Those of you who have been Masscribes members for some years will surely remember our beloved issues of Ink Spots, the printed and snail-mailed newsletter that would surprise us in our mailbox a few times a year. It regularly included a personal and encouraging letter from the president (The President’s Pen), a humorous or sentimental letter from the editor, announcements of upcoming events in the larger calligraphy world, reports from study groups, book reviews, exhibit reviews, workshop reviews, images of work from private shows to holiday greeting cards, articles about tools and supplies, and so much more. With the increased costs of printing and postage, along with limitations on our time, the newsletter went digital for a while and then seemed to take a vacation during the Covid-19 pandemic. We hope to someday again distribute a full-color printed publication that you can hold in your hands – but in the meantime, the idea of a blog within our already existing website seems to fit the bill. Here, not only can we share all the same informative and entertaining content, but it is also a wonderful way to have things archived so that you can return to the site and easily Read More

Will be posted after blog is live Read More

Rachel’s blurb on our Tuesday night Zoom Studio Drop-in’s Read More

There you are with a fresh, exciting calligraphy project in front of you. Mistakes are not the first thing on your mind, but now, while you are calm and hopeful, is a good time to prepare for them. I am a slow calligrapher and this is a slow method. Perhaps fast calligraphers don’t make mistakes (looking at you, Jane Rollins) but I don’t know about that, so I’ll give you what has worked for me. Anticipation is our friend. Use paper that is correctable (thick paper with sizing that prevents too much absorption, like BFK Rives or Arches Text Wove), and mediums like stick ink, gouache or paint that stay on the paper’s surface. How are your nibs? A new nib can be very enjoyable when you didn’t realize your old favorite had ragged edges. Have plenty of everything you’re using. (Yes, now is the time to check! Don’t ask me why I would emphasize that.) Fine paper has two sides; try writing on both sides with the correct size nibs and writing medium. Sometimes the “good” side with the watermark facing you won’t be your favorite. Now look at your workspace…is there one? Do you have a cat? Will Read More

On the weekend spanning the 17th & 18th of September, 2022; the first in-person workshop since March of 2020 was offered by Masscribes – New England Calligraphy Organization.  Nineteen participants engaged in the study of letters, alphabets, converted fonts and lines, led by one of our own members, Rick Paulus.  Rick, recently relocated to the New England area from California, has perfected the practice of creating letters using various tools that have a consistent line width throughout the shape — or “monoline”.  Although the letters didn’t have the thick and thin lines within the same letter commonly produced by calligraphers, this in no way lessened the enthusiasm and interest of the workshop participants.  The fact that Rick has studied these forms extensively was really evident in his teaching style and sparked my excitement to add them to my calligraphy repertoire. A packed folder of 26 pages and a beautifully hand rendered name card were provided to each student by Rick.  Art Deco, Vanitie Roman and Greyhound were just a few of the alphabets included in the handouts.  Various treatments to the letters were also demonstrated on Day One,such as: drop shadowing, color blending, and outlining. Day Two found us back Read More