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Welcome to Escribiente

Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month, and we welcome guests and members of the public who have an interest in learning more abut the fine art of beautiful writing. Please see our Meetings page for full details and directions and download our Newsletters for reviews and photos from our workshops and programs.

 

Meetings

Monthly programs take place in two sessions from August through November, and from February through June. Check our Meetings page for more details on upcoming meetings.

Program: Wednesday, May 1, 2024 @ 6:30pm * Online via Zoom

Members are encouraged to sign in at 6:15pm.

Carve a Letter Once, Use it Again and Again

Presentation by Michal Sommers

image for program

Make a hand-drawn letter and use it again and again by turning it into a hand-carved stamp. Follow along to learn fundamentals for designing, carving, and printing your own letter form or design embellishment from reusable soft carving blocks. Even one block offers an array of design options. Caution: you’ll want to make so many more!

Tools:

  • Soft carving block such as Speedball Speedy Carve (pink stuff)
  • Carving tool: Speedball straight nib holder and a #1 or #2 cutting blade, OR a Speedball linoleum handle with a cutting blade.
  • X-acto knife with a new blade
  • HB or B pencil & an old credit card/gift card
  • Small bit of tracing paper and a piece of tape (washi tape works well)
  • Stamp pad such as VersaFine Clair pigment ink which dries quickly and holds details, but try anything you might have around will work OR use water-based markers (ie, Crayola markers)
  • Copy paper for practice & smooth cardstock or envelopes for a finished design
  • Cutting mat and paper to protect your desk
  • Damp towel or sponge

Michal Sommers is an Escribiente member and visual artist living in the high desert under the big turquoise skies of New Mexico. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico. Her work has been exhibited and collected across the United States. After retiring from teaching at an independent school, she has been enjoying more time in her studio and with her family.

Members receive email notices for all programs and workshops.

Live Zoom meetings are open to members only. The Zoom replay will be available for a limited time to members after the meeting. An edited replay may be posted to our YouTube channel after editing, provided permission is granted from the presenter.

Upcoming events – please check your email for more details!

Upcoming events – please check your email for more details!

Weekend, March 16–17: Workshop (in-person in Albuquerque) – Cora Pearl. Cora will be teaching Hand Lettering with the Folded Pen workshop for Escribiente in March 2024. More details on our Workshops page.

Weds., April 3: Our first Weds. meeting will be a business program only (via Zoom).

Third Saturday, April 20: Writing on Glass –  In-person program from 1:00 to 3:00 at Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Details on our Meetings page.

Weds., May 1: Online program (creating hand-carved stamps with Michael Sommers) via Zoom, followed by our business meeting. Details on our Meetings Page.

View previous programs from 2023–2024 Meetings Archive page.

For more details and upcoming programs, please see our Meetings page...

 

Latest Newsletter

Back issues are available for download on our Newsletter page.

Download PDFWinter 2023–2024 (February)

Download Print Resolution PDF (28MB) (can also right-click and select Download Linked File)

Edited by Lynda Lawrence.

  • Photo Gallery: New Mexico State Fair 2023
  • Kemp’s Script (Bill Kemp) – Workshop review by Evelyn Costello
  • Preview: Cora Pearl’s Workshop (March 2024)
  • Review of recent programs (Cora Pearl, Bill Kemp)
  • 2024 Quote Swap instructions
  • 2023 Holiday Card Exchange Gallery & Party
  • Scribes 8 Group by Kathy Chilton
  • Cover art: Trish Meyer

 

New Mexico State Fair – September 2023

Escribiente exhibited in the State Fair at Expo New Mexico.

All skill levels welcome. Exhibit entries are open to all New Mexico residents.

See our Exhibits page for more info.

montage

Escribiente members exhibit each year at the New Mexico State Fair in the Creative Arts Building during the show.

 

Weathergrams Installation

Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors Blvd. NW, Albuquerque NM

In conjunction with local poets, each year Escribiente members calligraph dozens of Weathergrams that are hung on trees around the Open Space Visitor Center grounds as a temporary art installation.

Images from 2023 installation are included in the July 2023 Newsletter.

In conjunction with LIBROS Book Arts group, our members provide original artwork that is included in a handmade poetry chapbook. Illustrations for the 2022 chapbook (some are shown below) was provided by Esther Feske, Elizabeth McKee, Caryl McHarney, and Trish Meyer.

All proceeds from the Poets’ Picnic event benefit Open Space Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote public awareness and conservation of Open Space lands.

If you haven’t been to the Open Space Visitor Center on Coors Blvd NW, check out their website.