Calligraphers Offer Free Demonstrations and Hands-On Tips

Event Description

As part of the new exhibitions Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible and Contemplative Landscape, calligraphers from Albuquerque and Santa Fe will demonstrate a wide variety of book crafts in the History Museum’s second-floor Gathering Space, through Saturday, April 7.

How do quills, ink and vellum work together? How delicate is gold leaf? How do you stitch a medieval book? How does your name look in calligraphic script? Come find out.

The calligraphers and bookbinders belong to Escribiente, Albuquerque’s calligraphy guild, and the Santa Fe Book Arts Group. They plan to be available from 10 am to noon and 1-3 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, though winter weather may occasionally interrupt those plans. Keep an eye open during the week, too: Calligraphers sometimes show up and set up shop for the love of it. If you have a group of visitors coming at other times, call ahead and we’ll work to arrange a demonstration. For such requests, call Tom Leech, director of the Palace Press, at 505-476-5096.

Bring your curiosity and your questions. Not only are the volunteers good at what they do, but they love to talk about the book arts.

Phone number for publication: 505-476-5200.

Image:  Beth House, a member of Escribiente, works on a piece of Henry David Thoreau’s musings about forest fires. For high-resolution versions of this and other images of the calligraphers working, contact Kate Nelson, below.