I won't wax on too much about about the conference or calligraphy, itself, because most of it would make the eyes of even the most hardy of readers glaze over in a hurry. But, here are a few bullet points:
*It was held at Kellogg Conf. Center at Cal Poly Pomona. It was my first trip to the campus (we're familiar with CP/SLO, where Dylan attended) and, against the green hills and snowy mountains, it was quite a beautiful setting. I happen to know that it doesn't look like that every day, unfortunately. Also, great facilities and a minefield of wonderful food lurking around every corner.
*The 7+hour drive in each direction was easy and nearly painless (minor traffic issues). The SJ Valley is green and gorgeous, also edged with snowy mountains, and the orchards are beginning to bloom bright pink.
*I spent the nights at Gold Manor, Tom's Mom's home about 15 minutes from Cal Poly. I could have stayed at the conference center, but thought it would be more fun to stay with her. And I was right! We had all of Valentine's Day evening together (the day I drove down). The rest of the time was spent between 10pm and 8am, or so, each day, but we still crammed in some good conversations and a little bit of Pride and Prejudice on TV. Lovely!
*We had great fun in the class I took (there were a number of others). I studied black letter (often commonly known as "old English" or "Gothic") with the master, Ward Dunham, assisted by his wife, Linnea Lundquist, a world-class calligrapher and type designer in her own right. They were a hoot! Night and Day. Yin and Yang. In the photos, he's the big guy, she's the small red-haired woman holding the giant ink sticks--and the Hammer. He's very prone to launching into tangents and stories; she quietly and firmly reins him back in. The class was small-10 folks. We laughed a lot, learned a lot.
*Huell makes an appearance. Speaking of hoots, Huell Howser showed up to tape a show about the conference. I won't go in to how many years we have been laughing and groaning at Huell's expense (many!). He has the most embarrassing narrative and interview style humanly possible as he "Wow"s himself all over the state. And still we watch and learn a few things. Our conference was the target, this time. And our classroom was on his route, as you can see. He interviewed most of us, but my guess is, that Ward will be the feature and the rest of us will end up on the cutting room floor. Still, quite the moment. Airs in April, and I'll send a heads-up.
*Hedgehog corner: One remarkable woman in our class of other remarkable people brought her pet African pygmy (hard word to type) hedgehog to class one day. Anyone who knows me would know that I wouldn't be able to resist! SO cute! And prickly! I held her for about 15 minutes as about everyone else in the building filed by to take pictures. I took some after I gave her back (sniff) to her owner, Linda. Here's a website about them: http://www.hedgehogworld.com/
Who knew?
*I was truly happy to be in this warm, friendly environment, full of such gifted people, many of them the absolute best in their area. Really. There were so many calligraphers present whose caliber of work I will achieve only in my dreams. So, I guess I should sleep more...
That's it. It was good to get home. I'm full of inspiration! However, now I must do a bit of laundry and run some errands as we get ready to drive back to SoCal, San Diego, this time, for Devin's wedding. We'll be driving home Sunday or Monday, so, until then...
