DeAnn Singh Calligraphy

January 23, 2012 - Copperplate Class #2 at Sinai Temple

2012-01-23T21:31:00.000-08:00

Today DeAnn had us do calligraphy calisthenics (“calli-sthenics”) and demonstrated writing the Copperplate lowercase alphabet.

To warm-up, DeAnn had us write ovals in the whitespace of the Large guideline using the nib of our choice. She had us place the left hand (or non-writing hand) on the paper pad above where we were writing to “hold” our body so that our right hand (or writing hand) could move freely to make the big strokes. First we made ovals that were clock-wise; then counter-clockwise. Then we wrote the basic strokes at this big size. The Large guideline has slant-lines space ¼” apart. We wrote the basic strokes in every other space.

The larger size magnifies where your mistakes are, so you can work on correcting them. At this size, the basic strokes are distorted, but the idea is to get a sense of even spacing.

PRACTICE: write LARGE for this whole week. Do some of these exercises.

Review: The pen should be held so that the nib is in line with the slant-lines on the guideline sheet. The slant lines aren’t for spacing, only as guides for the slant. The letters are written on the line with the black rectangle at the beginning. This is the waist-base line. The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender. Strokes #1 (most of the time), #2, #3, #4, #7, #8, and #9 are written between the waist and the base. Stroke #5 goes up to the ascender, stroke #6 goes down to the descender.

Spacing: the goal is for the whitespaces of strokes #2, #3, #4 and #8 to be the same so that your Copperplate looks like picket fence spacing, very even and regular. This will be the basis of flourishing that you’ll learn later. If the picket fence foundation isn’t strong and steady, the flourishing will look weak.

RATIO: is the Rule of Pointed Pen. In Copperplate, pen width doesn’t determine x-height (height of the letter “x”) like it does for chisel-point nibs. Instead, the ascender and descender length depends on the ratio and x-height being used. Currently, we’re using the large ¼ - inch guideline sheet. ¼-inch refers to the x-height, the space between the waist and the base. These lines are indicated by the black box on the left margin (i.e. the highlighted areas). The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender. Write 3:2:3 at the bottom of the guideline sheet to indicate the ratio of the spaces between the horizontal lines. 3:2:3 is the same as 1:1.5:1. If the x-height (base to waist space) is considered 2 units of space, then the ascender & descender lengths are 3 units of space. So if the x-height is 1/4” (= 2/8”), then the ascender is 3/8” from the waist and the descender is 3/8” from the base. The 35-degree slant lines are there as guides for the angle of writing, not for spacing.

The ratio of 3 : 2 : 3 is normal. DeAnn addresses envelopes in this ratio, as this ratio provides better readability. 2 : 1 : 2 is elegant. This ratio leaves more room for flourishing if you’re creating an invitation or writing a poem. 1 : 1 : 1 is simple. This is like writing in a spiral bound notebook.

Nibs: from now on, practice with all the nibs. If you’re having a nightmare with a particular nib, switch! Note on your Nib Identification Chart your observations of each nib, using the Gillot 404 as the measure for “medium sharp, medium flexible.” For example, you may find the EF 66 nib “very flexible” compared to the Gillot 404. Become familiar enough with your nibs that you can recognize them by sight. For example, the Gillot 404 has a ridge and the Gillot is shorter than the Gillot 1068. Learning your nibs is important because one nib doesn’t work for everything. Depending on the effect you want to achieve, different nibs will be able to do the job. For example, DeAnn prefers the Gillot 1068 or Brause Steno for envelope addressing because those are stiffer, duller nibs.

Lowercase alphabet: Refer to the Exemplar and the Copperplate Stroke Sequence handout. Remember: all the downstrokes should be the same width. All the whitespaces should be the same. DeAnn does pick up her pen with each stroke. The Copperplate exemplar that’s in color contains a lot of information – study the notes DeAnn has written on it.

Notes on individual letters:

a: 7 – 8 – 3. The entrance stroke #7 goes up 2/3 of the way to the waist. The outer edge of the #8 stroke doesn’t overlap the #7, but meets it. Then the #3 stroke should not overlap, but just kiss the #8 stroke so the the whitespace of #8 is still oval.

b: 7 – 5 – 3 – 9: #7 goes up to the waist, then jog over to make the #5 stroke. The downstroke going all the way to the base will cover the jog-over. #9 should come down from the waist to exit at 3:00. If it’s too high, it’ll be difficult to connect to the next letter.

c: 7 – 8 but leave open – dot.

d: 7 – 8 – long 3: stroke #3 starts halfway between the ascender and waist and should just kiss #8.

e: 7 – jog-over & 8: all the #8 strokes should be the same width, so be careful not to make the jog-over too small.

f: 7 – jog-over & long 5 – 9: stroke #5 ends halfway between the base and descender. Start stroke #9 a little above the base-line, then touch the baseline before surving upward.

g: 7 – 8 – 6: the loop of stroke #6 should cross below the baseline to avoid a dark spot.

h: 7 – jog-over – 5 – 4: start stroke #4 from the base line, go upward along edge of wet ink. This creates a better connection; you don’t want to start stroke #4 near the waist – this creates an awkward jog from #5’s downstroke.

i: 7 – 3, then dot: the dot on the “i” and “j” is also called a jot or a tittle. The dot should be the same width as the downstroke.

j: 7 – 6, then dot.

k: special case: 7 – jog-over & 5 – upstroke with terminal dot – modified #3

l: 7 – jog-over & 5 – 3

m: 2 – 2 – 4. For the 2nd #2 stroke and #4, slide up the edge of the wet ink. All the whitespaces should be the same width.

n: 2 – 4. Same as for “m”.

o: 7 – 8 – 9. Start the #9 at about 2:30 so that it comes out at 3:00

p: 7 – long 1 – 4. Stroke #1 should start halfway between the ascender and waist. It should end halfway between the base and descender.

q: 7 – 8 – 6 (backwards loop): the downstroke of #6 should just kiss #8, not overlap. The loop should not touch the downstroke.

r: special case: 7 – loop – modified #3. The loop is above the waist with no pressure on the upstroke; fill the loop on the downstroke. This is the French “r”. The English “r” is a #2 – loop.

s: special case: 7 – loop – curvy downsroke with terminal dot – 7. Downstroke starts with little pressure, increase to full pressure for belly of “s”, then no pressure before the terminal dot. Pick up pen to make the final #7 stroke.

t: 7 – long 3 – crossbar. Start stroke #3 halfway between ascender and waist. Crossbar should be slightly longer on the right side.

u: 7 – 3 – 3.

v: 4 – 9. Dot of #9 should be inside #4.

w: 7 – 3 – 3 – 9. Dot of #9 should be inside #4.

x: special case: 4 with diagonal downstroke – upstroke with initial dot and terminal dot. Alternate x is a #2 that curves in and ends with a dot; then like a c with no pressure

y: 4 – 6 or 7 – 3 – 6. Loop of #6 should cross below the base. Use alternate “y” depending on previous letter.

z: special case: 2 with loop at end – 6. It’s OK for the #6 loop to go beyond the top half – don’t squish it.

alternate x and alternate y

Mix sepia ink: Vermillion ink with a few drops of Higgins Eternal makes a sepia-colored ink. Fill one of the inkwells about halfway with Vermillion ink, then add 6 drops of black ink from your Higgins Eternal + gum Arabic dropper bottle. Stir with the end of your pen holder. It may not mix right away; wait a day and the color will look more blended. Add less or more black ink for a lighter or darker shade of brown.

HOMEWORK:
1. Practice the letters
2. Try different nibs
3. Label the writing (also label the nib ID chart)
4. Use black & vermillion ink. & sepia
5. Do some of the large-size exercises every time you practice

If you get confused and discouraged, just go back one step and practice the strokes. Practice the letters slowly and carefully and think of all the stroke numbers. It may be helpful to trace the letters of the exemplar .

January 9, 2012 - Copperplate Class #1 at Sinai Temple

2012-01-18T21:44:00.000-08:00

(note: more photos to come)
DeAnn introduced herself and had the students introduce themselves.

DeAnn’s Philosophy for learning Copperplate: For success in writing beautiful Copperplate, think of the Copperplate letters as a series of STROKES, which you’ll be learning in today’s class. By disassociating them from the letters you’re familiar with, you can avoid common mistakes that could make your Copperplate letters look like cursive writing.

DeAnn distributed supplies and handouts. We will be starting out using the Gillot 404 nib and Vermillion ink, using the large (1/4”) guideline sheet. The Gillot 404 nib has a ridge that distinguishes it from the Gillot 303.

DeAnn strongly recommends “Let’s be organized this semester”. Find a container to carry your supplies. Study your handout and put it in a folder or binder that will help you find the appropriate page quickly. A lot of information is in the handouts, so even if you miss something DeAnn says in class, reading the handout later will be very helpful.

Preparing your supplies for ease of transportation: pour ink from their containers into the dropper bottles. The dropper bottles are leak-proof so bring those to class; it’s OK to leave the original containers of ink at home. From the dropper bottles, fill one of the ink wells (or “dinky dip”) to at least the ridge-line. You want to be able to dip your pen and cover the nib’s reservoir area (“eye of the needle”) completely.

Learn Your Nibs: Unlike calligraphy written with a chisel-point nib, Copperplate nibs create thicks & thins by pressing & releasing. The more pressure you apply when pressing on a down stroke, the wider the stroke. So unlike chisel-point nibs that come in different set widths (e.g. 5mm, 1mm), Copperplate nibs come in a wide variety of sharpness and flexibility. This is another important area to explore & learn. By the end of this semester, you will have filled out your nib chart with notes on each of the nibs, paying particular attention to each nib’s sharpness and flexibility.

Satomi's nib chart

Preparing the Pen: Put the nib into the oblique pen holder so that the “eye of the needle” (the opening in the nib) points directly upward. The fit may feel tight, but push the nib in at least halfway for a secure hold. Hold the oblique holder as you would normally hold your pen, with the angled nib to the left side. If you have a brand new nib, you’ll need to prepare it by rubbing gum Arabic all around so that the ink will adhere to the nib and not just bead-up and slide off. New nibs usually have a waxy coating and you may have to rub with gum Arabic several times until the ink will stay in the reservoir. NOTE: Vermillion ink will rust your nib, so wash it off with water after you’re done practicing.

Preparing the paper: Make a crease in the cover of the cotton comp paper pad about an inch down from the top. Fold this back so that you’ll have a flat writing surface without the cover bunching up to the left. Place the guideline sheet underneath the first sheet.

Guideline sheet: We’ll be starting with the large ¼ - inch guideline sheet. ¼-inch refers to the x-height, the space between the waist and the base. These lines are indicated by the black box on the left margin. The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender. 3:2:3 at the bottom of the guideline sheet refers to the ratio of the spaces between the horizontal lines. 3:2:3 is the same as 1:1.5:1. If the x-height (base to waist space) is considered 2 units of space, then the ascender & descender lengths are 3 units of space. The 35-degree slant lines are there as guides for the angle of writing, not for spacing.

TIP: DeAnn suggests highlighting the waist to base space so that it’s easier to distinguish as the line to write on underneath the cotton comp sheet. The handouts are already highlighted, but remember this tip for guideline sheets you later create yourself.

Prepare your work space: The key to being able to write Copperplate correctly is to set up your work space correctly and sit in the right position in relation to your paper. Position the paper so that the slant lines are pointing toward your stomach. This angle may seem extreme, with the paper pad almost at right angles to the table’s edge, so you need to position yourself so that your elbow rests completely on the tabletop, which means you’ll probably have to sit at an angle to the table edge so you’re not twisting your torso.

Use your left arm to take the weight off your body by placing your left hand above the area where you’re writing. Try to learn NOT to have a heavy writing hand, but practice having a light touch. Putting the pressure on your left hand helps with this. REMEMBER to breathe! If you’re having trouble writing the strokes, exhale.

Writing with the nib:
1. Write straight lines (with slant)
2. Pen should be in the direction of the slant lines
3. To create the square top & bottom edges, set – press – pull – stop – release
4. If the nib is sticking into the paper, adjust the angle of how you’re holding the nib. Lowering the angle may help.

Writing the basic strokes: You apply pressure on the down stroke (thick), no pressure on the up stroke (thin). This is how you create thicks & thins. The goal is for all the down strokes to have the same width (i.e. consistent pressure). Look carefully at the exemplar handout, it has a lot of important information on it.

the basic Copperplate strokes

Notes on individual strokes:
1. #2, #3, #4, #8 should all have the same white space. White space is the space between the down strokes & the up strokes.

2. #2, #3, #4: the arch should be like a paperclip.

3. #2, #4: start the curve with no pressure, build up to full pressure by midpoint on the down stroke.

4. #4: start the second curve before you hit the baseline so you don’t have a “staple” instead of a paperclip curve.
5. #5, #6: the size of their white space should be similar, though they are not exactly the same shape.

6. #8: start at 3:00 and think of it as an oval shape, more hot dog than hamburger. It’s thickest through the center. The inner white space should match the width of #2, #3, #4 strokes.

7. #9: start counterclockwise to create a tiny filled oval, then exit. Like the #7, it’s an exit stroke to the next letter.

REMEMBER: Don’t get overwhelmed! If you get really anxious, go back to the last step you were comfortable with and practice that. You can even practice the Copperplate strokes with a pencil if it all seems to be too much at the moment.

HOMEWORK: Practice all the strokes with the Vermillion ink and Gillot 404 nib. Study the exemplar carefully – it is more important to be accurate than to write a stroke many times. Memorize the basic stroke numbers – DeAnn will test you next week. Then try out all your other nibs and see how they’re different from the Gillot 404. Be sure to note on your nib chart that the Gillot 404 is “medium sharp, medium flexible”. Observe how the different nibs behave in comparison to the Gillot 404 (e.g. “very sharp”, “dull”, “very flexible”, “stiff”).

NOTE: On your practice sheets, write what nib you used, ink type, and then date in the lower right corner. Also put your name in the lower right corner on practice sheets you turn in for homework. DeAnn will review and give a thorough critique.

NOTE: The Gillot 1068 nib is made of thinner metal than the others so it may be loose in your pen holder. Flatten it slightly (be careful not to flatten it too much!) just at the very end (NOT the tip!) with small needle-nose pliers.

If the ink doesn’t come out from the nib point, go back and forth slightly to start the ink flowing. Wet attracts wet, so if you can get a spot of ink to start the stroke, the ink should flow more smoothly.

REMINDER: No class next Monday, 1/16/12, due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Class will resume on 1/23/12. Also, no class on 2/20/12 due to Presidents Day.

November 28, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Last Class (#8) at Sinai Temple

2012-01-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

(note: photos to come)
Today DeAnn talked about flourishing letters.

Homework observations: the “o” loops at the side, not at the top. The “a” doesn’t touch at the stem. End a letter low to make a good transition to the next letter. Really look at the letter forms on the exemplar.

Great idea from Caroline: once you have written out your project poem “plainly” (i.e. without flourishes) and have a finished piece, copy it several times. Then experiment with flourishing and decorations on the copies until you’re satisfied. Create your final flourished piece using your sample.

Connections:

Homework by Sabina:

Review: the three elements of flourishing are circle, oval, and figure 8.

Key word to remember: BIG
Leave off small flourishes altogether.
If the nib is very sharp, it’s harder to do flourishing.

DeAnn’s advice: Flourish your heart out; then when it seems ridiculous, scale back.
Mix it up – don’t use the same flourish each time for a letter. See what the context is.
Finish every stroke: does it pull your eye back into the letter? Don’t let it flop outward and send your eye into space.

You can cross strokes over during flourishing, but 2 thick strokes can’t cross (it creates a dark spot).
Thin + thin = OK
Thick + thin = OK
Thick + thick = NO

Think about the readability of the purpose; e.g. an address on an envelope vs. a wedding invitation.

Article in Studio Magazine Winter edition

2011-12-30T16:20:00.000-08:00

I will rescan these in higher resolution so you can actually read them. I will do that soon.

November 21, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Class #7 at Sinai Temple

2011-11-26T23:05:00.000-08:00

(more photos to come)
Today DeAnn talked about flourishing. The handouts were 2 sheets that Satomi Wada made for us on flourishing.

Flourishing handout #1 by Satomi Wada

Flourishing handout #2 by Satomi Wada

DeAnn also had us practice until we were “in the zone.” Then later, she had several students write while others observed them.

Class Gallery

Homework by Satomi:

The ink is Permanent White Gouache on red paper

Homework by Sabina:

The ink is white pearlescent.

Sabina drew the baselines free-hand, then measured the waistlines.

Homework by Judith:

Great sampler idea from Brianna: Brianna wrote detailed notes on each of the nibs she tried on the different papers.

See detailed notes of her observations for each nib.

Flourishing: the three elements of flourishing are circle, oval, and figure 8.

Downstrokes with no pressure.

No pressure – pressure – no pressure strokes: A fun exercise is to draw a square or rectangle in pencil, then fill it in with these strokes close together, alternating where the pressure areas are, to make a pattern.

Figure 8: in your mind, extend the lines to complete the figure 8 shape. Don’t let the ends point off into space.

Spirals: made from ovals. Practice getting them even. Horizontal, clockwise and counter-clockwise. Vertical, clockwise and counterclockwise. No overlap and overlapping.

Direction change: small loop and full stop.

Draw a diamond shape lightly in pencil to fill in with the figure 8s to help you keep control of the size.

HOMEWORK: Practice the flourishes from Satomi’s handout. Practice writing out your poem and adding some flourishes. Next week is the final class.

