More Calligraphy

More calligraphy, sorry if it's boring. Worked with reed pens again today in class (although none of the ones I made, the teacher carved these and although I modified the two I used a bit, there was quite a difference from those that I had carved myself - interesting? Maybe.) working with uncial letters - apparently the half step from capital script to a lower case script that developed through everyday quick, sloppy writing, which was then perfected by scribes to be used in proper texts.

Anyways, it was fun - I really love this class and working with these pens, I can't wait to see how I like working with metal nibs again when it comes up in class. When I get into it, it's so easy for me to understand how scribes and illuminators could spend the time writing these letters to produce the incredible texts they wrote. At points, I'd draw a letter and it would look like it came off a page of parchment in a book of days or something, and it's like - wow, this isn't impossible! But it is a skill, and it requires time, and thus, I love it.

Here's a bunch of details, sorry they're all so gray, I'm too lazy to scan these things.

Animal Blobs?

I dunno. I have this box of transparencies and my head was stuffy all weekend and last night I tried to sit down and do some work, feeling guilty after literally doing nothing all weekend, and i made these guys. I'll probably make a bunch more and sell them as napkin rings or something ridiculous at this Holy Craft! Fair I'm doing in March.

And I'm Back...Alphabet Book

I'm back. I got lazy. A little sick, a little tired, a little more lazy.... but i'm back!


Here's the details from my last post.
Started that day off writing practice alphabets with the reed pens from class (and a few more I made that morning) and ended up ten or so hours later with this, a book (but not its' box) start to finish, in one day*:








So, it's just an entire alphabet. You should see the stack of mistakes I've got - they're really not mistakes for the most part, just letters that didn't come out how I want them. I've gotta figure out something fun to do with them, but anyways, I really like this book. It was a total fluff project, just practicing my handwriting, but I like it. Definitely somewhat inspired by Laura Davidson's work, or at least I have to shout her out because she uses a lot of ink writing in her work and it's really beautiful.

The book is SUPER long - the last photo, I think I'm holding the A over my head, and you can see that it hits the floor at only M. Gotta make a box for it, deciding between a slipcase and a box - but i've been playing with transparencies and I think that may come into play with whatever form the box takes...

On crappy strathmore pad medium weight run of the mill watercolor paper, torn down to two and a quarter by three inches. Letters written with handcarved reed pens with dr. Phil Martins peacock blue ink, watered down. Single sheets were bound with strips of decorative paper. The cover is decorated with blown ink.

More posts tonight.



*note: this is the first time i have done that, you know, make an entire book in one day like that, in probably two, maybe three, years.

Exhausted - Alphabet Book

So, today I went crazy. Here are some sample shots of the results, more description tomorrow.

Reed Pen Calligraphy

hand carved bamboo reed pens

three nib sizes

The other class I'm taking this semester is Letterform Anatomy with Joe Landry. Throughout the semester we learn the basics of letterform - each week we advance through the history of the letterform (that developed into the english alphabet), working the letters in the traditional way that is attached to the technique of the time. The second week, we did large scale paintings of letters using only downstrokes. The third week, we carved letters out of foam as if we were carving sandstone (SO FUN). This past monday, we spent the day carving bamboo reed pens and then practicing our script with them, again working only with downstrokes.

Without a doubt the most dangerous, and therefore fun and exciting, project I have ever been allowed to execute in a class, we spent as much time as we wanted carving pens out of bamboo reeds the teacher provided for us. This was so much fun and really made writing with the instrument that much more interesting - as I was writing I was able to alter my pen or make a new one to suit the size I was interested in working with.

I decided to take this class for three reasons:

1) I love the instructor (GREAT teacher, incredible sense of humor)

2) I love typography but am not totally interested in your run of the mill graphic design based typography course - i've taken a few of these types of classes and while it's fun playing with letters, I really love working without the computer sometimes.

3) I use handwritten text in a lot of my work, and I struggle with not having control over my form. I have a skilled hand when it comes to craftwork - cutting, folding, gluing, sewing, eyeing things, etc - but I've never felt very skilled when it comes to writing. I am often complimented on my handwriting but I myself find it to be very... unsteady. I hoped that by taking this class, and gaining a stronger understand of how and why the letterforms exist as they do, as well as learning how they were traditionally constructed, that I would be able to have a better grasp on how to form the letters when working them with my own hands. I have actually already noticed a feeling of more control when writing, since starting this class - and working with downstrokes only is something I really enjoy and have implemented often outside of class.

So here is what I worked from class on Monday - just some type sketches, using the three handcarved reed pens, and watered down sumi-e and walnut inks. Obviously I played with what the ink can do - I had a lot of fun filling letters and jumping the ink pools from form to form.

The letter that looks like a backwards P or a large lower case Q with a long J tail is my fictional '27th letter' that we had to invent for the class - we are supposed to work this fictional letter as we do the rest of the alphabet each time we learn a new technique.

Birds

you can see the book hurr

i really love how the shadows look

Was in the library at school the other day looking at books on icons when I found the greatest pocket audobon guide featuring birds of prey. i made photocopies of my favorite ones and laminated them (with the roll of xyron laminate stuff i've had ever since i found it at that great recycling center amber took me to in pdx), popped some grommits in the corners (with complaint from downstairs neighbors) and put them together on some rings.

thinking i'm going to do a series of these tracings/drawings from the laminates, frame them sort of like slides and make a book of them. we'll see - thinking about applying color but not really sure if i want to or how i would do it.


sharpie on tranpsarency

First Egg Tempera

I'm taking this FANTASTIC class this semester called The Contemporary Icon with Bob Baart. Throughout the semester we learn all the traditional techniques for making religious icons - we prepare our own sizing and gesso, prepare our own boards, make egg tempera from pigment and egg yolk, and we even get to work with gold leaf and learn various gilding/tooling techniques. I am a HUGE fan of religious icons - early christian art is one of my favorite things, and so I jumped at the opportunity to take the class.

For the past three weeks we've been preparing practice boards and learning how to make all the grounds, as well as stretching and coating paper for silverpoint drawings. This week we got to make our first batches of egg tempera and do a practice painting on a practice panel. We were given two images to chose from - a detail of draped cloth and this ball in a bowl, and limited to building our palette from three (really two) colors - ultramarine blue, umber, and white.

I have never been good at rendering, and I have never taken a formal painting class, and so I'm actually really really proud of this little painting. I know it kind of sucks, and yeah, the bowl is supposed to be white, but I think it's awesome. Probably only the second or third still life i've ever worked from. I can't wait to work on my final piece - this weekend I hope to finish developing the imagery so I can get down to it soon. Stay tuned for more awesome stuff from this class!

What Is It That Keeps You Going?

Doodle during lunchtime the other day, was trying to get something out. Micron and gold felt-tip pen on sketchbook paper - color added in photoshop. Slightly edited for public viewing.

Pattern Cassettes

Three scans of the pattern cassette's I posted a while ago. The first tape was tweaked in photoshop, but only by changing the saturation. Really love how these look scanned.

Pattern Attempt 2

Another pattern from the same sketchbook - same deal as the last post. The colors didn't translate well in this scan but I actually don't mind how it came out - the original is surrounded by a blue border.

Pattern Attempt 1

Got this awesome little grid notebook and have been playing around with making patterns. This is one panel repeated four times width wise and twice height wise - not lined up perfectly but was just playing to see how it would look as a fuller pattern. Don't really like the colors.

Clouds / Ice Cream / Gold

2nd lunchtime doodle, micron and gold felt-tip pen on sketchbook paper. Color added after is photoshop.