The 28th International Gathering of Lettering Artists takes place this year 30 miles west of Chicago at North Central College, in the heart of the charming Naperville Historic District.

I’ve taught at eight previous conferences and I am looking way forward once again to hanging out with instructors and participants from all over the globe for a whole week! For me, these conferences are a total sensory overload in a very positive way. The lectures and evening presentations are quite enervating, to say the least, and one of the highlights for me at each conference is the inspiring artwork displayed in the faculty and participants’ shows.

At the mid-week break during LETTERS MINGLE SOULS I’ll tour the Frank Lloyd Wright Home/Studio and the Robie House and later climb aboard the Spirit of Chicago for a dinner buffet and cruise on Lake Michigan - still more excitement for the senses. Read my post on the conference in early August.

I’ll be teaching two 2.5 day workshops - CREATIVE CORRESPONDENCE and OFFBEAT BOOKS

Photos above show some of the 10 projects and variations in CREATIVE CORRESPONDENCE

Photos above show some of the interactive and sculptural projects in OFFBEAT BOOKS

I’m pleased to announce that I’m the featured artist in the Scor-it e-Newsletter for May/June. Click Scorit to read the Newsletter and to download instructions in the upper left corner for my Accordion Fold Collage Card. And click on Project Gallery to view some of the dozens of projects I’ve made using the Scor-it Board, and lots of projects made by other artists.

Four Accordion-fold Cards are shown opened in the top photo and closed inside sleeves in the bottom photo. The Scor-it Board makes it easy to quickly create these cards in multiples. So stock up, and have a beautiful blank card at the ready for any occasion.

‘The Cloud Appreciation Society’ is located in the UK and is run by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. It boasts 12,623 members living in 63 countries. TCAS website was one of the Yahoo Search Finds of The Year winners in 2005.

Here’s an excerpt from TCAS manifesto:

Clouds are so commonplace that their beauty is often overlooked. They are for dreamers and their contemplation benefits the soul. Indeed, all who consider the shapes they see in them will save on psychoanalysis bills. And so we say to all who’ll listen: Look up, marvel at the ephemeral beauty, and live life with your head in the clouds!

This site has a mindboggling gallery of cloud photos, cloud paintings, cloud poetry, a section on clouds that look like things, a discussion area, and much, much more! I’ve had my head in the clouds ever since i discovered this site.

Seattle has a reputation for being a city that gets rained on a lot. Believe it or not, Seattle is a quite a bit drier than New York City. Seattle receives about 36 inches annually to New York City’s 45 inches. And yet New York City is not generally thought of as a city that gets a lot of rain. Why?

I shot the cloud photos in this post in Seattle, Washington, USA, in April, 2008, from the Kerry Park Viewpoint on West Highland Drive. Obviously, not all the clouds that pass over Seattle are rain clouds!

Note: Kerry Park is one of Seattle’s favorite viewpoints. On a clear day you’ll be treated to ever changing cloud formations (which is reason enough to visit the viewpoint) and unobstructed views of the Space Needle , Mount Rainier and Elliott Bay with its busy ship and ferry traffic.

My 5-day class at Red Deer College is titled THE BOOK AS SCULPTURE from July 7-11. It’s part of the yearly ‘Series Summer School of the Arts’ program, which runs for 18 weeks from May through August. Series 2008 offers over 50 week-long classes - Calligraphy and Book Arts, Clay and Ceramics, Drawing, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography and Digital Media, Hot Glass and more!

Teaching a week-long class at Red Deer is richly rewarding for me. First, there’s a welcome reception Monday evening where each instructor gives a brief slide show to introduce themselves and their work (a visual smorgasboard!), then five days of instruction. The studios are open until 10 pm and I was amazed each time i’ve taught here at the number of my students working each evening right up to that time! On Thursday, there’s a Wine and Cheese Reception and Exhibition of student work (another visual feast!!) in the Red Deer College Library, with impromtu demonstrations, visiting artist lectures & group activities posted each week. On top of all that, I’ll be there with two friends and fellow instructors: Jacqueline Sullivan, who is teaching a class titled ‘Marks and Metals’, and Gemma Black, teaching a Calligraphy class titled ‘Majestic Trajan’.

Red Deer College is located halfway between Calgary and Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada. On-campus accommodations are available in modern and convenient townhomes with four single bedrooms, a shared living room, kitchen and bath. I’ve stayed here twice and the townhomes are top-of-the-line!