My First IAMPETH Review (Aug 06 - Aug 11, 2018 - MILWAUKEE) - Part 1
My FIRST IAMPETH conference review. Wow so much to unpack here. I have been wanting to attend this for YEARS. At least since I missed the one that was in nearby Indianapolis back in 2014. It finally came back closer to me so I finally took the plunge!
What is IAMPETH? Its pronounced EYE•YAM•PETH. Its an acronym for: International Association for Master Penman, Engravers and Teachers of Handwriting. Yeah, there is a lot under that umbrella!
To properly review the event, it needs to be broken up into separate parts. There were the classes I signed up for, there were talks at night and there was my favorite, the “Round Robin” where different members would live demo a skill.
There was the shopping, the envelope exchange, the archive room and also the social connection! SO much fun and I must have taken 100 pics!
Classes
Classes were amazing. It reminded me of college as far as the volume of students. Think lecture hall. I took:
Bill Kemp - Beginning Spencerian Script
Mike Kecseg - Pointed Pen Variations
Skyler Chubak - Layout, Design and Lettering
Anne-Davnes Elser - Love, Fear & Flourishing
I didn’t audit a Saturday class as I had to get back to Chicago for events. Such a wonderful experience with everyone. I learned SO much.
Kemp is a pro… A calligrapher’s calligrapher. He reminds me of old school teachers I would come across back in the early 2000’s when I started to get serious about this discipline.
Mike is great, he leads the North side study group here in Chicago for the Chicago Calligraphy Collective (CCC) and I’d heard of him but had never become acquainted with him before this class. Another veteran of calligraphy. A real journeyman with an interesting back story of how he began and made a full time living from letters.
Skyler was great. Just what I expected. If you have the title Shadow Type, a lot of the reference material he shared with us was in the same vein. Traditional sign painting and old school lettering artists. Really inspiring…
Anne-Davnes Elser was ok. I actually wanted more traditional flourishing instruction and I wish I’d taken Suzanne’s class. Anne is a fine instructor however and she has a great unique style. I have colleagues who audit her online courses and are very satisfied, she’s on my list…
Shopping
John Neal Bookseller, whom I’ve been ordering calligraphy supplies from for over a decade, had a pop up shop inside the hotel. OMG. I bought SO much stuff! Very exciting to not only get a chance to become acquainted with the human beings behind this company, but also to peruse so many items in the company of other calligraphers who can appreciate these finds.
I also learned a lot from them based on their own experiences with the products. Can’t overstate how exciting this experience actually was.
Envelope Exchange
The annual envelope exchange was super fun! I participated for the first time! You mail 6 envelopes (domestic and foreign addresses) and get 6 back. These are the ones you bring to IAMPETH and they display them for all to see. I even spied a couple of the ones I sent to people. Great thing about this is you actually do NOT have to be attending IAMPETH in order to participate in the exchange.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned for the next installment!
—ct