Buoyant Brush (Marilyn Reaves: 2.5 day)

Skill Level: Beginner and Intermediate

In this workshop participants will first practice basic flat brush technique: ways of holding the brush, manipulating or twisting the brush, applying and releasing pressure to “snap” the brush. We will then focus on an informal style of flat-brush caps and lowercase, learning their basic structure, serifs, and consistent characteristics. Finally, we experiment with two invented “freeform” scripts: “Bluebird Caps” and “Jovial,” a compatible lowercase. Participants will create one or more finished pieces using a brush script appropriate to their chosen text.

Supply List: Brushes: ½” and ¼” flat watercolor wash (Richeson Series 9010, Simply Simmons Flat Wash are both good); gouache (black + a color); any watercolors you already own; practice paper (large pad or sheets of rough newsprint, charcoal paper or drawing paper); 2-3 sheets of large “art” paper (cold press watercolor paper, printmaking paper, Arches Text Wove or similar); small plastic palette with round wells; pencil; ruler; plastic water bowl; some tools for smaller writing (pointed brush, marker, pencil, pen & ink); optional: small water spritzer, water dropper, and slope board.

About the instructor: Marilyn Reaves has a passion for brushes—flat, pointed, oval, or quirky—and the freedom and flexibility they offer in making letters, designs, and images. Reaves teaches classes in lettering, design, drawing, and book arts at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she earned an MFA in Visual Design. She also works in Special Collections in the Knight Library on campus, where manuscripts, rare books, and other treasures are housed. In Special Collections she co-teaches a Freshman Seminar on the history and art of the book: “From Gothic Script to Graphic Novel.”  Reaves has taught brush lettering at many workshops and several calligraphy conferences. In her spare time she works continually at de-cluttering and manages to take birding trips.