Adventures in Orvieto, Italy | Lisa Englelbrecht Book of Inspiration

Book of Inspiration-An Italian Abecedarium

Dates: May 10 - 16, 2009
Instructor/Leader: Lisa Engelbrecht

Trip Description
Children were taught their alphabet in the 1800s using a book called an abecedarium - with each letter representing a certain animal or object. Fast forward to the 21st century and take an altered approach to this - with a book of inspiration. This very special book will be inspired by the beautiful town of Orvieto, Italy. You’ll create a wholly personal alphabet book with each page a different letter and a matchless Italian experience as inspiration.

Travel to the medieval town of Orvieto, Italy with lettering artist Lisa Engelbrecht. This town and its riches will give you a myriad of choices to document your incredible experiences in this hand lettered book. From illuminated manuscripts, to ancient Etruscan writing discovered through a tour of Orvieto’s sacred caves, to the frescoes of Fra Angelico and Signorelli, this is an artist’s ( and a calligrapher’s) dream come true! Yet, no lettering or artistic experience is necessary here.

You will start by digging deep into your memory for a personal perspective for our book. Learn to incorporate painting and writing on canvas for our pages. Explore fabric and paper collage, calligraphic writing, collage, stamping, layering and mark making. Creative intuitive play will lead to exciting personal discoveries!

You’ll adhere these fabric pages to one long piece of lightweight material and fold them in accordion style. The end pages of the book will be tucked into a stripped and pieced fabric cover. Top stitching and finishing can be done later - it will probably be an ongoing project for you - as you may want to document more of your special Italian memories upon your return home. There will be no single right answer or solution to this book project. Simply bring a willingness to get lost in the process and in this most beautiful of locations. What an incredible opportunity for the artist that’s there inside you! A version of this book is featured in the June 2008 issue of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion.

Itinerary
May 10 - Arrive Orvieto, group dinner
May 11 - Formatting, wash techniques, acrylics, metallic
               powder, Italian culture, wine
May 12 - Layering, surface design, stamping, mark making,
               letter styles, Etruscan cave and necropolis tour
May 13 - Page design, book flow, lettering tools, tours of the
               cathedral & illuminated manuscripts, cooking class
May 14 - Collage, adhesives, embellishments, gold accents,
               vineyard tour and wine tasting
May 15 - Book construction, finish pages, fusing, putting it all
               together, group meal
May 16 - Depart Orvieto

Details
Cost - $2350. Fee includes six nights double occupancy lodging and course materials. Single occupancy available for an additional cost. Because the tour is meant to expose you to the local culture, meals are not prearranged or included. Travel costs are not included.

Click here for registration and terms, or contact us by e-mail, phone or writing at the contact information below.

A trip for companions is available for $1750.

Meet Lisa
We Lisa Engelbrecht is a lettering and multi-media artist and instructor in calligraphy and taught for years at Cerritos College in California. She teaches workshops and classes internationally specializing in lettering on fabric, experimental lettering and the creative process. Lisa has been on the faculty of six international lettering conferences and teaches at collage, quilting and alternative arts conferences nationwide.

In 2006 Lisa introduced new multi-media classes at the International Quilt Show in Houston, Texas and will return in 2008. She is interested not only in classical letterforms, but also alternative surfaces for lettering and current street influences on modern calligraphy.

She is a frequent contributor to Somerset Studios and her work on fabric was featured on the covers of Legacies and Quilting Arts magazines. Lisa is also a freelance lettering artist for American Greetings. AND she is the author of the upcoming book from Rockport Publishing, Modern Mark Making, from Classic Calligraphy to Hip Lettering. Lisa’s work can be seen in the June 2008 issue of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion.

Her classes are fast, fun and totally stress free! Visit her website at www.lisaengelbrecht.com.