The Jo White Scholarship Award

In May 2009, the Colleagues of Calligraphy established the Jo White Scholarship Award (JWSA), which may grant an annual $1,000 award to a deserving Colleague.

Applications will be accepted annually by January 31. If the jurors feel there are two worthy applicants in a particular year, a second $1,000 scholarship may be awarded that year. The scholarship money can be used toward further study or experiences as reflected by our mission statement.

Any current Colleague who has been a paid member for at least the last two years is eligible to apply.  Applicants should be prepared to describe, in as much detail as possible, how they intend to use the scholarship. All jury decisions are final. 

Those receiving a scholarship will be required, within a “reasonable time” period, as agreed upon between the applicant and facilitator, to give back to the CoC in two ways. The first way is to be on the committee to help choose the JWSA winner for the following year. The second give-back action is much broader. For example, the recipient could provide a monthly program on the content of their studies or experiences, or perhaps write an in-depth article for the Colleagues of Calligraphy website.

If you have questions, please send an email to the attention of the Scholarship Facilitator at jswa@colleaguesofcalligraphy.com.

Recipients for 2023

Anne Kaese

With Covid, Reggie Ezell redeveloped his “26 Seeds” program and moved it to an online format. I want to do this in 2023 as a continuation of my studies. The course content is extensive. The time commitment is a weekend a month of Zoom classes and interaction. This format is more accessible to me and avoids the cost of travel and accommodation, allowing me to work in the comfort of my own workshop.

What I learn in “26 Seeds” goes directly out to the scribal community in 4 ways for me:

• Workshops for the Colleagues of Calligraphy

• Workshops for the greater scribal community

• Knowledge and experience sharing with others in the use of tools, methods and materials

• Development and enhancement of improved class offerings for the classes that I deliver on calligraphy, watercolor and bookbinding for Colleagues of Calligraphy and others

I am a passionate gatherer and sharer of knowledge and insights. I believe that all learning is a gift to be shared with others. The “26 Seeds” program provides an opportunity for continuous study and collaboration with 24 other people over a period of a year for the building and consolidation of much knowledge and experiences. I am very excited to participate in this program and look forward to using what I learn to further the knowledge of others and to keep learning and encouraging new calligraphers to enjoy our wonderful world.

Sally Wightkin

As our group embraced (Necessarily? Apprehensively? Excitedly?) the online meeting format, it struck me that there is an urgent need for our group for some specific training. I am planning on attending a series of Tech Hosting courses to address this need. Most urgent, I think, is the need to provide a hybrid opportunity that can serve both online participants and those in attendance with more equanimity. I have found that one or the other gets the short end of the stick because of our lack of expertise in the tech area. I’ve attended workshops through work that barely serve those attending online (sound is always bad, interaction is limited, etc.). I’ve attended in person workshops where those in attendance are left waiting, wondering, and wandering while tech issues are being investigated. Certainly we can hire experienced tech-hosts, but with some training, I think we have the people power to handle a lot of this ourselves and can provide a quality experience for all.

I plan on attending three courses this year:

• The Art of Tech Hosting for Calligraphy Guilds. This course is currently available as a series of recordings & documents that were created specifically for people who wanted to tech host for last year’s calligraphy conference.

• The Art of Tech Hosting…Hybrid Sessions. This course is available through the Texas Lettering group and Heather Martinez and is specifically designed for Calligraphy Guilds presenting hybrid workshops. This is a weekend of lessons, followed by continued Q & A and support.

• Tech Hosting Academy - a year-long (once per month) course including workshops, once a month Q & A sessions, lists of resources, and printable (and sharable) documents to further perfect Tech Hosting Skills on a professional level.

Not only am I hoping to learn skills that I can bring directly back to the Colleagues, but I hope to be able to effectively train others who are interested in order to keep our group connected in a meaningful way as we move forward in these new arenas (which are not going away!). And on a practical level, I also hope to discover the best equipment our group would need to invest in. We have some good equipment already, but I know for certain we would need to invest in other equipment for better hybrid experiences. These courses would help explain those needs specifically so when it is time to invest in these things, we can be assured we are making a good, wise investment.

Finally, as a specific give-back, I would offer to be the Tech Host for our next Maker University – saving us the $300+ in fees.

Past Recipients

Follow links to learn about past recipients experiences and view work that was created as a result.

Artwork header created by Joyce Francis