Georgia Greeley

I taught myself calligraphy as a child, using the The Puffin Book of Lettering, which I still own and use as a resource. I learned Chinese brush painting about the same time by watching a PBS weekly program and painting in our living room. I audited a combined Sumi-e and Calligraphy course at St. Catherine’s University the semester after I earned my undergraduate degree at that institution (English & Art). I was my choir’s calligrapher for about 10 years, lettering awards. I played with calligraphy on and off for years. I worked on calligraphy sacred text project at Holy Spirit Elementary School with Joanne Schulte, who asked me to join Colleagues over many years. I am happy to say I finally joined about two years before she died. I am a working writer and artist with my main media being printmaking and bookmaking. I want to pull calligraphic techniques more deeply into my regular practice.

I want to pull more calligraphy into my printing, brush painting, and book arts work. This would be mainly experimental, but would also involve intensive classes in brush painting with Bob Schmitt to regain lost skills and learn new ones. I have written a children’s book that has Japanese characters and want to do illustrations and finish a mock up by the end of the year so I can begin submitting as an author/illustrator. I have another children’s book about the concept of odd & even for which I want to do all the lettering/calligraphy by hand. I want to get this second book to submittable status.

One of my longer term goals is to design, write, and publish beautiful picture books for deaf and hard of hearing children. When I worked for the Saint Paul Public Library, the books I looked at for this group of readers were very functional but not as beautiful as those for children of the hearing world. I have taken one ASL (American Sign Language) class and plan to take more as research for on an alphabet book using ASL letters, drawings & calligraphy.

Georgia Greeley is an artist and writer who lives and works in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She has a passion for combining word and image, and this frequently shows up as fine press broadsides or handmade artist’s books. She also teaches both writing and book arts to adults and children; as she want the processes she has learned to be passed on to present and future generations.

Synthesizing Paths: Georgia integrated the creative practices of bookmaking, printing, calligraphy, brush painting, American Sign Language, and writing Children’s Literature. During her Jo White Scholarship year, Georgia sought to combine these diverse disciplines into one path. Georgia enrolled in ASL (American Sign Language) classes through the public schools, and also took courses on Chinese Brush Painting with Bob Schmitt. In addition to that, she experimented with combining disciplines and media. Georgia admits that not everything she tried did work, but she saw progress toward her vision and hope.

Alex Glowka

Alex will attend the Society of Gilders annual conference (held in Minnesota in summer 2019) for study on the topic of gilding on glass. 

The scholarship committee was impressed with Georgia’s and Alex’s well-written and complete applications. They felt that while both applicants will be pursuing skills that are more in the category of “associated skills” for calligraphers, they believed that these two members are very likely to provide exposure for the CoC as they enter new circles of artist communities. 

They believe that both applicants would inspire our members when they complete their “give back” obligation. 

And each applicant clearly expressed their commitment to their respective plans leading the jurors to have great confidence in their abilities to complete their goals.