Some people have a way with words. Mancos artist Beth Wheeler turns those words into works of art.
Wheeler practices calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing.
Ive always been interested in the way words look, Wheeler said, noting that as a child she would doodle fancy letters and words for hours.
After nine years of teaching elementary school, Wheeler started learning basic calligraphy in 1988 at San Juan College in Farmington, N.M. She spent one summer abroad, studying calligraphy in England, and continues to learn new techniques each June at Ghost Ranch, N.M., from some of the best calligraphers in the world.
There Wheeler learns different hand styles.
Its like different fonts in type, she said.
She also acquires skills in New Mexico in layout and design, book making and structures, and color.
Pointed brushes are her preferred tools, but she also uses broad-edged pens with steel nibs and flat brushes. She said she prefers the pointed brush because she can be really free with it.
For her hand lettering, she uses sumi ink, made from soot, water and glue, or gouache, an opaque instead of transparent watercolor. Her history in abstract watercolor painting makes her work fully artistic by adding pretty backgrounds to the calligraphy.
Her most recent project is Southwest Spanish Dicho, where she letters a Spanish proverb translated into English onto a Mexican style plate.
I took it from some designs from pottery Ive seen in Mexico, Wheeler said. It was inspired by some of the beautiful pottery.
All of Wheelers art incorporates calligraphy in some form or another. She also takes orders for favorite poems, song lyrics, quotations and other writings, and turns them into works of art. Many people have Wheeler address wedding invitations in calligraphy, and prices start at $3 an envelope.
Her artwork can be found at Artisans of Mancos, which she has been a part of for six years. The gallery offers Wheelers notecards, prints and some originals.
Those who wish to learn the art of calligraphy can give it a try with Wheeler. She gives private lessons starting at $20 an hour.
Her and her husband own Custom Calligraphy and Frame in Mancos and besides carrying out her precise craft she also works as a ranger at Mesa Verde National Park. While tourists come and go at the park, Wheelers word art will continue to fuel her creative side.
Calligraphy is my passion, she said.
For more information on Wheelers calligraphy art, contact her at Artisans of Mancos at 533-7040, at home at 533-7943 or visit www.artisansofmancos.com.
Reach Paula Bostrom at paulab@cortezjournal.com.
