GEMMA BLACK : ARTIST / CALLIGRAPHER

--> This is going to be a mixed bag I am afraid but a good bag. How interesting things are. I consider myself fortunate to be able to experience the things I do, I am eternally grateful to many. It is a wonderful thing to teach at all and share ones experiences & experiments but to come to the other side of the world to teach is indeed a precious thing. My classes are hard work yet enjoyable for all … I hope and my Ghost Ranch Versal class members put in a hug e effor t . Here is a taster of just some of the m arvellous work but there are too many to post them all.   Pencils including graphite: Louise        Gouache & Graphite: Cindy Our show and share was much loved by all and Suzanne & Sharon worked hard all evening writing out names for the local punters. I just stood about enjoying all the artworks.  Ghost Ranch was an experience I am so very glad I unde...

June 4 - 11 How lovely to be greeted with beautiful mauve tulips from my hosts for the Washington Calligraphers Guild, Mary Louise O’Brien & Anton Strunze. They live in the suburb of Gaithersburg, Maryland. We had the best time and though Mary Louise thought she was not able to do the workshop with me due to work commitments she was prepared to host me. How lovely.  As it turned out she could do four days of the workshop. We were very happy about that. So our lead in day and a half before teaching was spent visiting Arlington Cemetery which was very moving. I was particularly moved by the masses of white stone gravesite of armed services personnel and of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The changing of the Old Guard on the hour every hour was an interesting and solemn ceremony to watch. I also enjoyed visiting Arlington House. The workshop. Such was the Washington, Maryland, Virginia traffic. Chris Tischer would drive about 45 minutes to p...

I can't believe how close all these State boarders are. One minute I am in Washington DC, then I am in Pennsylvania, then Virginia and now Maryland. My goodness!  Chris Tischer picked me up from Sheila's and drove me down from PA to the home of my lovely hosts Mary Lou and Anton in Maryland. Look what was in my bedroom as a welcome, so lovely: Mary Lou, Anton and housemate James gave me such a warm welcome. We discussed some ideas for today's Washington DC sightseeing and it was unanimous that we would visit Arlington National Cemetery. When Anton discovered my curiosity with the Kennedy family it was an obvious choice. I had been to Dealey Plaza in Dallas recently with good friend Carl and it seemed natural to "bookend" my Kennedy intrigue by visiting this grave site. I am so glad we did. Hot and humid as it was the day was reflective and though provoking.  The cemetery and monuments are awe inspiring. The resting place of John Fitzgera...

Julian (Sheila's son) met me at the end of the metros red line out of DC, Shady Grove, to then meet up with Cathy (Julian's wife) for the car trip up to Pennsylvania. As we were all calligraphers, of course, the car trip was full of calligraphic conversation. We arrived at Shelia's as the light was slipping into twilight, a beautiful time of the day. This still gave me plenty of time to see the property in a warm and subtle light. I didn't take many photos at Sheila's home, wishing to keep her private life private yet she would have allowed me to take many more had I asked. It was just the two of us for the following three days. We busied ourselves about the house & studio with Sheila prepping for her upcoming masterclass and me, helping wherever she want to put me to good use.  We talked a lot, late into the evening as we have a good deal of common calligraphic ground.  We planted a garden of vegetables at the front of the house and enjoyed the studio treas...

My first day started with a spitting headache which is customary for me with the onset of jet-lag. The only way to deal with it is to fight it and fight hard. Dose up on tablets, drink a lot of safe water and get out into the fresh air and try and stay awake as long as possible. By day three of this procedure I am pretty much on the correct time. Here are some of today's highlights. Day one proved to be a lot of fun with my friend Lydia.  It was hot and muggy but nothing a l'il old lass from Australia couldn't handle. We walked, walked and walked some more and ended up in the Wicked Waffle shop for a very late lunch. Lydia an I met in Canberra when she was working with the US Embassy. We, along with a couple of close friends formed a friendship group back then, the Ya Ya's ... now known as the Ga Ga's because we have gone a bit ga ga. The beautiful Lydia who lives not too far from my hotel, managed successfully to keep me awake and my jet-la...

ONCE UPON A TIME flying used to be an exciting adventure and there was always a build up of excitement. These days the excitement is certainly less so but the adventure, a curious thing, is something that we still wish to endure. I am glad to say my flights were uneventful and with a delay of only two and a half hours due to wild and wet weather in Dallas Forthworth, I managed to crawl into bed in my Washington DC hotel just before midnight. Feeling a little jet lag queezy this morning, I am off to meet up with my good friend Lydia and explore the locale around my hotel ... um that would be the White House!  Check back later for Day One's activities.

My bags are packed and I shall be on my way to the airport at 4.45am tomorrow morning.  This is the start of my four week trip away to the US.  Fingers crossed all goes well and that the travel is boring and uneventful leaving me plenty of time to … ahhhhh … read. Apart from lettering, reading is my greatest pleasure. I will have wifi pretty much everywhere I go so please feel free to drop me a line with updates.  I hope to keep this weblog a happening thing, so you can travel with me (if you like) and enjoy the calligraphic encounters and adventures.  I am really looking forward to my workshops in the US starting out in Washington with a few days of R&R with Shelia Waters. We plan to delve into all this Shelia and Peter Waters and I look forward to reading the newly published book Waters Rising . It is the story of Peter Waters' program to save the manuscripts after the 1966 Florence floods. Can't wait! In brief, I stay in Washington for the coming week runn...

...   just a little advertising! "Grampians Brushes   is an extraordinary opportunity to work with wonderful leading Australian Tutors in a range of mediums including watercolour, oils, acrylic, pastel, print making, and mixed media." I am delighted to be included in the faculty for this fabulous get away from it all creative fusion .  Here are some samples of the types of experimenting and colour and gold, participants will be experiencing in my classes. If you would like some further information just ask. I am more than happy to answer all your questions.   Just some of the tools to be used ... let's take a closer look ... Yes, that is an oboe reed ... oh and yes that is a hypodermic needle! Experimental ... as well as colour! Experimental.  Experimental tools class.  Experimental tools class.  Experimental tools class.  Gold works! An in-c...