Delores Wrathall blends calligraphy, watercolor and cultural imagery

Delores Wrathall’s work shows how calligraphy can move well beyond decorative handwriting. Her July turn at Cedarburg Cultural Center puts letterforms beside watercolor, birds, feathers, mixed media and cultural imagery, turning the page into only one part of the practice.

Calligraphy as image-making, not just lettering

Wrathall’s path explains why her work feels so layered. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in art therapy from Mount Mary University, spent 16 years as an activity specialist in senior living communities, and is a member of the Calligraphy & Paper Arts Group. That combination points to a maker who understands art as communication, especially for people who struggle to put feeling into words.

That idea sits at the center of her artist statement. “When I concentrate on a subject, my creativity is the inner spirit that emerges as a force to create images using all my resources.” In practice, that means calligraphy does not stop at the letter shape. It opens into watercolor washes, feather motifs and other visual elements that let the lettering carry a larger story.

The result is a body of work that belongs in more than one category at once. Wrathall is still working as a calligrapher, but the work also behaves like mixed-media art, with cultural references and painted imagery carrying as much weight as the script itself. For calligraphers used to thinking in terms of nib, line and spacing, her approach is a reminder that lettering can become a full visual language.

A month of public viewing at Cedarburg Cultural Center

Cedarburg Cultural Center has named Wrathall its July artist of the month, and the center is giving visitors repeated chances to see the work in person. Her pieces will be on display July 2, 7, 14, 21 and 29, from noon to 5 p.m., so the exhibition is spread across the month rather than compressed into a single opening.

That schedule matters for a community arts audience because it turns the show into a living part of the center’s calendar. Instead of a one-night reception, the work stays accessible through multiple afternoons, making it easier for returning visitors, students and casual passersby to catch the pieces at different points in the month.

The center’s artist-in-residence page says Wrathall incorporates designs and stories from her culture into her work, often using birds, feathers and mixed media. Those recurring elements give the exhibition a clear visual vocabulary. The lettering is not isolated from the imagery, it is part of the same composition, which is exactly where contemporary calligraphy often becomes most expansive.

A beginner class built around first strokes

Wrathall’s July presence does not stop at the gallery wall. She is also scheduled to teach Basic Calligraphy Strokes 101 on Thursday, July 23, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Cedarburg Cultural Center, W62N546 Washington Avenue, Cedarburg, WI 53012. The class listing says it is for beginners, and the format is designed to make the first steps feel approachable rather than intimidating.

The workshop focuses on Italic script calligraphy and the strokes that make the script work. Students will learn how the pen creates thick and thin lines, then practice the basic strokes needed to start forming an alphabet. That is practical foundation work, the kind that helps a newcomer understand why pressure, angle and movement matter before trying a full page of letters.

The fee structure is set up with access in mind, with a lower rate for members and supplies included. Participants also take home their own pen and practice materials, which means the class does not end at the door. It sends people out with the actual tools needed to keep working, a small but important detail for anyone trying to build a regular calligraphy practice.

The center describes calligraphy as both enjoyable and meditative, and says the art form is regaining popularity. That framing fits the class well. Italic script offers a clear starting point, the kind of historic hand that rewards repetition while still leaving room for personal rhythm.

Why this matters in a community arts setting

Cedarburg Cultural Center says its adult and teen classes are designed for all ages and abilities, and that broader mission shows up here. The center presents itself as a diverse nonprofit organization serving the visual and performing arts, the humanities and local heritage, and its class program extends that access through artist-in-residence work, youth plein air art contests and rotating exhibits.

That structure makes Wrathall’s month especially useful to watch. The exhibit shows what calligraphy can become when it borrows from watercolor and cultural storytelling. The class shows how the same discipline can be taught, practiced and carried home. Together, they map the full range of contemporary calligraphy as a field that lives on the page, on the wall and in the hands of the next student at the desk.

Wrathall’s Cedarburg month brings the story back to where it started: letterforms that refuse to stay flat. In her hands, calligraphy becomes image, memory and instruction all at once, and the center gives the community a place to see every part of that shift.