November 14, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Class #6 at Sinai Temple

2011-11-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

(note: more photos to come)
Today DeAnn talked about writing on good paper, demonstrated how to line paper, and had us write in white ink on dark paper.

Homework by Sabina:
(click on the image to see a larger version; click the x-box to close and return to the blog).

Sabina's alphabet word list of fish

Another version of alphabetical fish by Sabina

Great sampler idea from Flavia: Flavia made a little booklet out of the different papers used for the different nibs/ink sampler.

Writing in white ink on dark paper: DeAnn brought several kinds of white ink for us to try. The inks included Pearlescent (Daler Rowney), FW Acrylic, Spectralite, Tri-Art, Pro-White. Some had to be thinned with water so it would flow from the nib or have some gum Arabic added to make it “stick” to the nib.

Sabina writes in Pearlescent ink on the red paper

DeAnn passed out red card-stock which we cut in half to make two sheets. A sharpened pencil is very important. If it’s dull, it will affect the x-height. On one of the sheets, we made a 1-inch margin on three sides (left, top, right). Because the C-thru 18” ruler is 2 inches wide, line up the edge of the paper to the 1-inch mark on the ruler so you don’t have to make any measured marks for the margin. On the small guidelines sheet, draw a line 1-inch away from the margin, then fold it over so that the guidelines come to the end of the paper.

Align the ascender with the top margin line on the red paper. Then make marks down the left edge for the waist and base lines only. Do the same thing on the right side. Then with the C-thru ruler, line the paper by placing your hand in the middle of the ruler to hold it steady, then pulling the pencil from left to right, angled in the right direction. This will sharpen the pencil while you line. Make the lines from top to bottom, sliding the rule down as you go.

TIP: Line with pencil on dark paper so that you can see the lines when the light hits it at the correct angle; they will look silver-y.

Observations: Students had difficulty writing on the red paper, both due to the ink and the nib. If the ink is too thick or gloppy, thin with water, starting with one drop at a time. If the ink is too thin and won’t stick to the nib, then add gum Arabic one drop at a time. Nibs that students recommended were Gillot 303, Hiro 30EF, Hunt 56.

Tri-Art ink had to be thinned with water and also have gum Arabic added until it would write.

Judith uses all the nibs to write a sample

TIP: If the Hiro 30EF nib is hard to push into the pen-holder, try soaking the pen holder in very hot water. This softens the plastic slightly. Then push the Hiro 30EF nib into it. If you can’t take it out later, soak it in hot water again, then pull the nib out.

Reminder on Class Project: You should have chosen a poem for the class project by now. It should be about 50 words. Even if the poem is much longer, you can use an excerpt.

DeAnn’s recommended papers:
Canson Ingres
See http://www.dickblick.com/products/canson-ingres-drawing-papers/

Canson Mi-Tientes
See http://www.dickblick.com/products/canson-mi-teintes-drawing-papers/

Strathmore Charcoal
http://www.dickblick.com/products/strathmore-500-series-charcoal-papers/

DeAnn had pieces of Arches Watercolor paper, 140 lb. Hot Press for sale. Students could buy a piece to write out their poem for the final project. This isn’t the paper for the final project.

HOMEWORK: Try writing with vermillion on black paper. Mix white with another color to try on the red paper. Practice writing your project text (poem). Then if you bought a piece of watercolor paper, write out your poem on that, using any nib/ink you like. You can write on both sides since the paper is thick.

NEXT WEEK: DeAnn will demonstrate flourishing.

New Classes beginning in January at Sinai Temple

2011-11-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

DeAnn will be offering two sessions of Copperplate at Sinai Temple (both are the same material): Mondays (10:00 am to 12:30 pm) from January 9, 2012 to March 12, 2012, and Wednesdays (10:00 am to 12:30 pm) from January 11, 2012 to March 14, 2012. For more information, please contact Rosa Berman at rbermanr@yahoo.com.

November 7, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Class #5 at Sinai Temple

2011-11-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today DeAnn had us write on different papers with different nibs and different inks. She also demonstrated Jane Shibata’s numbers exemplar.

Detail of Sabina's samples.

Homework by Satomi:

Capitals by Satomi

Homework by Sabina:

Flower names by Sabina

Review: Vermillion ink doesn’t mix well with all black inks. Most sumi inks don’t work well. Higgins Eternal works best. Start with Vermillion in your inkwell and add a few drops of Higgins Eternal. Stir with the other end of the pen holder.

TIP: When mixing colors, always start with the lighter color and the darker color a little at a time. This way you can control the shade and amount of the color you create.

Carin working on her sampler - note her setup.

DeAnn had us write on each type of paper with all the nibs using different inks. The papers were in different colors, textures, and weights. Guidelines weren’t used because most of the papers are too thick to see through. The goal of this exercise was to observe how the different nibs behaved on the different papers using the different inks. Label nib and ink on each writing sample and record observations. For example, shiny paper may need a sharp nib.

Close-up of Carin's sampler

Best Ink in its original packaging.

The following inks were used:
1. Vermillion ink.
2. Sepia ink: Vermillion mixed with a little of Higgins Eternal black ink.
3. DeAnn’s “Best Ink”, a Japanese sumi ink in a brown bottle. She had dropper bottles of it for sale ($5 + tax).

Writing exercise observation: One of the papers used is tracing paper. It’s hard to get thicks and thins on it. It’ll be difficult to achieve thin hairlines on any paper that is really smooth. Another drawback is that once the ink is dry, you can scrape it off. DeAnn has addressed vellum envelopes in the past where the ink got scraped off when they went through the mail system.

Morgan's sampler setup

Student Questions:
Why is too much ink coming out of the pen when I write?
Too much ink may be on the nib; wipe the nib on the edge of the inkwell after dipping to remove excess. Look at the backside of the nib; often ink will build up there, so wipe it off in that case.
The ink may not be sticking to the nib well enough, especially when the nib is new or the nib is a Hiro 40 or Hunt 101. In this case, try treating the nib with gum Arabic or in extreme cases, run it over a lit match.
Finally, the ink itself may not have enough gum Arabic in it and therefore not suitable for pointed pen work. (This is not the case in class, since DeAnn provides inks that work with pointed pen nibs)

Why is the pen pricking into the paper?
The paper may be too textured to be used with a pointed pen. Try a nib that’s not very sharp. For example, you can write on watercolor paper with the Hiro 41.
If the paper is not too textured, you may be pressing too hard or using uneven pressure. Try for a lighter touch.

Pointed Pen Numbers: study the exemplar carefully for the stroke sequence and alternates that Jane Shibata has provided.

Notes on specific numbers:

1: DeAnn’s alternate – start with an upstroke.

2: DeAnn’s alternate – looped like an “L”

7: Another variation is to add a crossbar at the waistline, like the Europeans do.

5: DeAnn will pull the horizontal stroke toward the body of the 5 than away to achieve a thicker line.

9: Note that it’s made with two down-strokes (see exemplar).

Class Project: start thinking about what poem you want to use for the class project. It should be about 50 words. Even if the poem is much longer, you can use an excerpt. DeAnn will talk more about it next week. We’ll be writing it on special paper (not our practice sheets).

DeAnn’s recommended papers:
Canson Ingres

Sample of Canson Ingres colors

Canson Mi-Tientes

Sample of Canson Mi-Tientes colors

Strathmore Charcoal

Sample of Stratchmore Charcoal colors

DeAnn will bring in some samples, but if you want to go to an art store (see the Suppliers page ) and get some to bring to class, feel free. All the papers come in different colors. They’re typically sold by the sheet, 19” x 25” in size. We’ll be cutting the paper down to a size appropriate for the project and lining it (more on that next time). Keep in mind that it’s more difficult to work on darker papers, so if this is your first project, you may want to choose a lighter color.

Sabina's samples

HOMEWORK: Continue practicing at the smaller guidelines size. Finish trying all the nibs on the different papers if you weren't able to in class. Look for a poem (or song lyrics) for the project. If you find one, practice writing it out.

NEXT WEEK: DeAnn will demonstrate flourishing. She’ll also show us how to line the paper. Students who’ve taken classes with DeAnn before should bring the C-thru 2” x 18” plastic ruler with the 8x8 grid on it. But DeAnn will also provide them to use.

Italic and Ink Notes

2011-11-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

October 31, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Class #4 at Sinai Temple

2011-11-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

(note: more photos to come)
Today DeAnn demonstrated the Capitals exemplar. She also went over stroke #5 and made some observations based on her review of the homework. For warm-up, we wrote words and sentences.

Today’s handout was a guideline with a smaller x-height (3/8” instead of ¼”). Highlight the waist-base space (skip 3 lines in between for the ascender and descender space as well as the inter-linear spacing). To download, click on the picture (it will appear by itself against a black background), then Save the image to your computer.

DeAnn brought black Higgins Eternal ink to mix with the vermillion ink to make a sepia-colored ink. Fill one inkwell halfway or so with vermillion ink, then add five drops of the black Higgins Eternal ink. Use the other end of your pen holder to mix. This mixture blends well, unlike some other sumi inks, which bead up in the vermillion ink and never blend together.

Review of nibs: the Hiro 40 and Hunt 101 nibs make thin hairlines, but can be difficult to “break in”. If several treatments of gum Arabic haven’t worked, try burning the resin off with a lit match. See last week’s entry for details. Or try dropping the nib into boiling water.

Homework notes: DeAnn noticed that the “e” is often too wide. It should be more oval than round; try compacting it a bit.
The crossbar of the “f” should be on the waistline, not below it. The crossbar should be like a figure-8.

Nib identifier sheet from Satomi: Satomi created a nib identifier sheet by cutting out actual-size pictures of the nibs and putting it into a sheet protector so that you can tape the nib to the plastic without harming the identifier sheet. Thank You, Satomi!

Making Stroke #5: set – press – pull (decrease pressure slightly in the middle to make the thick-thin-thick stroke) – stop – release – pull to the right.

Go slowly and carefully; you don’t want a thin line to hang from the bottom right edge. Look closely at the strokes exemplar and read Jane’s notes. Then practice putting the bow in. However, for now, it’s OK to make the stroke straight until your hand gets better at the manipulation.

Capitals: the size is from the base to the ascender. For demonstrating them on the board, DeAnn didn’t always write in the guidelines. See the handout for Jane’s detailed notes.

Capitals taller than the ascender depending on height of stroke #5.

NOTE: If you look closely at the exemplar, Jane makes stroke #5 from ascender to base-line. This makes her capitals go beyond the ascender for letters like B, , D, P, R, etc. So she makes other letters like S taller than the ascender to be of similar size. DeAnn feels that for herself, this makes the capital letters get too big, so she prefers to make stroke #5 slightly shorter so that the whole Capital is contained within the ascender and baselines. You can try it either way; the goal is to be consistent.

Notes on individual letters:
A: just like the lowercase “a” – think “Oval”.
2nd A: first stroke is no pressure, then pressure; it should be very diagonal, more diagonal than the slantline. Start the 2nd stroke just a little bit lower than the ascender for a nice overlap.

B: stroke #5. Then think of two ovals, the top one a little smaller than the bottom. Go back and thicken the flourish (note: this is what the little “x” means on Jane’s exemplar – other letters also have this).

D: stroke #5. Then think oval. Finish by thickening the flourish.

E: like the “C but with a crossbar. The crossbar should as far as the top (carrot) or even farther.

F: on Jane’s exemplar, the first stroke is the stem stroke #5, but DeAnn’s alternate is to make the top bar the first stroke so you know where to start stroke #5. Try it both ways.

G: like the “C” and “E”, then like stroke #6.

H: first stroke – stop at the baseline and move slightly toward the left. The bottom should be kind of square. For the second stroke – start at the ascender, set – move left – press, then like stroke #4. Crossbar at the waistline.

I: Like “F”, try making the top bar the first stroke.

J: alternate suggestion from Jennifer: start at the ascender and make the stem stroke #6; then make the flourish stroke as the downstroke so you don’t have to go back and thicken it.

K: Go past the stem at the waistline to make the branch.

L: Unlike the “I”, the left side is shorter for the bottom bar.
2nd L: start at the waistline, like a figure-8 to the ascender. Then another figure-8 at the baseline, go past the top of the letter.

M: like lowercase “m”, start the second upstroke at the baseline and go up the side of the first stroke to branch nicely. Don’t start the stroke where it branches. You want a tangential curve, not an intersection, which flows better.
2nd M: start with little pressure from the ascender, more diagonal than the slantline. Then imagine a “U”.

N: the first and third strokes should be the same angle as the slantline. Overlap the S-curve for a nice join.
2nd N: like the lowercase “n”.

O: Think of the letter as a big oval; pressurize downstroke to end it.

P: DeAnn suggests making the flourish side bigger than the bowl of the P. Think of it as a big oval.

Q: think of this as an oval plus a figure-8

R: the second stroke branches at the waistline, higher than where the P ends.

S: think of the “S” contained within a box with sides parallel to the slantlines. The carrot should be contained within the box.
2nd S: loop above the ascender.
3rd S: the top is bigger; this is a sign painter’s S, a more modern look.

T: Like “F” and “I”, DeAnn suggests doing the top bar as the first stroke. Try it both ways.

U: start like a big stroke #7 that goes into a #3

V: start like a big stroke #7, but look closely at the exemplar; Jane separates the next stroke slightly.
2nd V: start like a big stroke #7 that goes into a #3 to the ascender.

W: stroke #7, but come up and aim toward the ascender. This makes for a better overlap with the second stroke.
2nd W: like the “U”.

X: On the exemplar, the first stroke is along the slantline. But DeAnn likes to make it a little straighter or even going diagonal the other way. This is so the second stroke isn’t so curved, but is straighter. Otherwise, be careful that it starts to look too curvy like a spider.

Y: like the “W”, stroke #7 but come up and aim toward the ascender, but stop slightly below it. Then a stroke like #6 that goes from the ascender to the descender.

Z: both are similar to their lowercase versions, but the 2nd Z has a figure-8 crossbar at the waistline.

For Y and Z, observe where they end at the descender. Look at where the curve is leading the eye; you want it to lead back into the letter (i.e. a more oval shape), not out into space.

HOMEWORK: Practice the capitals. Try tracing them. Use the smaller guidelines. Then practice writing Capitalized words. Never write words all in capitals! See DeAnn’s website for alphabetical Flower Names. Or google “alphabetical lists of words” for other lists. Write one word for each letter all the way through (i.e. don’t write several “A”-words, then a couple “B”-words, etc.). 26 words should fit on one sheet. Then practice text. You can use anything you like, for example poems, song lyrics, alphabet sentences, any excerpt.

DeAnn's Homework

NEXT WEEK: Trying different nibs and inks on different papers. Those of you who’ve taken calligraphy before, feel free to bring in any other inks and/or papers that you want to try.

October 24, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Class #3 at Sinai Temple

2011-10-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

(note: more photos to come)
Today’s lesson was getting control of your pen and paper so that your letters come out correctly.

For warm-up, we practiced writing the strokes and letters. Don’t write the same letter 20 times. Write a letter once, then study the Exemplar and compare them. If you find something to improve, write it once or twice more. Then move on to the next letter. It’s more helpful to study the Exemplar & your written letter than just writing it many times without any observation.

Review: DeAnn reviewed parts of the guideline – ascender, waist, base, descender. She also emphasized setting up your materials and self correctly. Tape down the inkwell in front of your paper pad so you can develop a rhythm of dipping and writing. Make sure the pen point is in line with the slant line. DeAnn recommends methodical practice: start at the top left of the sheet of paper and keep going until all the lines are filled. Don’t crumple up the practice sheet in frustration; don’t skip areas or lines to write in random areas.

Remember: Proportion is really important.

If it seems like you can’t get crisp thins, try making the angle of the pen higher. This is the angle of the pen point to the sheet of paper.

Be aware of the pen angle at which you’re writing. If you’re holding the pen at too high of an angle, then pressurizing the nib won’t give you good downstrokes. If you’re holding the pen at too low on an angle, your upstrokes may be too thick.

If the ink beads off and rolls right off the nib, rub more gum Arabic onto the nib. Really rub it in using your fingers. Don’t worry about getting gum Arabic on your hands, it’s non-toxic and will wash off.

Then DeAnn had us trace the handout that starts out “Forsaking monastic…” for practice. She gave us a see-through version so that when we put it under a sheet of paper, we could still see the guideline sheet underneath. Practice the larger lettering; we don’t have a guideline sheet for the smaller size lettering yet. Move the "Forsaking..." sheet down as you go so that the line you're tracing lines up with the red guideline.

Making the #5 stroke: First write the stroke straight 3 times: set – press – pull – stop – release, so that the top and bottom are square and it’s the same thickness throughout. This stroke is “waisted”, meaning it’s just a tiny bit thinner in the middle, so that it’s thick – thinner – thick. Now try writing the stroke as before, but slightly decreasing the pressure in the middle. Be slow and methodical. Beware of ending up with such a thin middle that it looks like two triangles. The letters with stroke #5 are: b, h, k, p, q. (next week: manipulation to make it bowed).

DeAnn brought out 7 different nibs for us to purchase as we wanted. They are: Brause Steno, Hiro 40, Hiro 41, Hiro 30EF, Brause EF66, Gillot 1068, and Hunt 101.

This is just a small sampling of the nibs available out there. It’s important to try different nibs because the nib you choose for a piece will be determined by the paper and liquid you choose to work with. To help us beginners keep track of the different nibs introduced in class, DeAnn gave us the Nib Identification Chart.

