News Release

Scribes Offer Free Demonstrations as Part of Kalligraphia Exhibit

Calligraphers will share their artistry with the pen and brush during free public demonstrations as part of Kalligraphia, a special triennial exhibition on display June 4 - August 31 in the Skylight Gallery at the San Francisco Main Library. The demonstrations will offer the public a rare chance to see accomplished artists ply their tools and methods from the Western lineage of writing.

Kalligraphia will feature recent artwork by members of the Friends of Calligraphy (FOC), a nonprofit Bay Area group founded in 1975. This year marks the 11th time FOC has held Kalligraphia—a colorful, non-juried show highlighting a wide range of calligraphic techniques. Original works on display will include broadsides, manuscript books and three-dimensional pieces.

Calligraphers will showcase their craft on Sunday afternoons, from 2–4 p.m., in the Main Library’s Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room during the following demonstrations:

• June 11: Christine Colasurdo – Writing Italic with a Brush
• June 18: Christopher Calderhead – Making an Instant Manuscript Book
• July 2: Meredith Klein – Creating Colorful Envelopes for Correspondence
• July 9: Georgianna Greenwood – Mastering Materials for Calligraphy
• July 16: Carl Rohrs – Writing Large: La Spazzola Grande
• July 23: Christopher Stinehour – Writing in Stone
• July 30: Judy Detrick – Writing History: the Uncial Alphabet
• Aug. 6: Melissa Titone – Writing with Color
• Aug. 13: Sherrie Lovler – Writing with Wood Tools
• Aug. 20: Ward Dunham – Handwriting from Reeds to Fountain Pens
• Aug. 27: Carla Tenret – Making Decorated Letters: “Tangled Versals”

The demonstrations and exhibit are free and open to the public.

Friends of Calligraphy is an internationally-known guild whose membership includes some of the most highly regarded lettering artists in the world. Committed to furthering the art of calligraphy, FOC sponsors a year-round program of public workshops, lectures and classes. FOC also publishes an illustrated journal and quarterly newsletter. For more information, contact FOC at P.O. Box 425194, San Francisco, CA 94142 or visit www.friendsofcalligraphy.org.

Kalligraphia is sponsored by the Marjorie G. and Carl W. Stern Book Arts and Special Collections Center of the San Francisco Public Library. The Library’s Special Collections Center also houses the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and Lettering, the Robert Grabhorn Collection on the History of Printing and the Development of the Book, and the Schmulowitz Collection of Wit and Humor.

For more information, please call (415) 557-4560.