Father Edward Catich — 100th Anniversary Celebrations

Memorial Roast

"Burnt Toast, Greasy Bacon & Strong Coffee," isn't the menu, but the title of a memorial roast of Fr. Edward Catich, and will take place on Friday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Rogalski Center ballroom. "We picked this name because these were among Father's favorite foods," says Art Professor Kristen Quinn. Reservations for the dinner are required, and may be made by calling the alumni and parent relations office at 563/333-6290. Participants are encouraged to bring their favorite Fr. Catich story to share. The cost is $25 per person.

Catich-priest, scholar, artist and teacher-was considered during his lifetime to be one of the world's finest calligraphers, and an international authority on stone incising, typography and stained glass fabrication. He was known as the foremost authority on the Roman alphabet, its origin, nature and history. Catich's alphabet stones are in the permanent collections of seven museums, and examples of his lettering work in stone are a permanent part of the collection at the Encyclopedia Britannica, for which he designed the corporate identity symbol.

The memorial roast is part of a larger celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Father Edward Catich, founder of the St. Ambrose University Art Department.

Art Show

"Drawing a Path: Edward Catich-From Sketch to Art," opens Friday, Oct. 6, at the Catich Gallery in the Galvin Fine Arts Center on the SAU campus. The show runs through Dec. 1, and the gallery is open from 1 - 5 p.m., Tuesday - Friday with the exception of Nov. 22 - 24.

About the show, Quinn says, "Catich was an active traveler. When he left his Ambrose studio, his sketchbook became his portable studio, as well as a journal about his surroundings. Both sketches and notes reveal curiosity, wit, inventiveness and wonderment. The 'Drawing of a Path' exhibit shows the connection-and process-by displaying Father's sketchbooks alongside artwork currently held in the Ambrose Catich collections."

An opening reception will be held just prior to the roast on Friday, Oct. 6, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the Catich Gallery. For more information on the show, contact Quinn at 563/333-6428, or the Catich Gallery at 563/333-6444.

The memorial roast is part of a larger celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Father Edward Catich, founder of the St. Ambrose University Art Department.

Catich events are being supported in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.

Workshops

On Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., free demonstrations and a series of daylong workshops by experts in calligraphy, book structures and digital painting, will be held at the Galvin Fine Arts Center on the SAU campus.

A senior lettering designer for Hallmark Cards, 1977 graduate in art Pete Noth will lead the calligraphy workshop, discussing, demonstrating and leading participants in exploring flat pen looks, pointed brush, pressure point pens, markers, handwriting and commercial lettering-and corporate lettering versus the fine art approach of traditional calligraphy. "Lively and entertaining, Noth's workshop promises to have something for everyone," says Quinn.

The book structure workshop will familiarize participants with the basic materials and techniques of simple bookbinding. Erin Vigneau Dimick, who teaches bookbinding and book arts at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and Maryville University, St. Louis, Mo., will lead participants to examine how structure and sequence create and affect content, and how incorporating marks and materials within structural books create rich, one-of-a-kind expressions.

Digital painting promises "real world answers to what half the stuff on your digital camera means-and how to use it," according to workshop presenter Ron Chappell, who has worked as a professional photographer for more than 30 years. Chapell, who teaches at St. Ambrose and Black Hawk College, will assist participants in the process of "moving an idea to a digital image in just one day." Participants are asked to bring a digital camera if possible; basic Photoshop experience will be helpful.

The cost to attend any of the workshops is $25, and reservations may be made by calling 563/333-6290.

Free demonstrations by Catich alumni will be held in Room 131 of the Galvin Fine Arts Center and will include watercolor, paper marbling, stone carving and calligraphy.

Catich events are being supported in part by a grant from the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.