Nib Identification Chart: The two qualities that differentiate nibs are how flexible/stiff and sharp/dull it is. The Nib Identification Chart is for us to make note of these qualities for each nib. DeAnn gave us a great start by telling us what they are for the nibs on this chart. Also make any other notes that make a particular nib different from the others.

Notes on individual nibs:

Gillot 404: medium sharp, medium flexible

Gillot 1068: medium sharp, stiff

Hiro 40: medium sharp, flexible. Known as the “blue pumpkin”. You may have to rub gum Arabic on this many times as it doesn’t want to hold on to ink. DeAnn has also heated it with a match and sanded it. It writes best on paper that isn’t textured.

Hiro 41: dull, stiff. On smooth paper it doesn’t make thin hairlines or thick downstrokes, but it works very well on watercolor paper.

Brause Steno: medium sharp, medium flexible. This is DeAnn’s favorite for most papers. Its tip is less square edged than the Gillot 404 so it doesn’t get hung up in the paper. It doesn’t make as thin hairlines, but works well in addressing envelopes.

Brause EF66: sharp, very very flexible. This is best for big writing because its flexibility can create thick downstrokes.

Hunt 101: sharp, medium flexible

Hunt 56: medium shart, medium flexible; similar to Gillot 404

Hiro 30EF: silver-colored; sharp, medium flexible

Gillot 303: very sharp, flexible

Mitchell Copperplate: sharp, stiff

For the nibs that aren’t pictured on the Nib Identification Chart (Hiro 30EF, Hunt 101), draw them in and add notes.

At first some of the nibs may look the same, but observe the differences carefully. Become familiar enough with your nibs that you can recognize them by sight. For example, the Gillot 404 has a ridge and the Gillot 303 is shorter than the Gillot 1068. The Hiro 40 is slightly more flared than the Brause Steno. Learning your nibs is important because one nib doesn’t work for everything. Depending on the effect you want to achieve, different nibs will be able to do the job. For example, DeAnn prefers the Gillot 1068 or Brause Steno for envelope addressing because those are stiffer, duller nibs.

The Gillot 1068 nib is made of thinner metal than the others so it may be loose in your pen holder. Flatten it slightly (be careful not to flatten it too much!) just at the very end (NOT the tip!) with small needle-nose pliers.

Most of the nibs need only one gum Arabic treatment, BUT the Hunt 101 and Hiro 40 can be particularly stubborn and require more treatments. If you wash your nib and the ink beads up the next time you dip it into ink, you need to do another gum Arabic treatment – rub it in good.

Before treating the Hiro 40 or Hunt 101 nibs with gum Arabic, an alternative that DeAnn has done before is to stick it in your mouth and suck on it. Saliva tends to take off the resin coating a new nib. If you don’t want to stick a metal object into your mouth, consider rubbing the nib with your saliva.

A 2nd alternative: If a nib is being particularly difficult, put the nib into the pen holder and then run it over a lit match once on each side. This either burns off the resin coating or covers the nib with soot; DeAnn isn’t quite sure, but this method has worked for her in the past. DON’T hold it over the flame or the plastic pen holder will melt. And don’t hold the nib in your fingers to avoid getting burned.

Vermillion ink tends to rust your nib if left on it, so you should at least rub the ink off your nib after practicing. If you wash your nib, take it out of the pen holder (you might want to use a paper towel to grip it so you don’t cut your finger) and be careful not to drop it down the sink. Don’t be alarmed if the pen holder comes apart, the part that holds the nib is removable.

If your nib becomes stuck in the pen holder (because it’s rusted or stuck from dried gum Arabic), fill a small container with very hot water and dip the pen holder in there to loosen the plastic. Once you pull out the nib, leave it out.

Don’t store the nib in the pen holder if you’re not going to be using it for a while. It’s safer to store it separately. See how Satomi labels and stores her nibs:

Practice with all nibs. If a particular nib isn’t working for you, try another one. As DeAnn says “Work the problem.” The purpose of working with different nibs and inks and papers is to become aware of which nibs work better with which inks in certain situations. Vermillion is great to work with, but not a very practical color to use for actual projects in real life. In a later class, DeAnn will bring in a variety of papers for us to try so we can see how different nibs and inks react to these papers.

HOMEWORK:
Do a combination of tracing and writing, using the handout sheets that start “Forsaking monastic…” and “Quick zephys blow…”. For now, practice the larger size of “Forsaking…” and the top line of “Quick zephys …” You don’t have to go down in size or try the variations yet. Next week DeAnn will bring in a guideline with a smaller x-height (our current guideline has an x-height = ¼”). Try the different nibs and make any notes on the Nib Identification Chart. On your practice sheet, identify which nib you used (e.g. in the margin or at the bottom of the page).

TODAY video: Beautiful handwritten bible made over 12 years

2011-10-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Donald Jackson crafts a handwritten, illuminated bible over 12 years, believed to be the first of its kind since the dawn of the printing press.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/44958686#44958686

October 17, 2011: Pointed Pen Variations Class #2 at Sinai Temple

2011-10-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

(note: more photos to come)
Today DeAnn reviewed last week’s information and demonstrated writing the lowercase alphabet.

DeAnn reminded us to maintain the correct posture – elbow on the table, left hand at the top of the page, and most important: pen nib in line with the slant line.

Tape down your ink-well for two reasons: to prevent spills and also so you don’t lose your rhythm.

Review: The pen should be held so that the nib is in line with the slant-lines on the guideline sheet. The slant lines aren’t for spacing, only as guides for the slant. The letters are written within the red-shaded. This is the waist-base line, also called the x-height. The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender.

Strokes: apply no pressure on the upstroke for thin lines, pressure on the downstroke for thick lines. DeAnn quizzed us on the stroke numbers.

Spacing: the goal is for the whitespaces (i.e. the inner spaces) of strokes #1, #2, #3, #4, #7 and #8 to be similar in size. For now, make strokes #4 and #5 straight – DeAnn will show us how to make them bend when we have more dexterity with the pointed pen.

DeAnn’s advice: It’s more useful to practice slowly and be careful to write each stroke correctly once than to write it wrong 20 times quickly. Compare your strokes/letters to the exemplar. Trace them if it helps you understand where you’re having difficulties.

Helpful TIP: From one of the students Flavia – she highlighted the x-height line on the basic strokes exemplar to better see where the strokes start and end.

Lowercase alphabet: See the exemplar created by Jane Shibata. Remember: all the downstrokes should be the same width. All the whitespaces should be similar. The exemplar contains a lot of information – study the notes on each letter.

Notes on individual letters:

a: like a #1, then #3 that’s smaller and slightly below the baseline. The shape of #1 should be more like a cucumber, not a hotdog, and should be slanted more than the slant line to make a nice triangular shape with stroke #3.

b: 4 - 8: For now, it OK for #4 to be straight. End this stroke slightly above the baseline. Start #8 to branch at the right corner of #4 to create a nice triangular shape.

Branching on "b"

c: 2 plus a carrot. The carrot stroke is set-press-release after a short pull.

d: 1 but close it up, then 4: stroke #4 just barely kisses #8. Don’t overlap the strokes; if you make a mistake, it’s better to err on the side of not touching rather than overlapping.

e: can be 2 strokes or 1. The difference is that the 2nd stroke would make the “e” thicker, but starting on the upstroke would make the stroke thinner.

f: Start at the ascender, then like a #6, carrot, then crossbar like a figure-eight.

g: 1 - 6: start stroke #1 below the waistline. TIP: make the #1 more slanted and #6 more slanted to get a nice triangular shape.

h: 5 - 7: branch early enough to make a nice triangular shape.

i: 3 plus carrot. Carrot should be the same thickness as the downstroke and the same slant as the slantline.

j: 6 plus carrot. Carrot should be the same thickness as the downstroke and the same slant as the slantline. We can think of the carrot as stroke #9.

k: special case: 5 – then no pressure, little pressure, leg can go below the baseline, depending on the letter after it.

l: 4

m: 7 – 7 - 7. All the whitespaces should be the same width.
Alternate m: 5 – 7 – 7.

n: 7 – 7 or 5 - 7. Same as for “m”.

o: 1 plus carrot. DeAnn prefers that the “carrot” is inside of the #1 stroke, but on Jane’s exemplar, it’s half in, half out.

p: 5 - 8. Stroke #5 should start halfway between the ascender and waist. It should end halfway between the base and descender. Stroke #8 starts from the baseline.

q: 1 – then like #5.

r: special case: upstroke and stop slightly above the waistline. Then pick up pen and set pen to make a square top, press, slide over, then like a #3. This is the French r.

Alternate r: start like a #7, then loop. This is the English r.

s: special case: come up until slightly above waistline, then pick up pen and set, downstroke is a figure-8 shape.

t: 4 – crossbar.

u: 3 – 3.

v: 7.

w: start like a #7, but for the upstroke, go out and up; this helps make a better connection to the #3-like stroke.

x: special case: goes with the slant line or a little straighter. Think of the x being in a slanted box (parallelogram). The cross-stroke is thick, then thinner, then thick again.

y: 7 – then 6.

z: two different ones.

Practice: Start from the top left corner of the page and write all the way through. If one letter is causing you problems, go on and come back to it. Don’t get discouraged. Take a breath.

HOMEWORK:
1. Practice the letters.
2. Trace the letters, especially if you’re having problems with any of them.
3. Once you’ve practiced all the letters, place the see-through exemplar on top of your practice sheet to check your letter against the exemplar.

The GOAL: you want consistency; your letters don’t have to be an exact match to the exemplar.

If you get confused and discouraged, just go back one step and practice the strokes. Practice the letters slowly and carefully and think of all the stroke numbers.

DeAnn on KCRW's DNA: From Calligraphy Buff to Design Guru: Steve Jobs Remembered

2011-10-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

DeAnn's interview can be heard on KCRW.

If you missed today's DNA program that aired on KCRW (89.9FM) where DeAnn was interviewed about Steve Jobs and calligraphy, you can listen to it here online at KCRW or download the program as a podcast to listen on your iPod.

DeAnn Singh Profiled on Al Jazeera!

2011-10-17T23:43:00.000-07:00

DeAnn was recently profiled on Al Jazeera. See her interview here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiwMoDgNiTY

The narration is in Arabic, but you can listen to DeAnn's interview and see some of her work.

DeAnn interview on KCRW - Tuesday, October 18, 2:30 pm

2011-10-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

DeAnn was interviewed for a piece on Steve Jobs and the role calligraphy played in his design decisions. The interview airs on KCRW (89.9 FM in Los Angeles County) on Tuesday, October 18, at 2:30 pm.

Italic Saturation

2011-10-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Italic is one of the most useful of all the styles of calligraphy, in my opinion. It can be done with many variations on it's classic form to meet any calligraphic subject. Lets starts with the beginning.
Italic

History:
In the 1400's when the renaissance was dawning, Europe became more literate and needed more secretaries, penman, accountants, scribes to record and write for business and church. In Italy classical letterforms and subjects were taking over from the church leading all commerce and literature. A style of calligraphy was developing that was more a descendant of Caroline styles than the more recent blackletter styles. With the "need for speed" it also took on a forward slant. It was called chancery cursive.
We use it today to write everything from wedding invitations and envelopes to posters and signs. It can look very plain or very decorative. I want the student to know where it came from and where it stands in the history of writing.
Materials Needed: Beginning Material List for chisel point pens.
Start with a pencil at 1/2 inch x-height. Learn the letterforms and spacing thoroughly before using a chisel point nib.
1. Write all the letters using the exemplar to learn the letter structure. Trace if you find that helpful. These letters are based on a triangle rather than a circle. Method of practice: Look at the example, trace it in your mind, write the letter, look back at the example, "what did I do right, what did I do wrong?" Write it again, compare again, write it again and go on to another letter. It's not useful to keep writing the same letter over and over if you are not improving on it each time. You are reinforcing the wrong shape in your hand and head if you aren't looking back at the example and writing it correctly. Most students are in too big of hurry, so take a breath and slow down. Really LOOK at the example and emulate it as best you can. Write letters in their family groups, it helps learn their shapes better.
2. The letter families are: i,l,j,f,t = i family. o,e,c = o family. n,h,b,m,k,p,r,u,y = branching family.
a,g,d,q = a family. s,v,w,x,z = diagonals.
3. Practice writing letters, systematically and in an organized fashion. Leaving margins all around, not crossing anything out, but starting and finishing the whole page.
4. Spacing: Picket fence spacing. Equal amount of space within the letters and between letters. Take the space between the legs of n, this is the amount of space between letters. 2 vertical strokes use the same space as inside n, such as il, ll, tl, ni, minimum have equal space. 1 vertical and 1 curve stroke are a little closer together to make up for the extra space in the curve. 2 curves or diagonals are closest together. Try to think of the volume of space, between letters and within letters, the same.
Write alphabet sentences. There is a little more space between words. About the space of the n from one side to the other. If you put too much space between words it creates "rivers" of space in a paragraph of writing. The look of the page of writing is more important than the individual word or the individual letter.
5. TBA

October 10, 2011 - Pointed Pen Variations Class #1 at Sinai Temple

2011-10-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

DeAnn introduced herself and distributed supplies and handouts. The handouts are by Jane Shibata, noted calligrapher and artist. They are based on the informal pen hand created by Michael Kecseg. We will be starting out using the Gillot 404 nib and Vermillion ink.

Preparing your supplies for ease of transportation: pour ink from the container into the dropper bottle. The dropper bottles are leak-proof so bring those to class; it’s OK to leave the original containers of ink at home. From the dropper bottles, fill one of the ink wells (or “dinky dip”) to at least the ridge-line. You want to be able to dip your pen and cover the nib’s reservoir area (“eye of the needle”) completely.

Preparing the Pen: Put the nib into the oblique pen holder so that the “eye of the needle” (the opening in the nib) points directly upward. The fit may feel tight, but push the nib in at least halfway for a secure hold. Hold the oblique holder as you would normally hold your pen, with the angled nib to the left side. If you have a brand new nib, you’ll need to prepare it by rubbing gum Arabic all around so that the ink will adhere to the nib and not just bead-up and slide off. New nibs usually have a waxy coating and you may have to rub with gum Arabic several times until the ink will stay in the reservoir. NOTE: Vermillion ink will rust your nib, so wash it off with water after you’re done practicing.

Preparing the paper: Make a crease in the cover of the cotton comp paper pad about an inch down from the top. Fold this back so that you’ll have a flat writing surface without the cover bunching up to the left. Place the guideline sheet underneath the first sheet.

Guideline sheet: DeAnn has highlighted in red the lines where we’ll be writing. This area is the x-height, defined by the waist (top edge) and base (bottom edge). The line above the waist is the ascender, the line below the base is the descender. When practicing, we will be writing on the “red” lines.

Prepare your work space: The key to being able to write correctly is to set up your work space correctly and sit in the right position in relation to your paper. Position the paper so that the slant lines are pointing toward your stomach. This angle may seem extreme, with the paper pad almost at right angles to the table’s edge, so you need to position yourself so that your elbow rests completely on the tabletop, which means you’ll probably have to sit at an angle to the table edge so you’re not twisting your torso. Place the ink well above the paper pad and tape down to avoid accidental spills. Place your exemplar in front of you, preferably in a stand like a Page-Up, so it's easy to refer to.

If your shoulder is hunching up, then the table is too high; sit on a cushion so that your shoulder stays down. Stretch regularly if you start getting stiff.

Use your left arm to take the weight off your body by placing your left hand above the area where you’re writing. Try to learn NOT to have a heavy writing hand, but practice having a light touch. Putting the pressure on your left hand helps with this. This will help your writing hand from getting sore. REMEMBER to breathe! If you’re having trouble writing the strokes, exhale.

Writing with the nib:
1. Write straight lines (with slant)
2. Pen should be in the direction of the slant lines
3. To create the square top & bottom edges, set – press – pull – stop – release
4. If the nib is sticking into the paper, adjust the angle of how you’re holding the nib. Lowering the angle may help. Also make sure that your nib is pointing in the direction of the slant line.

Writing the basic strokes: You apply pressure on the down stroke (thick), no pressure on the up stroke (thin). This is how you create thicks & thins. The goal is for all the down strokes to have the same width (i.e. consistent pressure). Look carefully at the exemplar handout, it has a lot of important information on it.

NOTE: If your pen nib is not aligned in the correct direction (along the slant line), it will become tweaked over time.

DeAnn began with having us practice writing straight lines in the direction of the slant line. From now on, everything will be written with this slant.

Notes on individual strokes (study the exemplar – lots of great notes by Jane):
1. Start at 1:00 and think “cucumber” – not too round. Start with no pressure, then pressure, then no pressure. This should be more slanted than the slant line.
2. #2 is like #1, but with longer upstroke.
3. The curve should be like a paperclip.

4. For right now, it’s OK to make this stroke straight. DeAnn will go over the slight taper when you’re more comfortable with writing with a pointed pen.
5. Make this stroke slightly bowed. For now it’s OK that you write it with the same pressure all the way down; DeAnn will go over making the pressure changes to make the stroke taper when you’re more comfortable with writing with a pointed pen.
6. Don’t worry about the top for now; OK to pull the stroke straight down.

7. Once you make the first arch, pick up the pen and put the point at the right side of the base of the downstroke to start your upstroke. Branching from this point makes a nice triangle space.

8. This is like an upside-down version of stroke #1 – start at 8:00.

REMEMBER: Don’t get overwhelmed! If you get really anxious, go back to the last step you were comfortable with and practice that.

DeAnn says: in pointed pen, you really have to become the master of your materials.

