Art Blog - Calligraphy: A Scribe's Notes

Artists Books on Display at Odyssey, July 2010, Boston. One of the highlights of any lettering conference or gathering is the hand made books on display. Each unique in their content, construction, palette, and scale; books draw us in to a secret place, where the turn of a page is a magic revelation. Annie Cicalie's book within a book entitled "Focus" is rich with layers upon layers of color and form. Books within books, it was displayed to be handled, which is a quite a treat since most books are keep under glass. "Focus" was displayed, standing almost as if it were a sculpture whose entire surface could be viewed at once.… Continue reading… 6 comments

I made this short video for one of my on-line students and then thought others might fid it helpful also. I welcome any comments or suggestions. Continue reading… 5 comments

I realize that I have not posted to my blog for far too long, but I have a good excuse. For two years, I and other volunteers from Masscribes the calligraphy guild based in Boston Massachusetts, have been planning Odyssey 2010 . The week of July 24 -- 30, 2010 marks the 30th international gathering of lettering artists, at Stonehill College, just south of Boston.… Continue reading… 2 comments

A million years ago before there was electricity, I studied ballet. I was a late bloomer, starting in my early twenties and ending in my mid thirties. I had no dreams of being on the stage, I was too old and at 118 pounds, too fat. I just wanted to dance. My teacher was a wonderful Russian gentleman, Alexander Dunaeff. Just when I was considering taking lessons, in my head, he found me. I was at the counter of an instant printing place and I stood up for some reason, not looking, when I went to sit back down, there was someone in what was I thought was still my seat. So there I was sitting in a strangers lap, totally embarrassed, but he was laughing and we struck up a conversation. Ballet Teacher? Is that so? I started lessons the next week.… Continue reading… 7 comments

After many weeks of reading, asking questions, curing quills, scorching quills, cutting, mangling and muttering, I finally got a quill to write. Two of them actually. The aluminum can strip reservoir is a pain as far as I'm concerned. I can't get the thing to sit straight or touch the back of the quill properly so I resorted to holding it in place with masking tape. It worked. I did the entire piece (except the painting of the stones) pictured with a quill and gouache on a very poor choice of laid charcoal paper. Put that on the list of things not to do again. The color was perfect but the surface was frustrating. I need to rework it, I think the stones look like potatoes… Continue reading… 7 comments

Inky Fingers No matter how fastidious you are, we all get ink and gouache and paint on our hands sometimes. I try to keep my work area immaculate especially when working on a final piece, one little over-dip, one fumble and you're done. I have had many a struggle with an ink bottle cap and lost. Fountain pens and their maintenance are the worst offenders. I should just accept that ink is going to get all over the place and put on an apron and some laytex gloves before tackling a fountain pen. … Continue reading… 6 comments

This is a great article about creative envelope addressing and the Glasgow Mail Centre. Enjoy! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/arts/2008/10/05/sv_harrietrussell 6 comments

When I first wrote this blog almost a year ago, I said that social media would become a mainstream marketing tool, and it has. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others have changed the way we communicate, sell and inform. If you are not already using these tools to market yourself, your artwork and custom services, better get busy. As things change, they remain even more the same. Ways of interacting, communicating and building commerce change, but the reasons behind it do not. The means we use to communicate and socialize have evolved according to need and capability. Fifteen years ago, when the computer took a firm hold on our society, calligraphers were up in arms, this would put us out of business, the same way we thought movable type would… Continue reading… 3 comments

There is a long history between cats and calligraphers. Written in the margins of an illuminated manuscript at the Abbey of St. Paul at Reichenau, Corinthia, a poem about the scribes cat, inspired a book telling of the adventures of Pangur Ban who finally ends his travels at Cashel Castle in Eire, keeping it rodent-free and where he was greatly loved. Pangur Ban is Gaelic for "white Pangur" or "little white cat." Complete poem below. Going just by anecdotal research, a surprising number of calligraphers/artists own cats. What then is the connection? Is it our love of graceful curve and pleasing line? The contrast, in my case of black and white? Simon Kramer, a painter, writes in his very entertaining blog… Continue reading… 0 comments

