The Sea Scribes nurture a passion for penmanship in Monterey.

Excerpted from an article that was originally published in the Weekly on Jan. 1, 2015.

Jeffrie Price of Carmel keeps her tools in a seashell-encrusted box. Among the contents: scissors, glue, a glass inkwell, brushes and metal-tipped nibs. She comes armed with notepads of paper printed with grids.

To professional calligraphers like Price, these tools are as vital as pans, knives and ingredients are to chefs. They bring out the best quality tools when they’re hired to do the lettering for projects like wedding invitations, greeting cards and poetry.

Price practices her art at monthly meetings of the Sea Scribes Calligraphy Guild, a nonprofit founded in 1988 to educate people about calligraphy and promote it. The guild welcomes all interested in the craft, from novices to pros.

At each meeting, a group member or a guest speaker does a show-and-tell for the group. These can include a unique calligraphy technique, a new kind of pen or an unexpected craft project. Occasionally the scribes get together to display or sell their work at art shows or fairs.

Guild President Cynthia Ricketts-Wasley sees a desire to preserve calligraphy. “With all the technology, people are afraid handwriting is going away,” she says. Typing is taking the place of handwriting, but the art of penmanship is getting lost along the way. She recalls classes dedicated to teaching cursive writing in school, but says fewer places require it anymore.

Meetings usually draw 15-25 attendees, but November’s included only a dedicated group of about 10. Veggies with dip and a tray of cupcakes are laid out in the back of the room.

The calligraphers greet each other while staking out workspaces next to their friends, chattering like birds while pulling out their tools.

One misconception about calligraphy is that it all looks the same – something resembling Microsoft Word’s Lucida Calligraphy font. But it’s really as variable as a personal signature.

“There’s a million different styles,” Ricketts-Wasley says.

Sea Scribe member MarthaElin Mountain says she’s inspired by the diversity of styles and levels of experience in the group. “There are people who are very experienced,” she says, “and there are those who appreciate them. I am one of the latter.”

Her own style of lettering is free-flowing and casual. She joined the Sea Scribes 26 years ago as a way to have fun, calling calligraphy “a form of play.”

Playing led her to create what she calls “windsongs,” which she demonstrates to fellow Sea Scribes on Nov. 6. They are rectangular sheets of thick cardstock paper, bearing messages and tied to trees – frequently seen in old Japanese art, and strung up near temples to this day.

Mountain imitated what she saw on travels to Japan and added her own touch. Her windsongs are more like scrapbook pages, incorporating colorful pieces of paper and stamps along with written poems, quotes and messages.

The calligraphers set off with glee, rifling through the bag of scrap paper. Price finds a piece with small, reflective silver circles. They remind her of bubbles, and she decides to cut out a small fish for a particular friend. This windsong may be a birthday present.

The session comes to an end too quickly. The scribes pack up their equipment, and Price gingerly arranges her pens back in their seashell box.