The First Annual Maker University was a huge success! If you missed it, put March 15 and 16, 2024 on your calendar. We already have 5 teachers signed up! The enthusiasm for this event was off the charts.
From the tech check where a comment received was "It was very helpful! It reminded me about how to check my computer speed and find a better location in my house" to "Wow! I learned even more about Zoom!", we set people up for success with our new format Maker University.
Our keynote speaker Nina Tran was an inspiration to us all I know and offered so much of herself and her talents. It was so inspiring to all of us to realise that our calligraphic journey is a Venn Diagram and that we are not stagnant on the path. Her enthusiasm for people and process and learning was refreshing. Her hands on demo was a fresh take on pointed pen and we all learned something new. One comment in the survey was "OMG! Nina Tran was amazing! Her work is so beautiful, and she explained some things about Copperplate that I had never understood before. Incredibly valuable time spent with her. :-)" and another "Nina was delightful, very down to earth and transparent, yet inspiring in her dedication and beautiful calligraphy" all added up to an amazing evening of letters and laughter.
Saturday we met for a day of learning, laughter and calligraphy. Our teachers offered a variety of classes and offerings that were inspirational and fun. From everyday tools to stitching letters, from analyzing a hand to learning Uncial and then onto making trading cards - a new initiative for all our members to participate in.
Anne’s paint an ancathus leave twist
Sally’s calligraphy with everyday tools
Jean’s Making it yours: how to copy a manuscript alphabet
Lin’s Stitching Letters On Paper
Anne’s How to Draw or paint a STraight Line
Anne’s Talk: Revisit Cuthberts Uncials
Patricia’s Adventures in Artist Trading Cards
A student wrote:
The presenters were great. Everyone was cogent, pretty much stuck to the time allotments, and covered things I haven't seen in other classes. I liked that for several of the topics, it was limited to an hour. Sometimes we calligraphers have a tendency to try to put WAY too much information into way too short a time, and it can become overwhelming. The presenters did a good job of identifying which aspect of the subject they wanted to cover, and stuck with it.
as well as:
Not having a million choices makes you feel like you can cover it in one day…!
I think we have a winning formula for a day of mini-workshops that people can attend from anywhere and enjoy the videos afterwards too. Another commenter wrote about it being on Zoom:
Great! Worked well and I could see all the details. Much better than in person…This was a great event and I hope you realize that it is how your guild will grow and attract new people…I appreciated the variety of class options. You offered something for all levels of interest and skill.
Happy Hour was a hour of decompressing, chatting and sharing. It was lovely to meet so many people as well as our new members.
And thank you to the wonderful people who worked to make it all happen - Sally Wightkin, our webmaster and tech person, tracker of reservations and teacher tech support, Analisse our tech host from Houston, Patricia Paolella who organized our keynote speaker and produced the logo and marketing pieces, among other tasks and our president, Colleen Mlecoch, who graciously opened and closed the sessions so elegantly. We all have talents to share and these ladies shared big time!
Thank you all who helped make this weekend possible. It takes a village.
from our follow-up survey:
"The leadership of Colleagues is enthusiastic and dedicated. I am very thankful for their hard work."
Maker U - 2023 Instructors