HOMEWORK: Continue practicing the strokes with the Vermillion ink and Gillot 404 nib. Memorize the basic stroke numbers – DeAnn will test you next week. Your practice will be more effective if you go slowly and carefully. Study the exemplar; if you’re having trouble with a stroke, try tracing it.

NOTE: On your practice sheets, write the nib, ink type, and date in the lower right corner.

Homework for intermediates: After practicing the strokes, you can go ahead and try the letters.

If you turn in homework, DeAnn will then give a thorough critique.

Article on DeAnn in the Los Angeles Times!

2011-08-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

Read All About It! Calligraphers still going against type

(photo by Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times)

Read the article on DeAnn in the Los Angeles Times. It also appears in the print edition dated August 9, 2011, in the main section, under Column One.

New Classes beginning in Sept and October

2011-07-21T21:24:00.001-07:00

Beginning Monday October 10, 2011
Sinai Temple
10400 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90024

It’s set to be a beginning-Intermediate
class from 10:30 am -1pm.
8 weeks $125 Mondays
Pointed Pen Variations
To Register, contact Rosa Berman, rbermanr@yahoo.com

Materials List
Emerson Learning Center
Beginning- Advanced Classes
We will learn the same letterform but do different projects based on skill level.
Intense Italic...Beg-Advanced
Sept 13, 2011
10am-1pm
Register by emailing DeAnn or go to the school and register
8 classes $120
8810 Emerson Ave.
Westchester, CA 90045
Beginning supplies (chisel point materials)

Map

Tues. and Wed. Night Classes
Stampin' from the Heart
CALL 310. 391. 0466
11720 Washington Place
Los Angeles, CA 90066
register with the store
Map
Sept.13, 2011 and Sept.14, 2011
Calligraphy classes for students of all levels and continuing studies.
You can buy 6-10 lessons for $20 per lesson ($120. for 6 lessons, $200. for 10 lessons for the semester.
All calligraphic subjects, including illuminated manuscripts will be covered. Maximum 12 students. Pointed Pen Variations will be the class demonstration this semester. You can learn that or other styles of your choice.
Materials List Beginning supply list or Copperplate list for Pointed Pen Variations

Beverly Hills Adult School to close

2011-05-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

After, I hear, 60 years as an Adult School, Beverly Hills is closing it's doors, according to Beverly Hills Courier. Official word hasn't been given to the teachers.
I will be setting up classes at the rubber stamp store "Stampin from the Heart." Here's their information:

Karen Hutchinson, Proprietor
stampinheart@hotmail.com
http://www.karen-stampinheart.blogspot.com/
310.391.0466
Stampin’ From the Heart Schedule
11720 Washington Place, Los Angeles, CA 90066
I'm setting up a class for Next Monday May 8th at 10:30-1:30. We'll be doing Copperplate and flourishing. If you've done beginning copperplate and want to concentrate on flourishing you can. Or you may start from scratch. The class will be 3 hours each for 4 weeks for $100. That's only $8.33 per hour of instruction. I'll need at least 7 people for the class to go. If you are interested in attending this class please call the store but don't wait too long so I know if the class will have enough students to start. Looking forward to seeing you all before the summer begins.

March 7, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #7

2011-03-08T00:33:00.000-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #7: Today DeAnn demonstrated gilding for the beginners. Students continued working on their illuminated manuscript projects.

For inspiration, take a look at Trini's work in progress:

Recipe for adhesive for flat gilding
1/3 part Sobo glue
2/3 part Water
Make in small jar
Add a tiny amount of red or orange watercolor to tint it lightly so that you can see where you’ve painted the glue. Red or orange color will enhance the gold color.

Demonstration of Illuminating a Decorative initial capital letter:
(see Gilding Notes for detailed instructions on Gilding)

Trace pattern (initial capital) onto Pergamenata paper.

Paint glue (adhesive for gold leaf, recipe: 2/3 Sobo glue, 1/3 water) onto initial capital with pointed brush (e.g. size 0 or 1). Try to paint on a smooth layer (you’ll be painting 3 layers). Let dry, then paint another layer. Cover the pencil outline.

Rinse brush frequently; don’t let the glue dry on the brush. TIP: Don’t let the brush sit in the water, the tip will be ruined.

Once the gold leaf adhesive is dry, you’re ready to apply the gold leaf. To prepare, clean a “gold only” pair of scissors with silk; you don’t want any sizing on the scissors or else the gold will stick to them. Cut the sheet of gold leaf to the estimated size of the initial cap.

Make sure to wipe off any lipstick or chapstick on your lips. Breathe on the glue so that it absorbs some moisture. Then place the gold leaf on it and press gently all around. Press the outlines, making sure the sides (the glue will be slightly raised) are also completely covered with the gold leaf.

Remove the backing paper carefully so that you can save any gold that sticks to the paper.

Place a piece of glassine (acid-free, non-stick paper; the Post Office envelopes for stamps are glass-ine) over the gold leaf and press the outlines, making sure the sides (the glue will be slightly raised) are also completely covered with gold leaf. Then brush excess gold off with a soft brush; brush in the direction of the lines, not across them.

Burnish the gold leaf (several types of burnishers in different shapes & sizes: e.g. Grifhold, Agate).

Clean up the edges with an X-acto knife with the #16 blade. (TIP: Every calligrapher should have the #11 blade and #16 blade.) Scrape toward you to clean the edges of excess gold.

Cleaned and burnished gilded initial capital:

Paint background of the gold decorative capital with gouache (choose a color that will make the gold; e.g. yellow is not a good choice.)

Once you’re done painting, outline the gold decorative capital with the Micron Pigma 005 pen.

Example of painting a decorative leaf half in a color and half in that color's tint. Then DeAnn added decorative cross-hatching, lines, and dots. This is called "diapering."

February 28, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #6

2011-03-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #6: Today DeAnn showed us how to carve a rubber stamp from an eraser and has us carve an acanthus leaf stamp.

Materials used: white eraser (e.g. Mars Staedtler), Speedball Linoleum Cutting blades 1 & 6 (DeAnn had these for us to borrow). Also a sharp pencil, tracing paper, and stamp pad.

Find a sample from an illuminated manuscript page that you want to use. Photocopy it to make it larger if needed.

Trace a leaf or group of leaves onto tracing paper with a very sharp pencil.

Place the tracing paper pencil-side down on the eraser; find a piece big enough for your drawing but with as little blank space surrounding the drawing as possible.

Rub the tracing paper with your finger or some smooth object to transfer the drawing to the rubber.

If the image transferred onto the eraser is too light, go over the lines with a sharp pencil to darken.

Start with the larger cutting blade to cut excess rubber from the edges. Switch to the smaller blade for detailed areas.

Stamp your eraser with the stamp pad to see how the image is; continue shaving off raised areas until you’re satisfied.

Now you have a stamp to create leaves quickly as decorative elements on your illuminated manuscript project. These can be painted with gouache.

DeAnn demonstrated painting the leaves with gouache.

If you run out of time to finish gilding your decorative letter, you can paint it with gold gouache. A set she found recently has bright gold colors, Finetec Mica Artist Color Set.

Meanwhile students continued working on their illuminated manuscript projects.

Trini's inspiring work-in-progress

Judith's creative work-in-progress

DeAnn worked with individual students and reviewed troublesome letters.

For the Y, think martini glass. Note the spacing on "AZE".

H and M - start the curved strokes within the stem stroke for a smooth transition.

February 14, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #5

2011-02-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #5: The warm-up was writing text with the Brause 2 ½ mm nib, at an x-height of 3 boxes (on the 8 boxes per inch grid paper). DeAnn talked about the illuminated manuscript project and handed out some templates.

Trini's homework: chisel point Uncial in different sizes.

Close-up of Trini's homework

Warm-Up: Write text with the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib at an x-height of 3 boxes (on the 8 boxes/inch grid paper). Line the paper every 3 boxes and write on every other line.

Review: Keep the pen angle steady. For example, on the “T”, the horizontal stroke will not be the same width as the vertical stroke, but thinner. Also, don’t twist your pen on the curve strokes.

Satomi's project layout from last semester, Fraktur.

Illuminated Manuscript Project: This will be done on Pergamenata paper, which looks the most like real vellum. DeAnn has 8 ½ x 11 sheets for sale at $0.75 each. She passed out templates to use for the project. The pergamenata is translucent enough that you can see the template underneath. This way, you won’t have to line the pergamenata sheet separately. A decorative initial capital letter will go into the 2”x 2” square and versals into the first couple lines next to it. The text below will be written in Uncial with the 1 ½ mm Brause nib. Highlighting the text lines makes them more visible. DeAnn will talk more about the details next time.

Next class DeAnn plans to show how to carve a leaf shape from an eraser. This will help make painting the decorative leaves for the illuminated manuscript easier. Materials to bring: white eraser (e.g. Mars Staedtler), Speedball Linoleum Cutting blades 1 & 6 (DeAnn has this tool for you to borrow), stamp pads (if you have any).

Sample of grid paper lined every 3 boxes for the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib.

HOMEWORK: Continue practicing with the 2 ½ mm Brause nib at an x-height of 3 boxes. Then go down to the 1 ½ mm Brause at an x-height of 2 boxes (on the 8 boxes/inch grid). Line the grid paper every 2 boxes and write on every other line. Cut the paper into quarters for a more manageable size. Choose the text for your project.

NOTE: No class next Monday, 2/21/11, in honor of President’s Day. Class resumes on Monday, 2/28/11.

February 7, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #4

2011-02-10T22:35:00.001-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #4: The warm-up was writing alphabet sentences with the Speedball B1 nib at an x-height of 1-inch. DeAnn reviewed some homework observations. Then she introduced writing Uncial with the chisel point nib.

Satomi's homework using watercolors

Trini's homework: monoline Uncial at different sizes

Judith's homework - fun and colorful!

DeAnn reviewed common mistakes she found in the homework:

D : start the second stroke above the waistline to the left, not at the mid-point.

Z and L : Don’t exaggerate the horizontal strokes, they slant just a little.

Uncial with the chisel point nib: To start, we’ll be using the Brause 5mm nib (largest one). Use it with a round pen-holder. If you have the Brause holder that’s flat on one side, insert it toward the right side (when holding it) of the wooden nib holder. If you’re looking at the holder head-on, the nib will be toward the left edge.

Pen angle: The Brause is a chisel-point pen, able to create thicks & thins within one stroke, based on the angle of the pen. Using a protractor as the reference, a pen angle of 0-degrees equates to holding the pen so that the nib is parallel to the horizontal lines of the grid paper. A vertical stroke at this pen angle is the thickest; a horizontal stroke is the thinnest.

If the pen angle is 90-degrees, then a vertical stroke is the thinnest and a horizontal stroke is the thickest. For a 45-degree pen angle, use a box as a reference and place the pen so that you’re placing it on the diagonal of the box. At this angle, both a vertical stroke and a horizontal stroke should be the same thickness.

x-height: is the height between the waist and base. Each hand has a specific x-height measured in pen-widths. At a pen angle of 90-degrees, draw short horizontal strokes to measure by pen widths.

Uncial has a pen angle of 15-degrees (up to 30 degrees) and an x-height of 4 pen widths (equal 6 boxes on the grid paper). Since 15-degrees is one-third of 45-degrees, eye-ball the angle from the waistline. Look at the top of the chisel point Uncial exemplar.

Protractor on top of grid paper - note where 15-degree pen angle intersects grid.

In class we practiced writing downstrokes & cross-strokes at 0 and 90 degrees, at an inch in height. Dip the pen so the reservoir is 3/4 full. Wipe the nib on the edge of the ink well to take off any excess. We need to get fully familiar with this chisel point nib. Practice making straight lines with the nib. You need even pressure on both sides of the nib. Not a lot of pressure, just even pressure. The ink will flow better to begin with if you give a little side-to-side "rub" (like an ice-skate) with the nib. Or touch the tip to some wet ink on a previous stroke. As you draw the stroke down the page, EXHALE. This helps give a more controlled stroke. Also, set your opposite hand near the work so you can give slight pressure as you start down. These tips will help you have success quicker. At this large size, ink will puddle at the end of the downstrokes; don’t worry about it now, it’s natural & expected.

To achieve the thicks and thins with the chisel point nib, you must keep it at the same angle. Don’t turn the pen-holder in your fingers as you make a curved stroke.

At this time it’s OK to wipe off your nib to clean it. DeAnn will show you how to remove the reservoir next time so don’t worry about washing it with water yet. When practicing, wipe your nib every 20 minutes or so to remove any paper residue, etc.

Preparing (lining) the grid paper: 8 boxes on the grid paper equal an inch, with the darker lines indicating the inch-marks. The x-height for Uncial with the 5mm Brause nib is 6 boxes. So after each darker line, line the sheet at 2 boxes, dividing the 8 boxes into 2 boxes and 6 boxes. We will be writing in the rows that are 6 boxes tall. The 2-box row in between will be for the ascenders (e.g. H, L) and descenders (P, Q). Write an “x” in the margin if that will help you see which lines to write on.

sample of lined grid paper - click on it to enlarge.

Notes on individual letters:

I : pierces the baseline slightly
L : almost 2 boxes above the waistline, slight serif at base
J : don’t pull it longer than 2 boxes below the baseline
T : Marcia Brady’s “T” which is on the exemplar, goes off to the right slightly.
Also alternate T:

T from Exemplar and alternate T

O : be careful not to turn the pen when curving
G : top stroke doesn’t go farther than the bottom stroke

D : DeAnn prefers it not to be that flat; it’s OK if there’s a space between the first stroke and the second.

Q : curved stroke is above the baseline
S : need to start below the waistline

A : beginners can just go out, then back, without worrying about the hairline for now. And don’t worry about flattening the first stroke against the baseline. Intermediates – pull the stroke into a hairline. Also twist pen to flatten stroke 1 to the baseline. You need a round pen holder for this.

B : start with serif; come down, pause, then move over. Don’t make this last stroke too round. Set pen inside stem stroke and come out to make the next 2 strokes.
F : Make the horizontal strokes longer than the exemplar.

H : Don’t curve in too much; it’s more of an optical illusion.
K : beginners don’t have to put the serif on the top stroke or flatten the last stroke. Intermediates can.

M : start inside the stem stroke to make the last stroke.

N : pen angle is slightly steeper; diagonal-stroke is slightly S-shaped. When making the last stroke, aim for the inner corner to match.

P : curved stroke doesn’t touch the baseline
R : intermediates can flatten the last stroke

U : thicken the curve slightly so it’ll connect nicely
V : put a nice curve in the second stroke so it’ll balance. Don’t let it lean to the side.

W : like the “U”, first stroke is straight-ish, the last stroke is curvy.

X : you can follow the exemplar and make the cross-stroke in 3 strokes. Or pull one stroke from the bottom, putting serifs on each end.

Y : think martini-glass to create a balanced triangular shape

Z : if the diagonal stroke is too thin, then your pen angle is too steep; flatten it to thicken the stroke.

HOMEWORK: Practice the letters with the 5mm Brause nib and an x-height of 6-boxes. Write each letter only 3 times in a row before moving on. Study the exemplar closely and compare your written letter to it. Trace the exemplar if you’re having difficulty.

Once you’re comfortable with the letters, write words. Intermediates can go down to the 2 ½ mm Brause nib with an x-height of 3 boxes.

January 31, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #3

2011-02-04T21:07:00.001-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #3: The warm-up was writing alphabet sentences with the Speedball B5 ½ or B6 nib at an x-height of ½-inch, using either black ink or watercolor. DeAnn discussed spacing for Uncial and also demonstrated writing with watercolor.

Satomi's homework sampler using B1 and B6 nibs.

Nametags, assignment from last week:

Spacing: Uncial has “pearl necklace” spacing. Two curved letters, such as “OO”, can be very closely spaced. A straight and curved letter, such as “IO”, has more space between between them. Two straight letters, such as “IL”, are spaced apart the farthest. Think of the space between “T” and another letter, like “TH” – the area between the 2 vertical strokes is the amount of space that should be between 2 straight letters.

With Uncial, you have to think about the spacing of the word as a whole, not just focus on specific 2 letters. Because you have to look at the whole picture, you may end up writing out the word and then find the trouble spots.

For example, QUICKLY: because of the large counterspace (white space) of C and E, they can be very close to the next letter. L and Y can’t be too close together, but their combined whitespace will make the space between them look large.

Another example, GAVE: treat the space between A and V like the “TH” space.

Spacing between words: Put just enough space between words so that you can see that it’s a new word. If words are spaced too far apart, a sentence will look like a list of words rather than a real sentence.

Sequence of Practice:
B1 nib at x-height = 1-inch, on full sheet of grid paper
B6 nib at x-height = 1/2-inch, on half sheet (cut full sheet in half)
B6 nib at x-height = 1/4–inch, on quarter-sheet (cut half-sheet in half)

Demonstration of Writing with Watercolors: You can write letters where the colors blend into each other using the Prang watercolors to feed your pen. For feeding your nib with watercolor, DeAnn uses a bristle brush which can simultaneously clean the nib while loading it with ink.

First, set up your workspace for watercolors with 2 water containers, one for dirty, one for clean. Always rinse brush in the dirty container first, then rinse again in the clean container.

Soften the colors you’ll be using with a couple drops of water, then put the colors you want to use in a clean palette space and add drops of water to thin the watercolor to an ink consistency

Place the watercolors on your left if you’re writing with your right-hand. You’ll be holding the watercolor brush in your left hand and feeding your nib over the palette to avoid dripping or splattering the paper. Use the lids of the Prang watercolor set as your palette.

