Monroeville Public Library hosts calligraphy exhibit

People with a penchant for penmanship may think that taking a couple of classes will make them calligraphers.

“Then once they try it, they realize, wow. This is going to take a bit more work,” Calligraphy Guild Pittsburgh member Debbie Seman said.

She is co-chairing the guild’s exhibit in the gallery space at Monroeville Public Library, which starts Oct. 27 and runs through Nov. 28. A free opening reception for the public is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 4, during which guild members will be present to discuss the intricacies of their art form.

The exhibit — titled “A Show of Hands” in recognition of how some calligraphy styles, such as Round Hand and Secretary Hand, are named — is the guild’s first since the pandemic. Featured are the creations of more than 15 members, presented in various inks, watercolors and other media including gold leaf and gouache, paint that incorporates a white pigment to make it opaque.

Founded in 1978, Calligraphy Guild Pittsburgh is a regional nonprofit that promotes the teaching, study and practice of calligraphy, broadly defined as the art of beautiful handwriting.

“We have lots of members who have done it all their lives, who probably don’t go a day without picking up a pen,” Seman said. “Then there are some of us who came back to it, and some people who are just starting to get into it. And they love it.”

Among the longtime practitioners taking part in the exhibit are Judy Melvin, who worked at American Greetings for 16 years creating cards and inventing new fonts, and Myrna Rosen, one of the guild’s founding members.

Rosen has taught calligraphy as an adjunct professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design since 1985, and she studied the subject there under Arnold Bank (1908–1986), a former Time magazine art director whose lettering is featured at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

“She’s just an amazing woman, the work that she has put out,” Seman said.

A Swissvale native who lives in O’Hara Township, Seman intended to study photography but discovered her niche when she took a calligraphy class.

“I found out I was not so bad at it. I ended up being the person who did the names on all the diplomas for the art school graduation, including my future husband,” she said about Ronald Seman, whom she didn’t know at the time.

“After that, I probably didn’t touch a pen for 30 years.”

Even though she’s focusing on the planning aspect of “A Show of Hands” rather than having her work displayed, Debbie is enthusiastic about what visitors will see, including calligraphy by Lily Hoy, the exhibit’s co-chair, and Karen Nordstrom Roberts, guild president.

“It’s all very impressive,” Seman said. “Believe me.”

For more information about Calligraphy Guild Pittsburgh, visit calligraphypittsburgh.org.