A spontaneous discussion among the members of Masscribes* at their 20th Anniversary Celebration, in 2007, brought forth a nearly unanimous thought. Hardly a new or revolutionary idea, in fact it was just the opposite. We all wanted to spend more time and effort refining our letterforms. We had all been the route of learning a dozen hands, flourishing, illustrating, painting, gilding, carving and owning every calligraphic tool and gizmo on the market. It was fun, exploratory, expanding, but it didn't do anything for our letters. As a young graphic designer in the dark ages before computers, I produced everything by hand. Concepts were rendered in marker, all type had to be drawn, especially headlines… Continue reading… 2 comments

I get some pretty unusual and interesting calligraphy jobs. This one in particular is the numbering of 200 limited edition books. The 750 pounds of text blocks were shipped to a paper marbler for the fly leaves and edge marbling and that's where I come in. Chena River Marblers is a couple, Dan and Regina St.John in Amherst MA that has been producing some of the finest marbled papers and fabrics, for decades. The first two books were numbered by someone who was no longer available, so the publisher asked Regina and Dan if they knew anyone who could do the job. How handy, I'm in the next town. This book is the third in a series of five. The first two books were numbered in black Copperplate and they wanted the rest of the books to follow suit… Continue reading… 5 comments

Although I try very hard not to leave my calligraphy nibs lying around with stuff caked all over them, it happens. Practices for keeping metal nibs clean, range from wiping them off with spit to buying commercially available cleaners. Brushes and pens can get expensive so keeping them clean will extend their performance and save money. I found this "recipe" in a calligraphy guild newsletter, sorry I don't know which one and it works so well I had to share it. This cleaning solution is ideal for cleaning metal pen nibs that are caked with lacquer based permanent ink, waterproof ink, gouache, masking fluid and pretty much anything else. It will also work on fountain pen nibs (not gold plated ones), technical pens and nylon brushes. It will dry out natural bristle brushes so don't try… Continue reading… 11 comments

Mostly sold in tubes, gouache (rhymes with squash) is an opaque form of watercolor known for its brilliance and even matte finish. With the addition of more water it can be used like watercolor for transparent effects or with less water for more opaque applications. There are many manufacturers of gouache, Winsor&Newton being the most popular, Schmincke, Holbein, Talens, all of which are of good grade. Student grade gouache is available too but I have found them not well suited for calligraphy. . Gouache is powdered pigment with Gum Arabic as the binder. Unlike watercolor, gouache has fewer fugitive colors making it more suitable for broadsides… Continue reading… 5 comments

Glair is a by product of egg use as an art material. Glair is added to gouache to make it adhere to the paper and not transfer off onto a facing page or other document. Some Gouache (rhymes with squash) pigments can be very soft when dry. Erasing around it can be a problem and the pigment can transfer off where you don't want it to. The addition of glair, "hardens" the pigment when dry and prevents it from migrating. It's simple and quick (10-15 mins) to make and you don't need very much. Using a hand mixer beat one or two egg whites into a meringue that will hold peaks. Two egg whites will yield a couple of tablespoons. Transfer the lot to a clean plate. Let the plate stand, tipping it up slightly on one side. You will soon see "tears" forming… Continue reading… 5 comments

A few months ago I received an email about a public art project that fiber artist Sarah Haskell was weaving together. I was so intrigued by the concept that I just had to get involved. As a lettering artist the project hit home as a way to combine art, text, prayer and community. Calligraphers in every culture have a long history of writing on, and infusing into paper messages that are not intended to rest in a gallery, a book, or on someone's wall, but rather sent out as "weathergrams" fiber by fiber, into the wind. Sarah is taking this concept a step further to include thousands of messages interwoven into a unified whole… Continue reading… 4 comments

At the risk of stating the obvious, technology has irrevocably changed the landscape of most, if not all, media. Diplomas, awards and certificates are no exception. Once painstakingly crafted by scribes and illuminators, Awards, Certificates of Appreciation and Diploma blanks can be bought online at sites like paperdirect.com , southworth.com and my expression.com . Just fill in the name, the date and viola! Does anyone even do Resolutions anymore? Those whereas, whereas, whereas things? Maybe it's just as well.… Continue reading… 2 comments