Load your pen nib by pulling the brush against the reservoir. For the first time only, brush across the inside of the nib and tip. Write as usual. Hold the brush upside-down and press the end against the paper to steady it.

Before you run out of color, rinse your brush and load it with another color to add to your nib. The colors will naturally blend in the reservoir and you should begin to see the color changing within the next couple letters.

Illuminated Manuscript project: Start thinking about what text you want to use for your project. It should be about 50 words, but can always be edited to be longer or shorter as necessary. DeAnn says “The look is more important than the words” so don’t worry too much about finding text that is the exact length. Possible text choices: poems, quotes, song lyrics, excerpt from a longer work.

Satomi's Uncial project from a previous semester.

For inspiration, see Judith's projects from four previous semesters. Clockwise from top right: Fraktur, Copperplate, Carolingian, Gothic Textura.

HOMEWORK: Practice the sequence of sizes mentioned above and try to have a sampler in each size. You can create a sampler in either black ink or watercolor that includes all 3 sizes in one sheet.

January 24, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #2

2011-01-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

Detail of Satomi's name-tag

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #2: The handouts this week are the monoline Uncial stroke sequence sheet, a chisel-point Uncial stroke sequence sheet, and a packet of Uncial examples. DeAnn had us warm-up by writing letters with the Speedbal B1 nib and an x-height of 1-inch. Then we practiced writing our names so we could make a name-tag for ourselves. We then painted the counterspaces with watercolors.

Setting up your workspace for watercolors: have 2 water containers, one for dirty, one for clean. Always rinse brush in the dirty container first, then rinse again in the clean container. DeAnn highly recommends the 16-color Prang watercolor set, which is full of bright colors and is quite economical.

Use the lids of the Prang watercolor set as your palette. Soften the pan with a couple drops of water, then put the colors you want to use in a clean palette space and add drops of water to thin the watercolor to an ink consistency. The Prang colors stay vibrant even with considerable thinning. If you use the watercolor pan itself as the palette, the ink will get thicker and thicker.

Watercolor brushes: The best quality brushes are sable Winsor Newton Series 7. DeAnn recommends getting sizes 2, 1, and 00. These brushes can be expensive. A more economical brush is the Utrecht equivalent of a Winsor Newton Series 7 (see Suppliers). Be sure to ask for the tube to store it in so that it will stay pristine if you go to Utrecht’s.

Creating name-tags: DeAnn handed out strips of Rives BFK paper. First line the paper so you have guidelines with an x-height of 1-inch, i.e. the waistline/headline and baseline are 1-inch apart. Line-up the bottom of the C-thru ruler with the bottom of the strip and draw a line; center it.

Then turn the paper and using the inch-line (the middle line of the ruler), draw a line 1-inch away.

Write your name in black ink with the Speedball B1 nib. Let it dry completely.
Then paint the counterspaces (the whitespace of the letters) with watercolors.

Use a size 2 watercolor brush. First wet the counterspace with water, leaving a thin “moat” of dry paper next to the ink stroke itself. Because Higgins Eternal is not a waterproof ink, wetting it will cause it to bleed. Then add a color into the wet area, letting the watercolor spread to the edge of the “moat”.

Also paint the space between the letters. Let the penciled waistline and baseline be the limits. For the beginning and end, let the watercolor fade away by spreading the color with water.

This technique can be used to make a unique card or other personalized application.

Satomi painted flower petals to match the shape of the A's counterspace

Writing Sequence for the following week:
1. Write with the Speedball B1 nib at an x-height of 1-inch.
2. Write with the Speedball B6 nib at an x-height of 1-inch.
3. Then write with the Speedball B6 nib at an x-height of ½-inch (4 boxes). You’ll need to line the paper.

Lining the grid paper: Using the 18” C-thru ruler easily creates a 2-inch margin on each side of the 17x22 sheet. By placing it in the middle, you don’t have to move it back & forth, just downward as you draw the lines with a sharp pencil, preferably with 2H lead. The grid of the ruler matches the grid paper (on the 1-inch = 8 boxes side of the double-sided grip paper, the Beinfang paper with the blue lines is the same-size grid on both sides). Match the appropriate line of the ruler to the grid and draw ½-inch lines between the darker lines that every inch.

If the 17x22 paper is too large and unwieldy to write on at the ½-inch x-height, tear it in half.

Speedball B6 nib, x-height = 1-inch, half page

HOMEWORK: Practice with the smaller B6 nib. Start at an x-height of 1-inch. Then go down to an x-height of ½-inch. Practice by writing alphabet sentences. DeAnn will talk about spacing next time.

January 10, 2011 - Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #1

2011-01-13T23:10:00.000-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Uncial Class #1: The hand this semester is Uncial. After student introductions, DeAnn reviewed the supplies needed for this first week: Speedball B1 nib, Higgins Eternal black ink, round pen holder, dinky dip, dropper bottle, clipboard, 17” x 22” grid paper, C-thru 18-inch ruler. See also Beginning Supplies.

Uncial is an all majuscule alphabet, meaning the letter forms are all capitals, with no lowercase letters. Miniscule refers to an alphabet which has both capitals and lowercase letters. The terms “uppercase” and “lowercase” appeared with the creation of the letterpress (1450) when metal type was stored with capitals in the upper part of a type case or drawer and miniscule letters in the lower part. Uncial was common in the 3rd to 8th centuries AD. Historically, it was written with no break between words and no punctuation.

DeAnn will be starting with teaching monoline Uncial using the Speedball B1 nib. Later she’ll teach writing Uncial with the chisel point pen using Brause nibs. Then students will create an illuminated manuscript project using Uncial. Intermediates who’ve done illuminated manuscript projects in previous semesters can talk with DeAnn about different projects.

Preparing the ink: once you open the Higgins Eternal ink, the bottle may leak if it falls over. So transfer the ink to a dropper bottle and leave the remaining Higgins Eternal ink at home. The dropper bottle shouldn’t leak even if it’s on its side. Fill one of the ink wells in your inky-dip almost to the rim. You’ll be taping down the whole inky-dip at the table’s edge; if you’re right-handed, it should be on the right side, if you’re left-handed, then it’s on the left side.

Proper Set-up: Set up your tools and workspace correctly so that it will be easier to write without any back or wrist pain. Remember to tape down your dinky dip on the right (or left, if you’re a left-hander) to avoid spills and for ease of dipping your pen. Sit so that the angle of the board in your lap isn’t too high. The ideal writing area of the board is slightly above table level where it’s the most stable. So adjust your chair accordingly. If you’re right-handed, the clips of the board should be on the left so they don’t interfere with the movement of your arm as you write. Remember to use your left-hand as an anchor. Clip several sheets of paper to the board or use a blotter sheet for some padding. The sheet you’re writing on should NOT be taped down; instead, you should move it as needed so that you’re always writing in the same area of the board and not stretching or hunched over.

Use a document holder (like a PageUp) so that it’s easy to see your exemplar or whatever sheet you’re looking at. Place it so that you don’t have to move your board to see it.

Writing on the grid paper: The 17” x 22” grid paper is 2-sided, but one side has 8 boxes per inch and the other side has 10 boxes per inch. For now, we’ll be using the 8 boxes per inch. This lines up exactly with the C-thru ruler.

Leave at least a 1-inch margin all around. We’ll be starting with an x-height of 1-inch, so you don’t need to line the paper. Write the letters between two “dark” lines. X-height is the height of the lowercase letter “x” in the hand, but since Uncial is all capitals, ascender/descender lines won’t be needed. All the letters will be written between the baseline and the waistline.

Using the pen: DeAnn recommends a round pen holder for the Speedball B1 nib. The tip of the nib is like a pancake. You want this pancake to be flat on the paper always. Hold the pen naturally, like you would a pencil. Don’t force your hand to hold the pen so that the pancake is vertically placed on a page. Your elbow should be at an angle and so should the pancake.

Dip the nib into the inkwell so that about half of the reservoir is filled. Wipe off any excess with the rim of the inkwell. Start by making vertical strokes that are 1-inch long. Put even pressure on the pancake, not a lot of pressure, just even pressure – the stroke should be the same width all the way down. A brand new nib can leave dips or jagged edges.

As you draw the stroke down the page, EXHALE. This helps give a more controlled stroke. Also, set your opposite hand near the work so you can give slight pressure as you start down. These tips will help you have success quicker. At this large size, ink will puddle at the end of the downstrokes; don’t worry about it now, it’s natural & expected.

TIP: if your hand hurts soon after starting to write, you’re probably holding the pen too tight.

At this time it’s OK to wipe off your nib to clean it. When practicing, wipe your nib every 20 minutes or so to remove any paper residue, etc. For a more thorough cleaning, remove the nib from the pen holder and rinse it in water. Be sure to dry it before putting it away.

Notes on individual letters: Uncial is a very wide and round hand, hence it’s called the “chunky hand.” To get a better idea of how wide each letter form is, place your C-thru ruler over the letter and count the boxes. DeAnn has written some of the widths in, but not all.

I : should be the same thickness throughout.

J : the descender is short, about 2 boxes at most. Originally Uncial had no “J”. “I” was used for both sounds.

L : The cross-stroke is not curvy, but slightly diagonal.

T : The exemplar has the stroke sequence with the horizontal stroke first, but practice writing it both ways.

O : imagine a grapefruit to visualize its shape. At 10 boxes, the O is wider than it is tall.

C : it’s like an “O”, but end stroke 1 about 1 box above the baseline.

D : think of it as an “O” with a serif – you can practice writing it that way if it helps you with the proportion.

E : like a “C”. The crossbar is higher than center and extends a little beyond the top & bottom strokes.

G : like a “C”, but take the first stroke a bit higher, than go back diagonally.

Q : stroke 1 is at least 1 box above the baseline.

P : set the pen inside the vertical stroke for a smoother transition for strokes 2 and 3.

H : start about 1 box above the waistline. Then place the pen inside the vertical stroke and curve stroke 2 in slightly.

M : start stroke 3 inside of vertical stroke for a nice connection.

S : think on an O-shape, the S should fit inside. Stroke 1 should go horizontally at the middle.

A : is the problem letter since it is so slanted. The belly of stroke 2 should extend slightly beyond the start of stroke 1.

N : start stroke 1 slightly below the waistline to make room for stroke 2.

TIP: if you’re having a hard time writing any of the letters, try tracing them to get a better feel for them. Use tracing paper over the exemplar.

HOMEWORK: Go ahead and practice the rest of the letters by studying the exemplar. DeAnn will go over them again at the next class. Practice the letters, then write alphabet words. See DeAnn’s website for a list of alphabet flowers: www.designingletters.com. Go to “About”, then “About Calligraphy.”

NOTE: No class next Monday, 1/17/11, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Class will resume on Monday, 1/24/11.

New Class at RAND in Santa Monica

2011-01-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

The RAND Calligraphy; Book Arts Club is pleased to offer

Carolingian Lettering
A 6-week study of this beautiful, historical alphabet. Open to all levels – Newcomers to calligraphy WELCOME! This alphabet is a good starter, as well as a beautiful addition to the calligraphic repertoire for those with more experience.

In the late 8th century. Charlemagne sent Alcuin of York to find an alphabet to use as the official alphabet of the holy Roman Empire. These letters had to be beautiful, legible and easily and quickly learned. It had to be rapid to write. Carolingian was the outcome. It was preceded by Half Uncial and eventually evolved into cursive Italic. Needs materials for Chisel Point letterforms. chisel point

If you have been thinking of taking a calligraphy class – DON’T WAIT. DeAnn Singh is an excellent instructor, and the number of students is limited so that everyone receives personal attention. This is a golden opportunity. Don't hesitate, sign up NOW!!

                6 Tuesday evening classes
                5:30-7:30 pm
                1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22, 3/1
                Location: RAND Corporation
                Instructor: DeAnn Singh
                Cost: $72

TO ENROLL: Make check payable to Marian Oshiro and send to:
Marian Oshiro, M5N
RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407

FOR MORE INFORMATION:   Send email to "shirleycromb@hotmail.com"
(310-204-3324), Or... "marian_oshiro@rand.org"

November 8, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #8

2010-11-15T22:06:00.001-08:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #8: This was the last class of this semester, so we had a potluck. DeAnn demonstrated filigree and students continued working on their illuminated manuscript projects.

Filigree is a decorative flourish that gracefully transitions the illustrated areas of the page to the blank areas so an abrupt change doesn’t appear to occur. It’s usually done with a copperplate nib (pointed pen nib), which is easier to control than a brush.

Examples of filigree, from Western European Illuminated Manuscripts by Tamara Voronova and Andrei Sterligov.

For the filigree demo on Fataneh’s project, DeAnn used a Hunt 56 nib in a straight pen holder, not the oblique copperplate pen holder. Draw the color from the decorative capital. DeAnn says it’s basically doodles, drawing swirls, ovals, circles and figure-eights.

Fataneh's project before DeAnn added any filigree.

DeAnn started adding some flourishing to the bottom of the floral border. Done with a copperplate nib.

DeAnn also adds some filigree elements within the floral border.

Fataneh's project after DeAnn added filigree.

Tips from Satomi: She uses a bent liner brush for detailed painting.

Satomi using the bent liner brush for precise details.

She also made swatches of various gouache colors and their tints to help her decide which colors to use for her project.

Final step on your finished illuminated manuscript project: attribution. The author’s name should be written in black ink in small Roman capitals below the text block. Line the paper and practice before you write it on the project so it looks neat and straight. Finally, you should sign and date (the year alone is fine) the project with your “artistic signature”, which is not the same as the signature you normally use when signing a check. Your “artistic signature” can be flourishy, but your name is clearly legible.

Detail of Satomi's work in progress

Now some pictures of student’s projects:

Kelly's work in progress

Sheila's work in progress

Elizabethclare's work in progress

Nan's illuminated manuscript project.

Judith's illuminated manuscript project

Detail of Judith's decorative capital

Detail of Judith's margin illustrations

Trini's illuminated manuscript project.

Detail of Trini's decorative capital

Detail of Trini's border illustration.

Next semester DeAnn will be teaching Uncial at Beverly Hills.

November 1, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #7

2010-11-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #7: Today DeAnn helped students with their illuminated manuscript projects in progress. We have one more week of class left, so try to get as much done as possible. If you can do the gilding and the writing of the text this week, you can work on the detailed painting next week.

Satomi brought in her framed illuminated manuscript project from several years ago.

Detail of Satomi's illuminated manuscript project from 2003

Here’s Kelly’s work in progress. She's written her text and traced her design. Next is gilding the decorative capital.

Kelly's project-in-progress

TIP from ElizabethClare: DON’T wash off the gouache with water. Water will crinkle the pergamenata. You can’t iron it flat.

Water has wrinkled the pergamenata

Beware of using composite gold, not real patent gold. Composite gold needs a different sizing, the sobo-glue adhesive isn’t sticky enough. If the “gold leaf” is the 5”x 5” size, then it’s not real gold. Real gold doesn’t come in that size.

Real gold on the left; "fake" gold on the right

The real test is rubbing it between your fingers: real gold will disintegrate between your fingers but the “fake” gold will just wrinkle up and tear apart, but not turn into dust.

Satomi’s work-in-progress: First Satomi practiced her text on the grid paper, then cut it out to design her project. She made a paste-up of her design, where she traced the decorative capital and other decorative elements.

Satomi's paste-up layout

Detail of her paste-up. Note how she wrote her text on grid paper.

Then she made black and white copies so she could try different color combinations. Here’s her mock-up using markers to color.

Note how she tried different colors.

Detail of her mock-up.

Then she traced the finalized design onto the pergamenata, including the text to prevent misspellings.

All elements are traced onto the pergamenata.

Detail of Satomi's final design.

Recap of the steps: For the final piece, write the text and gild the decorative capital first. Then paint the details of the decorative elements.

DeAnn says: Sometimes it’s more important to just get it done. If you wait for perfection, it could take forever (or at least a very long time). You learn from finishing a project on the “good paper” using the right materials.

TIP for avoiding smudging and fingerprints on pergamenata: Satomi uses vellum paper to cover up the borders where she has traced the decorative elements in pencil so that she won’t smudge them while writing her text. She also wears cotton gloves that have the thumb and first two fingers cut out of her writing hand to avoid getting fingerprints and hand-oil on the pergamenata.

If your pergamenata sheet does get smudgy, use DeAnn’s pounce.

Fun Palette Tip from Trini: using an empty chocolate container as your palette.

A conveniently covered palette.

DeAnn suggests writing the text in gouache if possible. Thin the gouache with water until it’s the consistency of ink.

Feeding your pen with gouache by brush: Put your palette on the left – if it’s lightweight, then tape it down so it doesn’t move. You’ll have to stir the gouache each time. Hold the brush in your left hand (assuming you’re writing with your right hand). To feed your pen, brush straight across the pen to feed the reservoir. Do this over the palette so you don’t drip or splatter the paper.

Brush across the side of the nib to fill the reservoir.

Turn the brush around and hold the paper down with the end of your brush while you write. Because gouache dries quickly, you may have to re-wet the nib – just touch it to the brush.

When writing at the small size, hold the brush in your left hand with the brush tip pointing outward while you’re holding the paper down with your left hand. Then reach over to touch your nib to the brush to fill it.

HOMEWORK: try to finish the gilding and text-writing on the project. You can work on the painting with gouache in class if you don’t finish it at home.

October 25, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #7

2010-10-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #7: Today DeAnn demonstrated gilding on a sample decorative capital, then had students practice gilding on their own.

For inspiration, this is long-time DeAnn student Trini's beautiful illuminated manuscript project:

Trini with her beautiful illuminated manuscript piece from a few years ago.

