And then there’s Alice!
What a great opportunity it was to take classes with Alice. Alice’s last name is Koeth, but the calligraphic world just knows her as Alice. I quickly became ‘the other Alice’ .
Alice has done some of the strongest calligraphy out there, has had a large impact on the next generation of calligraphers, and, though long retired, she’s still contributing to the calligraphic world. She taught one class in the morning and another in the afternoon, and was still in her classroom in the late evenings, coaching and chatting. In the photos at left, she is working with Portia Fitzhugh and David Chang.
She kept us working steadily, and we designed a certificate and an award, as well as listening to her humorous anecdotes, and exploring pen exercises which led to the creation of some pretty fabulous flowers. I was amazed how much I enjoyed the flowers, thinking that flowers were not really ‘my thing.’ But as she would say, in her NY accent, “It’s not about the flaaowers. Its about knowing how to use your tools. It’s about the line.”
4 comments:
Ok I think next year I'll have to make a trip to Cheerio.
Thanks for sharing Alice.
I had Alice for flowers at Cheerio several years ago, and it was an eye-opener. We also did lettering and she encouraged us to incorporate those organic tweaks into our letters. It was a thoroughly enjoyable class and she was an excellent teacher. (I was classroom monitor for that one :) Joyce had no idea what a novice she was appointing.)
Alice...thanks for sharing these pics and your experiences...I am really looking forward to hearing about your classes at the FCS!
Alice! So nice to come across you on this blog. We all still remember your visit to South Africa and the benefits from lessons with you. Yves Leterme has just been here so calligraphy is alive and well in South Africa.
Wonderful wishes to you from all of us. Paddy
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