.
This will be open to members only. The meeting will be recorded and available to members for review for 30 days in the “member portal” of our website.
The following materials are needed for class:
- Lots of paper! Recommended 9” x 12” Canson Pro Layout Marker pad (or another translucent, non-bleed paper)
- Your favorite oblique pen holder (s)
- a small assortment of pointed pen nibs such as Hunt 22, Gillott 303, Hunt 101, Nikko Zebra, Nikko G or Leonardt Principal
- Black Ink that will not bleed on your paper – ex.: Moon Palace liquid sumi ink, or McCaffery’s Penmans Ink
- Water cup, Paper towels or rags
For workshop registrants only – see Pat Blair’s Essentials of Flourishing” workshop details.
*Saturday afternoon, November 13th, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm EST, Resurrection Lutheran Church
“Essentials of Flourishing” workshop for paid registrants
**Sunday, November 14th, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm EST, Hampton Inn, near PNC Arena
“Essentials of Flourishing” workshop continued
About Pat Blair:
Pat Blair served 12 1/2 years as the Chief Calligrapher at the White House in Washington, D.C., directing the production of invitation and menu design for all official and social presidential events, calligraphy of placecards, envelopes and titles, certificate and resolution design as well as production of programs and tour books. She served two years as the President of the Washington Calligrapher’s Guild in Washington, DC., was the chairperson of the Graceful Envelope contest, and served as co-director for the International Lettering Conference, Letterforum.
Her work has been published in the Calligrapher’s Engagement Calendar, Letter Arts Review, Top 100 New York Calligraphers, Grolier Club Calligraphy Revival, and Martha Stewart Weddings, among others. She teaches at the Loudoun Academy of the Arts, and has been on the faculty of over ten International Calligraphy Conferences. Pat has been awarded the title of “Master Penman” by the International Assoc of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting for her work.
Saturday, October 9, 2021
“Textured Letters” with Barbara Close
(This meeting will be online via Zoom)
In this fun class we will be designing letters which suit our own style (with guidance from the instructor). Starting with a monoline/outlined alphabet, students will become familiar with shapes and proportions for strong letters. Then we will move in other directions and decorate, texturize, colorize, accessorize to our hearts content by using techniques such as layering, masking, collaging and many more painting applications.
**This is a Zoom meeting for members only. Dues ($30.00) can be paid by check, made payable to TCG OR paid on-line using PayPal. Go to
http://www.
On Friday, October 8th, members will receive the Zoom link from TCG allowing you into Barbara‘s “Textured Letter” class.
Tools and Materials to bring:
-pencil, ruler, eraser
-practice paper: Canson Pro Layout Marker or xerox paper (only a few sheets)
-Pigma Microns #02 and #08 (any that you have for a contrast)
-pointed brush with good tip i.e. #2 or #4
-watercolors: Sets or Tubes with palette & mixing brush
-water container
-a few paper towels
-glue stick and/or double stick tape
-Arches Text Wove OR 90# watercolor paper – cut to 4 “ x 6” pieces
-Your enthusiasm, open minds & a sense of exploration
**Note: Please download the handouts and copy them prior to class.
Other suggestions (optional):
-gold powder [Schimincke]-xacto knife & small cutting mat
-color’d pencils/ markers
-things for accents & embellishments: white gel pen
Zoom with us in person!
**This is a Zoom meeting where we can all meet from the convenience of our homes. This month we are also offering another form of Zoom since we have the church facility available all day. Those who are interested may join us at the church classroom at our regularly scheduled meeting time (10:00-1:00) to watch Barbara teach on Zoom on the big screen! Then you are welcome to stay after and join us for some social time, lettering, practice and fellowship! Look forward to seeing you all, whether it’s in person or online!!!
About Barbara Close:
Barbara Close (website) is an internationally known calligrapher/artist and teaches in southern California, across the USA and Canada, and will be teaching in Lake Havasu, Arizona.
She thoroughly loves teaching and sharing with students. Her work includes a wide variety of lettering styles and mixed media applications, and has been in exhibitions across the
country, as well as many private collections.
She has taught at several International Lettering and IAMPETH conferences. Barbara designed the logo for Somerset Studio Magazine and “The Calligraphy Collection” font cartridge for Cricut. She has also designed several greeting cards for Marcel Schurman, now Papyrus.
“Follow Your Heart” is a philosophy that shows in her work and continues with growth, heart, and inspiration.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
“Innovative Envelopes” by TCG members
(This meeting will be in-person as well as online via Zoom)
Members that signed up for an Envelope Exchange this summer will be sharing their envelopes with us. A special thanks to Hattie Bazemore for organizing and arranging this activity! We will learn about some tips and techniques for creating these beautiful envelopes and you will have an opportunity to create one of your own for friends or family.
Previous Years’ Meetings
See previous meetings page for information on programs and instructors in previous years.