Detail of Trini's piece.

When creating the decorative capital, do the gilding first, then the painting with gouache. The gold could stick to the gouache if you paint first.

Recipe for Adhesive:
2/3 Sobo glue
1/3 water
some red watercolor to tint it so you can see it when dry

sample "M" on pergamenata

Painting the adhesive onto the pergamenata: Don’t use your best brush (i.e. the Winsor & Newton Series 7), but if you have detailed areas, use a brush with a good point. Pull the glue toward you for more control. It’s OK if you go into the design areas, you can always correct that later. Go over the pencil outline to its outer edge.

Paint 3 thin layers of glue. Make sure each layer dries completely before painting on the next layer of glue. Rinse your brush after each layer so that the glue doesn’t dry on the brush.

DeAnn has sheets of patent gold for purchase. She buys in bulk from Easy Leaf.

Use scissors reserved for “gold only” – clean it with silk. Cut a strip of gold if that’s all you need. It’s easier to work with a smaller size suited to the size of your glued area than with the whole sheet.

Once the glue is dry, breathe on it to re-moisten the glue (BEWARE: remove any lipstick or chapstick from your lips first). Then place the gold-leaf on top (gold side down) and press gently.

Remove the backing. Using a soft brush, brush away the excess gold.

Using a #16 blade in your x-acto knife, scrape the edges of the letter to smooth it and remove any gold glued on outside the outline.

Burnish the gold with an agate burnisher. You can also user a Griffold burnisher or other non-agate burnisher, but protect the gold with glassine and burnish over that.

Gilding completed!

After her demo, DeAnn had the students gild letters for practice.

TIP: At the smaller nib size like 1 1/2 mm, right after you dip your pen, the letters can be goopy from too much ink. Put a post-it or a scratch paper nearby to write some zig-zags. A paper towel will just soak up the ink.

TIP from Nan: When working on the pergamenata, try working with a “guard” sheet to protect the pergamenata from oil from your hands. This sheet can also be used to write off the excess ink.

Correcting mistakes on pergamenata: Using the #16 blade, scrape off the mistake. Scrape in all directions to remove the ink. Erase the area with a white eraser (e.g. Staedtler). Once you’ve erased the mistake away, you can write over it.

All gone!

HOMEWORK: Continue practicing your text at 1 ½ mm size. It’s OK to write your text on the pergamenata. Once you have the decorative capital outlined, gild it. DeAnn will help you with any issues next class.

October 18, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #6

2010-10-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #6: DeAnn demonstrated painting with gouache on a sample decorative capital on the pergamenata paper that will be used for the illuminated manuscript project. She also brought many books on illuminated manuscripts for everyone to look at and get ideas for their project. Bring your digital camera to take pictures of the designs that you like.

Practicing on bond paper: Because the Borden & Riley smooth cotton comp paper is transparent enough to see the project template through, DeAnn suggests practicing on that. She has sheets to give or you can buy a pad from her. If you’re still practicing at the 2 ½ mm Brause nib size, go down to the 1 ½ mm Brause nib (x-height = 2 boxes) since that is the size for the project. Practice writing your text.

Using the lead holder with 2H lead: for lining calligraphy projects and tracing letters or decorative, DeAnn highly recommends using a lead holder with 2H lead, because you can’t get a sharper point on a graphite pencil than using the lead pointer on this pencil.

The lead holder will come with HB lead, which is too soft for lining. DeAnn has 2H lead for purchase. To sharpen the lead, push the end of the holder to release quite a bit of lead. Look closely at the top of the lead pointer – there are two holes, one with a sharp triangle, the other with a square top. Place the lead into the hole with the sharp triangle, then push the end of the holder to bring the body of the holder to that level. Then clasp the lead pointer in your left hand, place the lead holder into the cylinder, and rotate clockwise until the grinding noise disappears. Your lead is now very sharp. Push into the white felt pad to remove any graphite dust.

DEMO of painting with gouache: First, trace a decorative capital onto the pergamenata scrap, like the sample “S” handed out in class last week. If you can, use a pencil with 2H lead. 2H lead is also available for mechanical pencils at art stores. DeAnn has lead sharpeners for mechanical pencil lead for purchase.

Gouache is an opaque watercolor. It comes in tubes of various light fastness ratings. DeAnn uses Winsor & Newton Designers’ Gouache. For the illuminated manuscript project, you will need permanent white and at least 3 other colors of your choice. Look at the illuminated manuscript examples for ideas on color combinations. You don’t have to stick to a historical palette (for example, red, blue, and yellow). Try different combinations of colors that you like.

Difference between Permanent white and Zinc white: Permanent white is more opaque, so it’s better for painting and using to mix with other colors. Zinc white has pigment that is ground finer, so it’s better for writing.

Set up your workspace: have 2 water containers, one for dirty, one for clean. Always rinse brush in the dirty container first, then rinse again in the clean container.

Using gouache: DeAnn chose winsor violet and permanent green deep for the sample “P” decorative capital. In a palette with several wells, place a pea-size drop of each color to be used. Start with white. Add 3 drops of water and stir until it has no lumps and has a creamy consistency.

NOTE: You can let gouache dry and reconstitute it with water to use again later. Let it dry uncovered (or covered with wax paper). If you seal it while still wet, it could mold. Once the gouache is dry, then seal it with plastic wrap or clear packing tape over the wells.

For the colors, put white next to each color. Add the tiniest bit of color, then a drop of water, to mix a tint. Winsor violet is a rich color, so be careful to only add a little color at one time.

Paint half the letter in the full color, then half in that color’s tint. Make sure the first color is dry before painting on the other half. Paint right over the pencil outline. Paint toward yourself for more control. Stir the gouache often because it will settle.

Once all the paint is dry, “diaper” them with permanent white gouache. With a small pointed brush (e.g. size 0/0), decorate with lines, cross-hatching, or dots. “Palette” the brush so it’s sharp; this means to twirl the brush against the back of your hand or a flat part of your palette to make it pointed. DeAnn highly recommends the Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush for these fine details, but Utrecht also makes a good brush that may be more economical.

Once you’re done painting, clean up the edges with an X-acto knife with the #16 blade. (TIP: Every calligrapher should have the #11 blade and #16 blade.)

Outline in black with a Pigma Micron 005 pen.

REMEMBER: Illumination can never be too gaudy!

Satomi's Example "H"

Note the diapering in the acanthus leaves.

Acanthus leaves were a popular decorative element in illuminated manuscripts.

dots as a decorative element

Decorative capitals within the text: You can paint smaller decorative capitals within the text or in the left margin in the colors used in the project.

HOMEWORK: Continue practicing your text – definitely move down to the 1 ½ mm Brause nib. Practice writing your text on the Cotton Comp paper using the project template as a guide.

Illumination Instructions and Materials List

2010-10-18T19:31:00.001-07:00

Illuminated Manuscript Project Sequence by DeAnn Singh

Materials:
Text: poem, song lyrics, excerpt from long piece, about 50 - 100 words
Template
Exemplars for Versals and Lombardic
Pergamenata paper
1 1/2 mm Brause nib
Black ink or gouache
Watercolor pointed brush, size 00 and 1, synthetic or sable. I like Winsor & Newton Series 7. Utrecht makes nice brushes also. Get equivalent size to W/N.
Gouache in 3 colors plus zinc white or permanent white.
Gilding supplies (provided in class) include: gold leaf, adhesive, burnishers
Pigma Micron 005 pen
X-Acto knife with #16 blade
Pencil with 2H lead

Illuminated Manuscript Project Steps:
It’s about a 5-hour project. Do one step at a time and don’t get overwhelmed.
Design Piece and choose text (poem, song lyrics, excerpt from long piece)
Write words – figure out how many will work. Cut & Paste words and illumination. TIP: use re-movable Scotch Tape (with blue plaid)
Trace Decorated Capital that is the first letter of your text and any other decorative elements.
Trace onto the pergamenata paper with a 2H or harder lead. It won’t smudge as much (DeAnn has some for sale).
Get all prepared.
On the original (i.e. Pergamenata paper using the project template)
Trace Design
Draw the first few words in Lombardic and Romans (follow project template)
Write Text in black ink with 1 1/2 mm Brause nib
Gild (see Gilding Notes)
Paint versals & decorated capital design & any decorative capitals within the text
Text: It should be about 50 – 60 words and can be from scriptures, classic poetry, or just pretty poetry that you like. Even if the poem or original text is too long, you can choose an excerpt for your project. For the Gothic template, about 75 words will fit into the text area.

template

Project Template: the waist-base lines which you’ll write on are highlighted so that they’ll be clearly visible even under the pergamenata paper to be used for the project. Use the 1 1/2 mm Brause nib with black ink for the body. You will be drawing & painting in the initial decorative capital and the first four lines.

TIP: Look at Books or online for Ideas. Many books about illuminated manuscripts and decorative capital letters will be available in class for you to look at and trace/photograph.

When looking at books and other sources for ideas, consider:
Color Schemes – e.g. Red-Blue-Green; usually 3 colors & their tints.
Style - i.e. Flemish, Celtic, Leaves, white vine
Trace Letters or Designs – you can Xerox the decorative capital bigger or smaller to the desired size needed for the project
Use digital camera to take pictures of manuscript pages, letters and decorations that you like. You can download these to your computer and resize as needed.

Don’t get overwhelmed – as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do!” Work on one step at a time.

TIP: whenever you feel overwhelmed, practice your text.

Recipe for adhesive for flat gilding
2/3 part Sobo glue
1/3 part Water
Make in small jar
Add a tiny amount of red or orange watercolor to tint it lightly so that you can see where you’ve painted the glue. Red or orange color will enhance the gold color.

Demonstration of Illuminating a Decorative initial capital letter:
(see Gilding Notes for detailed instructions on Gilding) The handouts were the sample initial capital (an “S”), a piece of pergamenata paper and a piece of palette paper to work on, as well as samples of Lombardic & Versals.

Illuminating a letter:
Choose 3 colors (one of the greens) and zinc white. Gouache, an opaque watercolor, is used for the paint. Place a dab of each color on the palette paper; even if it dries, you can reconstitute it with water.
Trace pattern (initial capital) onto Pergamenata paper. A pencil that you can use for outlining is the Staedtler lead holder, which is a mechanical drafting pencil. Its sharpener has both a sharp & dull setting and also a pad to brush off the excess graphite after sharpening. Use 2H lead.
Paint glue (adhesive for gold leaf, recipe: 2/3 Sobo glue, 1/3 water) onto initial capital with pointed brush (e.g. size 0 or 1). Try to paint on a smooth layer (you’ll be painting 3 layers). Let dry, then paint another layer. Cover the pencil outline.
Rinse brush frequently; don’t let the glue dry on the brush. TIP: Don’t let the brush sit in the water, the tip will be ruined.
For the colors, put permanent white next to each color. Add the tiniest bit of color, then a drop of water, to mix a tint. (TIP: have 2 water containers, one for dirty, one for clean. Always rinse brush in the dirty container first, then rinse in the clean container).
Don’t paint any of the decorative elements around the “S” yet (you don’t want the gold to stick to the painted areas). You can start painting the decorative elements elsewhere.

Paint each leaf half of one color, half in that color’s tint. Maker sure the first color is dry before painting on the other half.
Once all the leaves are painted & dry, “diaper” them with permanent white gouache. With a small pointed brush (e.g. size 0/0), decorate each leaf with lines, cross-hatching, or dots.
Once the gold leaf adhesive is dry, you’re ready to apply the gold leaf. To prepare, clean a “gold only” pair of scissors with silk – you don’t want any sizing on the scissors or else the gold will stick to them. Cut the sheet of gold leaf to the estimated size of the initial cap.
Breathe on the glue so that it absorbs some moisture. Then place the gold leaf on it and press gently all around. Press the outlines, making sure the sides (the glue will be slightly raised) are also completely covered with the gold leaf.
Remove the backing paper carefully so that you can save any gold that sticks to the paper.
Place a piece of glassine (acid-free, non-stick paper; the Post Office envelopes for stamps are glass-ine) over the gold leaf and press the outlines, making sure the sides (the glue will be slightly raised) are also completely.

Burnish the gold leaf (several types of burnishers in different shapes & sizes: e.g. Griffold, Agate).
Clean up the edges with an X-acto knife with the #16 blade. (TIP: Every calligrapher should have the #11 blade and #16 blade.) Scrape toward you to clean the edges of excess gold.
Paint background of the gold “S” with gouache (choose a color that will make the gold “pop”; e.g. yellow is not a good choice.)
Once you’re done painting, outline the gold “S” with the Micron Pigma 005 pen.
Outline each leaf in black with a Pigma Micron 005 pen.
Paint the stems with the small pointed brush in green, then again right next to that stroke with the green tint.

REMEMBER: with illumination, you can never be too garish!

TIP for drawing a leaf (i.e. a pointy ivy leaf like the ones in the illuminated manuscripts): draw a square. Then draw half-circles on each side. Erase the straight lines of the half-circles & you’re left with a leaf-shape.

Demonstration of painting Versals: Versals are drawn letters. Draw them for the first 2 lines of the proj-ect. Use the Versals handout that DeAnn Xeroxed to the correct size (1/2-inch x-height) to trace them. Paint them in the gouache colors that you’re using in your decorated capital with a very pointy brush.
Tip to decorate the background of your Decorated Capital: Use “diapering” so that you don’t have large areas of just one paint color. Diapering is cross-hatching, or drawing swirling vines, or painting small circles or dots, to fill a solid-color space.
If you feel the margins are too “empty,” fill it with filigree – ovals and figure-eights with a pointed brush, or use a Copperplate nib for really thin lines. Just fill the Copperplate nib with the gouache and draw the filigree lines.

To prevent your block of text from looking like the writing had been written by 3 different people, DeAnn’s advice is: schedule time when you’ll have no distractions because writing takes concentration. Then take the time to set-up your area correctly and have everything you’ll use readily at hand. Write for 20 minutes to warm-up, then write on the pergamenata paper. If you can’t finish writing all the text for your project in one sitting, warm-up for about 20 minutes before continuing the next time.

October 11, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #5

2010-10-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

NOTE: more photos are coming - thanks for your patience!

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #5: DeAnn went over the illuminated manuscript project and explained the different elements involved. The 2 main handouts were a sheet of Lombardic capitals and a sheet of Versals (Roman) capitals. She also passed out her Gilding Notes and various examples of decorative capitals to the beginners.

Illuminated Manuscript Project Template explanation: The decorative capital, which is the first letter of your text, goes into the 2 x 2 inch square. The title of your text (whether it’s a poem, excerpt, or song lyrics) will not appear in your piece; nor will the author’s name. The text will continue without spacing or punctuation on the four lines to the right of the decorative capital.

The first two lines (x-height = ½ inch) are the Lombardic capitals. Intermediates can put decorative elements in the first line and have only one line of Lombardics if they want. The next two lines (x-height = 3/8 inch) are the Roman Versals. Then the rest of the text will be written in Fraktur below at an x-height of 1/4 inch with the 1 ½ mm Brause nib.

Ink on pergamanatta: Students have had difficulty using Higgins Eternal on the pergamenata. It may be easier to use sumi, watercolor, or gouache (more on gouache below).

Example of Illuminated Manuscript project from Gothic Textura semester.

Materials you will need for the Illuminated Manuscript Project:
1. Round watercolor brush with pointed tip; e.g. Winsor Newton Series 7 in size 0 and in size 1 (2 brushes). Because these are expensive brushes, you may prefer to get a version that Utrecht or Dick Blick makes, which will work just as well for this project.
2. Gouache = opaque watercolors. You will need Permanent White and a few other colors of your choice. DeAnn will provide some in class, but if you prefer a certain palette of colors, she may not have all the colors you want to use.
3. Palette for your gouache. This can be a small 6-well plastic palette or one that comes with a cover. Even if the gouache dries, you can reconstitute it with water and it works fine.
4. Micron Pigma 005 Pen in black. This is a very fine tip permanent black ink marker.
5. Pencil with 2H lead (can be a sketch or mechanical pencil; or a 2mm Lead Holder if you have one). A #2 pencil has HB lead. You’ll need one with harder lead for this project so your lines won’t smudge.
6. Pergamenata paper – DeAnn will provide this.

The 1 1/2 mm Brause nib and black ink will be used for writing the text in the Illuminated Manuscript Project. Once you’ve moved down to writing with the 1 1/2 mm nib, practice writing out your text on thin paper (e.g. Cotton Comp from Borden & Riley) placed on top of the template so you can see the guide-lines through it. This way, you won’t have to line the paper each time.

Bring your digital camera so that you can take pictures of illuminated manuscript examples that you like. DeAnn will bring many books on illuminated manuscripts and decorative letters. You can download the photos you take to your computer and resize them as needed to use in your illuminated manuscript project. Search on the web for illuminated manuscript examples; start getting an idea of what type of decorative capital you might be interested in using.

DeAnn showed us samples of gilding and real vellum. For the class project, we’ll be using a mixture of Sobo glue and water to adhere the gold to the pergamenata.

HOMEWORK: Definitely find the text you want to use for the project; practice writing it. If you’re comfortable with the 2 ½ mm Brause nib, then go down to the 1 ½ mm Brause nib, which will be the size used for the project. However, if you’re still practicing at 5mm, then go down to the 2 1/2 mm. Don’t skip a size – if you’ve been writing with the 5 mm, then go down to the 2 ½ mm (x-height = ½ inch, 4 boxes).

October 4, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #4

2010-10-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #4: DeAnn went over the Fraktur capital letters. The warm-up was writing the Fraktur letters and words with the 5mm Brause nib. Students came up to have DeAnn critique their writing and demonstrate on their sheet with a Zig calligraphy marker.

The handouts were 6 sheets on capitals: Fraktur capitals exemplar with ductus (stroke sequence), Fraktur capitals written for DeAnn by German calligrapher Karlgeorg Hoefer (which the exemplar is based on), the Fraktur page from Claude Mediavilla’s book “Calligraphy”, a practice sheet from DeAnn’s past student, and two sheets of capital variations.

DeAnn’s goal is to teach us the Fraktur capitals done in the classic way, then show us variations that we can base modifications on. She also wants to show us different examples so that we can see how the letterforms looked in their historical context. By knowing the alternate letterforms, we’ll be able to recognize the letters when we look at historic manuscripts.

Fraktur Capitals: these are 7 pen widths tall. For class, use the space from the baseline to the ascender, which is roughly 7 pen-widths (almost 11 boxes on the grid paper). The pen angle is slightly flatter, at 40-degrees, so that the downstrokes are thicker. Study the exemplar and the ductus or stroke sequence. Some of the letters have strokes that can be written in 2 strokes or 1 (noted below).

TIP: never use these capitals together for a word in all-capitals!

Notes on individual letters:

I : end the downstroke 1 pen-width (at 40-degrees) above the baseline so that it can meet the second stroke.

J : like an “I” but end the downstroke slightly below the baseline. The crossbar is about halfway, so roughly 6 boxes from the baseline.

L : you can make the body of the “L” in 2 separate strokes where you pick up the pen, as on the exemplar (note the wedge shape), or all in one stroke.

T : stroke 1 starts at the ascender, then make a hairline of 1 pen-width, then stroke down. Stroke 3 has a slight curve going in and going out, but it fairly straight in between.

Alternate T : stroke 1 is similar to the O-shape (see below). Don’t curve outward too much.

F : downstroke has a slight s-shape, not a straight downstroke. Press to release some ink and pull a hairline with the edge of your nib for stroke 3.

O : for the O-family of letters (O, C, G, Q, S), think in terms of the O-shape. Start 1 pen-width below the ascender, go down, then over. Notice that stroke 1 does not curve outward very much.

alternate A

A : doesn’t look too much like the current A-letterform, so an alternate letterform is provided (see end of exemplar). Note that the alternate stroke 3 is diagonal, not straight up and down like the classic form.

B : make stroke 2 long enough that it can meet stroke 3 smoothly.

U : make stroke 2 long enough to connect with stroke 3.

D : start stroke 3 at least at the margin where stroke 2 starts; can start a little sooner.

H : don’t make stroke 3 too wavy; it shouldn’t look like a flag waving in the wind.

K : stroke 4 should end beyond the end of stroke 3.

M : in your mind, think of stroke 3 as fractures that have been rounded. The crossbar (stroke 5) is a decoration to break-up some of the inner whitespace.

P : stroke 2 and 3 are slightly above the baseline.

V : make stroke 2 long enough to connect with stroke 3; if the letter looks like it’s falling over, then stroke 2 isn’t long enough.

X : an alternate stroke sequence is to continue stroke 1 beyond the baseline to form the descender stroke (stroke 2 on the exemplar). Then the strokes on the right branch off from the stem stroke.

Y : the last letterform on the exemplar is a “Y” (not an “N”); this letterform appears in historical manuscripts.

Practice writing capitalized words. DeAnn thinks of the texture of Fraktur as lace, like a crocheted lace doily. When writing, be steady and keep going; find your rhythm.

Next week: DeAnn will demonstrate gilding with gold and how to trace letters onto the sheet for the illuminated manuscript project.

HOMEWORK: Practice the capital letters. Write alphabet flower names to practice writing words using all the letters. Try alternate capital letterforms from the handout. Once you feel comfortable with the 5mm Brause nib, go down to the 2 ½ mm Brause nib (x-height = 1/2-inch or 4 boxes, 2 boxes for the ascender/descender).

Also think about the text you want to use for the project. It should be about 40 words.

September 27, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #3

2010-09-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #3: DeAnn put pretty music on while the students warmed up or lined paper. The warm-up was writing the Fraktur letters and words. Students came up to have DeAnn critique their writing and demonstrate on their sheet with a Zig calligraphy marker. DeAnn also reviewed proper posture and set-up to prevent body aches and pains.

DeAnn reviewed common mistakes she saw in the homework:

o : should be symmetrical around the vertical axis. If you look at it upside down, it should look the same.

u : don’t end the initial vertical stroke too low, so you can start the rectangle stroke higher.

b, f, h, l : start the vertical stroke with a tiny bit of curve at the ascender, to smooth the transition of the hairline.

alternate f : instead of rectangle stroke ending with a curve, bring it down in a hairline into the cross-stroke.

w : after the initial curve, start the rectangle stroke high enough, then the direction change stroke low enough to reach the waist.

x : soften the fractures just enough so that they’re smooth transitions, but not too curvy. Start stroke 2 high within the stem stroke so that it smoothly branches outward.

m : start with a softened version of the square-stroke-serif vertical stroke. If the last stroke curves out, put that vertical stroke closer because the curving out adds white space to that last inner space. An alternate ending to “m” or “n” is to bring the stroke down toward the descender.

d : don’t overlap the vertical strokes, so start at the waistline and be sure that the final stroke doesn’t overlap the first stroke.

a : don’t curve the first stroke too wide. Look closely at the Exemplar, the first curve stroke is fairly straight. Stop the rectangle stroke when it’s even with the end of the first curve stroke.

Letter Spacing: all the inner white spaces should be similar. If the letter form’s strokes are all straight (e.g. “minimum”), then the spaces between the strokes should be the same. The difficulty comes in judging the correct spacing between curved and straight strokes. If two curves are next to each other (e.g. “oo”), they can be very close together, even overlapping. A particularly difficult letter combination is “ev” – DeAnn is thinking of creating an alternate “v” that will fit in better next to the “e”.

For letters that have a “hangover” like “c”, “e”, “r”, “t”, “f”, “x”, leave the square serif off of the next letter and overlap or tuck underneath to start the down-stroke. E.g. er, ru, ei, ci, ce.

General rule of thumb on spacing: write out “minimum” with the correct spacing. The overall “color” of the text should match that of “minimum” – by “color”, DeAnn means how the text looks at a distance while squinting your eyes.

TIP: after writing out text, hang it on the wall and take a break. Then come back and stand some distance from it and squint your eyes. Do any white spots stand out? Do you see any dark spots? Those are the areas that are spaced too far apart or too close together.

REMEMBER: It’s more important to get the spacing correct than each individual letterform being perfect. Even if some of your letters don’t look very good, your piece will still look good with the correct spacing. But even if you have beautiful individual letters, your piece will not look good if your spacing is not correct.

Illuminated Manuscript Project: start thinking about what text you may want to use. Any text that you like is OK. You’ll need about 40 words, but even if your text is too long, you can edit an excerpt from it.

Example from Gothic Textura semester

Next week DeAnn will go over the capital letters using the 5mm Brause nib.

HOMEWORK: Beginners, continue writing words, then go on to write alphabet sentences .

Intermediates can go down to the 2 ½ mm Brause nib. The x-height is ½-inch (4 boxes); use an ascender/descender of 2 boxes (1/4 inch). Practice alphabet sentences and text, if you find something you like for the project.

September 20, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #2

2010-09-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

NOTE: More Photos are coming! Click on a photo to see a bigger image of it.
Beverly Hills Adult School Class #2: Today DeAnn demonstrated the lower case Fraktur letters. She collected homework at the beginning of class. She highly recommends turning in homework so that she can correct and return it to you. If you haven’t done any at home, you can turn in the practice sheet you did in class.

The Bienfang paper (with the light blue lines) may bleed when you write, especially at the 5mm size. Use pounce (DeAnn has it available for the class) to fix bleeding. Pounce can also erase fingerprints. It’s often used on envelopes that are difficult to write on.

DeAnn reviewed the basics of pen angle and lining the paper.

Pen Angle: A pen angle of 0-degrees creates the thickest down-stroke the Brause chisel point nib can make. It also makes the thinnest cross-stroke (horizontal stroke). A pen angle of 90-degrees creates the thinnest down-stroke and thickest cross-stroke. The pen angle for Fraktur is 45-degree, which makes the down-stroke the same width as the cross-stroke. To keep the vertical strokes the same width, don’t turn your wrist at all during the down-strokes. Move your whole arm. Using your left hand (non-writing hand) as a weight will enable you to freely move your right hand/arm (writing hand).

Lining the grid paper: Using the 18” C-thru ruler easily creates a 2-inch margin on each side of the 17x22 sheet. By placing it in the middle, you don’t have to move it back & forth, just downward as you draw the lines with a sharp pencil.

For the 5mm Brause , the x-height (width between waist to base) for Fraktur is 5 pen widths (not to be confused with boxes on the grid paper), which is 1-inch or 8 boxes on the grid paper. The space from the waist to the ascender is 2 pen widths, which is 3 boxes; the space from the base to the descender is also 2 pen-widths, or 3 boxes. The ascender is also called an extender. Line the sheet so that the darker-blue (or thicker black for the Bee Paper) lines will form the x-height every other inch. Then divide the 8 boxes in-between in 3-2-3 boxes; the first 3 are the descender, then 2 boxes for inter-linear space (space between lines of writing), then 3 boxes for the ascender of the next line. DeAnn suggests lining the paper once, then cutting that strip to create a template that you can just place against a clean sheet so you don’t have to measure each time.

DeAnn says: Practice is rehearsal! Set up your tools and yourself correctly so you can write in an organized fashion and learn good writing habits.

Only practice on 1-side of the Bienfang paper. Once written on, the sheet will pucker and the writing will be visible from the other side too. However, the Bee Paper with the black lines is thick enough that you can try writing on the back too. Note: One side of the Bee Paper has 8 boxes per inch and the other side has 10 boxes per inch.

Parallel pens: DeAnn prefers that beginning students practice exclusively with the chisel point nib, not markers or fountain pens. Markers can be made to write however you hold them, but DeAnn’s goal is to teach the correct way of writing the letterforms and she doesn’t want beginners to develop bad habits. Once you can write with the chisel point nib, you can write with anything. That being said, the parallel pen is a fountain pen with a good chisel point. So if intermediate students want to practice with the parallel pen, DeAnn has a few sizes available for sale.

Hints for Fraktur strokes:
Square: starting with the 45-degree pen angle, stroke in the direction opposite of pen angle, until the length is same as the width. This is the thickest your pen will write. Practice this without the serif to get an idea of what the square shape looks like.

Rectangle: start with the same 45-degree pen angle as the square, but stroke in a flatter direction.

Caution: don’t let the serifs get too curvy. You don’t want to obscure the vertical strokes.

Curve: start down at 1 whole pen width

Direction change: entrance serif, then a slight s-curve in the downstroke

Dot: like a comma; tiny bit of serif to start

To create the lowercase Fraktur letters, use these strokes to form the letters. Pay close attention to the Exemplar and compare it to your own letters. Pay particular attention to the white space (or inner space) of the letters like a, o, etc.

Notes on individual letters:

i : The vertical stroke doesn’t quite reach the waist-line. Until this period, “i”s weren’t dotted. The dot is also called a jot or tittle.

j : like the “i”, but pull the vertical stroke all the way to the descender, letting it end at the regular pen angle so that it tapers

l : start at ascender for the vertical stroke. You can put the square stroke decoration next (#2 stroke), then pull the top serif as #3. To make the thin line, use the left edge of your nib and draw the line using ink that’s pooled at the top of the vertical stroke. If there isn’t any pooled ink, squeeze some out of your nib by setting it at the beginning of the vertical stroke and pressing. Then draw out the line with the edge of your nib.

t : place the left side of the nib on the waistline to start the vertical stroke. For the crossbar, put the right side of the nib on the waistline, then pull the cross-stroke. Becase of the 45-degree pen angle, both angles should match.

o : should be about 5 boxes wide. Look at the white space (the inner space) carefully when comparing your letter to the Exemplar.

c : First, let’s do the alternate “c” at the bottom of the Exemplar, which is more similar to the “o”. For the ending serif, twist your pen so that you can draw a line downward with the left edge of the nib. Beginners, if that’s too difficult to do right now, don’t worry about it – leave it as a rectangular stroke. If you’re using the Brause wooden pen-holder, then you have to twist your hand; but if you’re using a pen-holder with a round ferrule, then you can roll it between your fingers.

d : for the alternate “d” at the bottom of the Exemplar – see where the left edge of the curve stroke is and move your eye upward so that you can start stroke #2 at the ascender with the same left edge but crossing it slightly.

q : for the rectangle stroke, match the left side of stroke to the vertical stroke. For the end, roll onto left edge of nib but you don’t have to do it for now if you can’t.

a : curve – rectangle – vertical stroke comes down toward the baseline, but just before it, take curve up just barely.

g : like the “q”, match the left side of rectangle stroke to the vertical stroke, which curves out at the baseline (similar to the “a”) but then stops. Rectangle stroke meets it for the lower stroke.

c and d from top of Exemplar: start a whole pen width (at 45-degrees) from the waistline to leave room for the rectangle stroke. Start with a slight serif and some curve. Then for the “c”, a rectangle stroke with decorative serif which goes down, NOT in. You don’t want to create a dark spot that will make it look like an “e”. For the “d”, start the last stroke at the ascender with the same left edge as the first stroke.

b : start the vertical stroke at the ascender (this is also called the stem stroke). For the direction change stroke, start the serif at the stem stroke about ¼ away from the waistline. If you start too low, the white space maybe too narrow. The last stroke is a “thorn” – this type of decoration will also be used in the capitals.

e : like the “c”, start one whole pen width (at 45-degrees) below the waistline. Then the rectangle stroke goes all the way in. You can also write an alternate “e” similar to the “c” at the bottom of the Exemplar.

f : start one pen width (at 45-degrees) below the ascender. You can stop the vertical stroke as it approaches the descender or twist onto the left side of your nib to make the serif. Be careful not to make the rectangle stroke look like a flag blowing in the wind. The cross-stroke at the waistline should end at the same right edge as the rectangle stroke.

h : the square stroke is a decoration, so don’t overdo it. The direction change stroke goes down to the descender.

k : Alternate stroke sequence – you can do the square stroke second, then the serif for the vertical stroke.

m : start at the waistline with a small serif, then make vertical stroke – square – then hairline that goes up and then over – square – then hairline into a rectangle stroke that ends into a vertical stroke with an exit serif.

n: like the second half of the “m”; white space inside should be similar to that of the m.

p : start at the ascender, like a flame at the top, then into a vertical stroke that you can stop or roll onto the left edge of the nib to taper off. The final rectangle stroke has a curvy entrance.

s : think of the “s” within an “o” to achieve the correct width. Practice the first two strokes on top of an “o”.

v : the first stroke is like the second stroke of the “o”. When writing the direction change stroke, look at the point where you want it to meet the rectangle stroke.

w : start with a hairline at the waistline, then curve slightly above it before pulling the stroke toward the baseline. Then the rest is the “v” twice.

x : start at the waistline with a hairline, then over and down and over again, ending with an exit serif. Stroke 3 is like a square beginning with a hairline from the stem stroke. The cross-stroke should end at about the same right margin as the bottom corner of the square stroke.

y : live the “v” except swing the direction stroke beyond the rectangle stroke, then down to the ascender. Start stroke 4 with the same left edge as the rectangle stroke of stroke 2.

You can use the alternate letter forms within the same text. Depending on the letter-order or spacing, one form may be a better fit. Experiment!

Be aware: are all the white spaces the same? For example, the inner space of the “a” should be the same as that of the “o” and “n”. Don’t overdo the serifs on the square and rectangle strokes. It may be better to leave off the serifs for now to concentrate on the letter forms themselves.

Cleaning the Brause chisel point nib: Usually, wiping off the nib is enough between practice sessions. But if it has become crusty with dried ink, then it should be rinsed in water. To remove the nib from the holder, hold the nib in a rag – the sharp metal of the nib can cut your finger – and pull it out of the holder. Still holding the nib in the rag, then pull the reservoir off of the nib. Don’t let the reservoir wash down the drain! Put it aside. Wash the nib under running water and dry it off – because Higgins Eternal ink is not waterproof, it should eventually dissolve off the nib when it’s washed. Use an old soft toothbrush if you need to scrub it some more.

Putting the nib back together: Make sure the nib and reservoir are dry; then put the reservoir on your finger (flat side down). Place the nib into it and hold onto the reservoir with your thumb and first finger as you push the nib back in .

HOMEWORK: Practice the letters this week. If you feel comfortable with them, beginners can start writing words. Go to DeAnn’s website to get the list of “Words to Use for Spacing” which are words that emphasize spacing issues between letters. DeAnn's website is http://www.designingletters.com/ Go to "About", then "About Calligraphy" and you'll see a list of Homework items.

Intermediates can go ahead and write alphabet sentences after writing the letters and then the words.

TIP: Try to practice 15 minutes a day, rather than an hour Sunday night before class. A little more often is better practice than a longer session just once a week.

Beverly Hills Journaling Class

2010-09-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

Journaling Lesson Sequence and Thoughts

Illustration

So you’re not an artist. You don’t draw, paint, sketch, or even doodle well enough for a Post-It note. Have no fear. Your journals are an expression of your personal vision, private places to create as you see fit. Sometimes, it’s hard not to feel intimidated when you see other artist’s journals. Remember that your personal books are not finished artwork. They’re not about the results as much as they are about process. Your journals are along for the journey whether you’re the Da Vinci or, like the rest of us, your’re not.

Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand

Content

If you’re creating a journal specifically to document your personal history, you may find these types of books inspirational. Many contain s prompts to get the creative juices flowing . Try creating your own personal prompts such as the ones listed below. Keep your list somewhere in your journal to get you motivated when you find yourself staring at the blank page.

Once again, I don’t know what to write..

The last time this happened I….

This is who I am today…

This is what I did today….

This is what I like best/least about this (journal, pen, day, place, house, life, body)….

I keep journals because…

I wish I was…/ I’m glad I’m not…

If I could write in my journal to anyone it would be…

The next artistic technique I’m going to attempt in my journal is…..

The best thing about my journal is…

Transfer Technique:

Materials needed: regular acetone, Chart-Pak burnisher, removable scotch tape, paper to use as a cushion, a glass container to put the acetone into. You must use a color or black and white Xerox or laser copy. It needs to be toner not from an inkjet printer. If the copy has lettering or needs to be printed in a particular direction then make the copy in the “mirror” image so when it prints it will be in the correct direction.

Making a handmade journal. (closed: 5x7 or 8.5x11”)

Bring papers of different colors and textures also maps add a nice touch. We will combine them into a simple multi-signature binding. We will sew them with a 3-hole pamphlet stitch. I’ll bring some Tyvek to make the covers. If you have acrylic paint or ink, bring that with you along with large brushes and old credit cards or similar type tool to spread the paint. If you want thread that is colored bring that or embroidery thread. I have some colors and plain.

Pop-Ups

Beverly Hills Journaling Class

2010-09-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is the lesson sequence from last semester for the new students.

Journaling Lesson Sequence

There is no “must” in art, because art is free. Wassily Kandinsky

Material from Keeping a Watercolor Sketchbook by Brenda Swenson

Materials and Techniques to Try

Water soluble pens.

Using Water-Soluble Pens. For these sketches, water-soluble pens are very useful. Once I’ve drawn the general shapes with this tool. I can wet the edge of my lines with a damp brush and easily create form and shadow. I can even go back and add more color with my pen if I want,

Pencils, ink, watercolors, erasers; white plastic, kneaded eraser.
Permanent pens keep your drawing from being affected by water.
Colors; what paints are you using? Do you understand these paints?
Sponges,

Color Study

What is value? It’s the way the eye reads light or dark. Most people are familiar with a gray scale of values, but colors also have a scale of tonal values. Yellows have the lightest hues, greens and reds have mid-range hues, and purples have the darkest hues. It’s easier to see values when squinting.

Saving and Retrieving Whites

Lifting color with masking. Protect the surrounding color with artist’s tape, then lightly scrub with a damp sponge to remove color.

Lifting color without masking. Using a stiff brush loaded with clean water, gently scrub the paper to remove color.

Masking fluid. this rubbery substance can mask whites. Apply the mask, paint over it and then rub off the mask when the paint is dry.

Scraping with a razor. For small areas you can apply a razor to already-dried paint to gently scrape off lines of surface color.

Scraping with a knife. When damp paper has just lost its shine, you can use a palette knife to scrape off color.

Testing Transparency. Although watercolor is a translucent medium, not all paint colors are equally transparent. Knowing the strength of your colors’ transparency will help you predict how the colors will interact. Test each watercolor’s opacity by painting it over a dry band of water proof black ink. If the hue is visible on top of the line when the paint is dry, the color is opaque. You can also try overlapping different colors from you palette to avoid surprises when you combine the paints in your sketches.

Overlapping Colors to Test Transparency. Colors that are more opaque than the yellow shown here (new gamboges) will seem to float above the yellow line, whereas colors that are more transparent will seem to sink below it. Even semi-opaque colors will appear transparent if diluted with enough water.

Glazing Colors. Because of their transparent nature, watercolors can be glazed on top of one another. The under-color will affect the top color, but the effect varies depending on the transparency of the colors used. Paints with the same quality of transparency will produce more equal visual blends.

Granulating Colors. Certain pigment (such as manganese blue, raw sienna, and cobalt blue) granulate- meaning their pigments separate from the binder and settle into the grooves of textured paper. These colors can produce exciting effects, especially when depicting rusted metal, rocks, or wood. Experiment by mixing them with other colors or try them alone.

Mixing Greens. You may have already noticed that I don’t keep any green paints on my palette. I find that the ranges of greens I can mix with my existing colors are richer,m more varied, and more natural than those that come straight from the tube. Try mixing the blues and yellows from your palette to sample some of the many possible combinations.

Drawing what you see

There is a big difference between sketching what you actually see and sketching what you think you see. Because we have expectations about what we will see, in truth, we spend very little time looking. Take a few minutes to explore with your eyes. Don’t just register the objects around you , but look at their shape-or the many shapes that comprise one object. Notice how light affects the edges of objects,, and pay attention to whether the shadows are long or short. Then note if the colors are bright or muted. If you take the time to slow down enough to really look at the world around you, you may find that you begin to see things in a different way-and you may even see some things for the very first time!

Simplifying Objects into Shapes and Forms

Every object is a three-dimensional form based on some combination of four basic geometric shapes the circle, oval. rectangle and triangle. Learning to see and recognize the shapes and forms in the objects surrounding you in essential if you want to create realistic sketches. It’s much easier to depict an object once we are able to break it down into simple shapes and forms!

Shapes-Forms

Circle-Sphere

Oval-cylinder

Rectangle-Cube

Triangle-Cone

Try turning everything into these elements. Combine these elements to become your subject.

Contour Drawing

Contour drawing is an excellent way to exercise your observation skills because it forces you to slow down and concentrate on the subject at hand. To create a contour drawing, first acknowledge the overall shape of your subject; then concentrate on one edge-or contour-at a time, To make a contour drawing carefully draw each edge as you follow it with your eyes, Focus on one edge at a time and draw exactly what you see. There’s beauty in a well-done line drawing.

If you would like to challenge yourself, you can also try making a continual-line contour drawing. With this approach, you draw the entire subject entirely without ever lifting your pen. Find a starting point. place your pen on the page and begin drawing the outline of your subject. Don’t pick up the pen until you have finished. The subject usually becomes a little distorted when working this way, but I think of the distortion as part of the charm.

Contour drawings are direct and honest representations of what you see-and they allow you to say so much with so little!

Recording Details

Break a scene down from a large to a small detail. Instead of drawing the whole valley of wildflowers, pick a few single blossoms to render.

Working in Monochrome

I typically draw with a colored water-soluble pen, pulling color from the line to lightly tint the paper. In the darker passages, I use the pen alone, without diluting the ink with water. You can also approach a monochromatic study by drawing the scene in pencil or pen and then tinting the paper with any one watercolor hue.

Monochromatic sketches done in sepia or burnt sienna have an old-world feel, similar to that of a tinted photo from long ago.

Simplifying with Vignettes

The vignette is an open format that keeps information out of the corners and touches the border in only two or three spots. The uncomplicated design give the sketch a somewhat unfinished appearance, allowing a more spontaneous approach, I typically limit myself to four colors when working in a vignette format-applying a simplified palette to a simplified format. Try putting an outline around the drawing. (framing)

Finding the Best Format

Square, Vertical, Horizontal (both rectangles). Panarama rectangles(high contrast ratio); vertical and horizontal

Choosing a Viewpoint

Eye level, Bird’s eye view (above eye level), Worm’s eye view (below). These distinct viewpoints can add a more dramatic feel to even the most ordinary subjects. To experiment with points of view place your horizon either lower or higher on your page; then alter the angle-or perspective-accordingly, as shown in the examples here. You’ll often find that artists use more exaggerated points of view when painting landscapes and city scenes but still lifes and interiors can benefit from a slightly different perspective as well.

Rearranging Elements

Be willing to edit what you’re drawing and combine things that don’t necessarily really exist. Take a little of this and a little of that and combine them into one drawing or painting. Or make a Visual Collage of multiple images onto one page.

Color Awareness

It’s a good idea to make your own color wheel, so you can experiment with the color and how to mix different hues.

Warm and Cool Colors

Choosing colors isn’t just a matter of replicating what you see; colors possess an emotional quality that should also be taken into account. For example, warm colors (yellows, oranges and reds) emit life, energy and strength; whereas cool colors (greens, blues and purples) evoke quietude, tranquility, and serenity. You can use the inherent emotional aspects of colors to your benefit by exercising “temperature dominance.” Before you begin painting, first determine whether the mood you want to express is warm or cool; then let that choice guide your color selection.

Placement and Style of the Writing

You need to find a style of writing that is easy to write but is “easy” on the eye. When there lettering that is evenly spaced and enough light throughout it is more pleasing to look at on the page. Consider where you do the illustration and where you arrange the writing. I have an “italic” style and a “copperplate” style to choose from. It needs to be very evenly spaced so it compliments the drawing. You don’t want it to create dark spots on the page, it makes it too chaotic.

You need to learn to combine the illustration and writing in a harmonious way. Some of the ways to do this is to draw with the pen that you do the writing. At least include some strokes with the same tool that you will be writing,. Another technique is to put some of the color from the drawing into the writing. I like to put a brush stroke of one of the colors under the initial capital letter of the writing. Somewhat like an illuminated manuscript would start with the decorated capitals.

Composition of illustration and writing

Picture with captions
Picture with wrap-around text.
Writing with picture drawn or painted on top.
Picture with writing on top.
Columns of writing with picture.

Painting is just another way to write in a diary. Pablo Picasso

September 13, 2010 - Beverly Hills Adult School Fraktur Class #1

2010-09-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

Fraktur example by Satomi Wada

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #1: Gothic Fraktur will be the hand taught this semester. It originated in the Middle Ages after Gothic Textura developed. Gothic Fraktur was used mostly in Northern Italy, France, England, and Germany. “Fraktur” means “fracture”, as in fractured letters made up of both straight and curved lines, unlike Textura which only has straight strokes. Fraktur is very decorative and DeAnn will also be teaching flourishing of Fraktur this semester.

DeAnn distributed basic supplies. For this week, students will need black ink (Higgins Eternal), Brause wooden pen-holder, Brause 5mm nib, grid paper, inkwell, and a board. We’re starting with the 5mm Brause nib. DeAnn has nibs, ink, inkwells, and dropper bottles for purchase. See the suppliers list.

Today’s handouts were: Materials list, Gothic Fraktur exemplar, Gothic Fraktur sentences.

Preparing the ink: once you open the Higgins Eternal ink, the bottle may leak if it falls over. So transfer the ink to a dropper bottle and leave the remaining Higgins Eternal ink at home. The dropper bottle shouldn’t leak even if it’s on its side. Fill one of the ink wells in your inky-dip almost to the rim. You’ll be taping down the whole inky-dip at the table’s edge; if you’re right-handed, it should be on the right side, if you’re left-handed, then it’s on the left side.


Pictures and information provided by Judy Shibata

Set up your tools and workspace correctly so that it will be easier to write without any back or wrist pain. Remember to tape down your dinky dip on the right (or left, if you’re a left-hander) to avoid spills and for ease of dipping your pen. Sit so that the angle of the board in your lap isn’t too high. The ideal writing area of the board is slightly above table level where it’s the most stable. So adjust your chair accordingly. If you’re right-handed, the clips of the board should be on the left so they don’t interfere with the movement of your arm as you write. Remember to use your left-hand as an anchor. Clip several sheets of paper to the board or use a blotter sheet for some padding. The sheet you’re writing on should NOT be taped down; instead, you should move it as needed so that you’re always writing in the same area of the board and not stretching or hunched over.

Use a document holder (like a PageUp) so that it’s easy to see your exemplar or whatever sheet you’re looking at. Place it so that you don’t have to move your board to see it.

Be sure to line your paper before starting. Even if lining the paper seems like a chore, guidelines are necessary for good writing. Think of it as meditation.

Preparing (lining) the grid paper: 8 boxes on the grid paper equal an inch, with the darker blue lines indicating the inch-marks. Leave a 1 1/2-inch margin on top & bottom, 2-inch margin at the left & right. Label the top line “A” for ascender, the next line “W” for waist, then “B” for base, and the 4th line is “D” for descender.

To start, we’ll be using the Brause 5mm nib (largest one). Insert it toward the right side (when holding it) of the wooden nib holder. If you’re looking at the holder head-on, the nib will be toward the left edge.

Pen angle: The Brause is a chisel-point pen, able to create thicks & thins within one stroke, based on the angle of the pen. Using a protractor as the reference, a pen angle of 0-degrees equates to holding the pen so that the nib is parallel to the horizontal lines of the grid paper. A vertical stroke at this pen angle is the thickest; a horizontal stroke is the thinnest. If the pen angle is 90-degrees, then a vertical stroke is the thinnest and a horizontal stroke is the thickest. For a 45-degree pen angle, use a box as a reference and place the pen so that you’re placing it on the diagonal of the box. At this angle, both a vertical stroke and a horizontal stroke should be the same thickness.

x-height: is the height between the waist and base. Each hand has a specific x-height measured in pen-widths. At a pen angle of 90-degrees, draw short horizontal strokes to measure by pen widths.

Gothic Textura has a pen angle of 45-degrees and an x-height of 5 pen widths (equal to an inch or 8 boxes on the grid paper). The ascender and descender are 2-pen widths (about 3 boxes). A 45-degree pen angle goes from corner-to-corner (see exemplar for a diagram).

In class we practiced writing downstrokes & cross-strokes at 0, 90, and 45 degrees, at an inch in height. Dip the pen so the reservoir is 3/4 full. Wipe the nib on the edge of the ink well to take off any excess. We need to get fully familiar with this chisel point nib. Practice making straight lines with the nib. You need even pressure on both sides of the nib. Not a lot of pressure, just even pressure. The ink will flow better to begin with if you give a little side-to-side "rub" (like an ice-skate) with the nib. Or touch the tip to some wet ink on a previous stroke. As you draw the stroke down the page, EXHALE. This helps give a more controlled stroke. Also, set your opposite hand near the work so you can give slight pressure as you start down. These tips will help you have success quicker. At this large size, ink will puddle at the end of the downstrokes; don’t worry about it now, it’s natural & expected.

At this time it’s OK to wipe off your nib to clean it. DeAnn will show you how to remove the reservoir next time so don’t worry about washing it with water yet. When practicing, wipe your nib every 20 minutes or so to remove any paper residue, etc.

DeAnn went over the different strokes of Gothic Fraktur that make up the letter-forms. The pen angle is 45-degrees. The square stroke is short, the rectangle stroke is slightly flatter.

DeAnn’s TIP: Once you start writing (practicing), go to the end – don’t cross-out, crumple-up, stop & start elsewhere. Even if you feel like you’ve made a bad mistake, continue writing and don’t dwell on it. Don’t waste paper and don’t throw out your practice sheets. You’ll see improvement when you compare your older practice sheets to your newer ones.

HOMEWORK: Practice the strokes. Don’t worry about the individual letters yet. Try tracing the individual strokes within the letters if you want to deconstruct the letters. Start at the top left of the paper and fill the sheet. Write your name and date in the lower right hand corner. Turn in a sheet or two at the next class for DeAnn to review and correct.

Classes have begun again!

2010-09-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Yay, classes have begun!!! I'm so happy to have art conversation again. I love teaching calligraphy and art so much! And even more, I love to see my students and catch up with how they are doing.
We started with a "THUD" on Monday at Beverly Hills. They changed the classroom to the High School, so anyone who hadn't registered early didn't know. There were registration issues because the office was closed the 2 days before class started. I really feel sorry for the office who had to get that all straightened out in time for classes to begin. Then the room that we were switched to wasn't ready and all the tables were stacked on top of each other. And all I could do is sit there while Judy and my husband carried everything from the car. I really felt helpless and was so sorry for all the students wandering around the streets and campus to find this illusive classroom #121. I extend my apologies to all who made the effort to be there and if anyone tried and gave up, please come back!!! I'm going to try to make a map so you'll know where to park and find the class. When I do, I'll post it here. For those that weren't there Judy will be posting the notes from class. And, while I'm talking about Judy Shibata, I want to say, right up front that she's an angel for helping me the way she has. You are a doll, and I appreciate you so much. Also, I want to thank Satomi Wada, Debra Moini and the other people in the class that were so helpful and put the class together. It really was a group effort. A thousand thanks to you all. I hope the office staff will be able to catch their breath and carry on. I'm still trying to figure out the best way of teaching from my wheel chair. I hope it won't be much longer before I can at least stand up.
The classes at Westchester have begun as well and I need a few more students for the morning class. If you have been thinking about learning a new letter style and you would like individual attention, this is the right class for you. Consider coming to the 9:30-11:30am class. It's very small so you can learn quickly. Let me know if you're interested in coming and what style you want to learn and I'll prepare for you. See you all soon!

I got my cast off!! School starts soon

2010-09-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

NO CAST!
Rooney keeping watch over me. (With his eyes closed)

Yay....I got my cast off on Monday! I now can scratch my ankle as much as I want. Aaahhhhhhh!!! That feels sooo good! I washed it and got a lot of the dead skin off and it looks pretty good. I do miss the stylish purple and pink of my cast though the "boot" is black, which goes with my usual black attire but isn't showy like the cast. But, I find the boot much easier to get around. I still can't put weight on my leg for 1 month, but I balance much better with the boot when I'm using crutches. So it is getting easier with each new development. I don't know how long before I can drive. But, honestly, I'm going crazy being stuck at home all the time so I may have to drive with my left foot.
School starts in about another week. I went to Beverly Hills to see the new classroom that they've assigned to me. This is truly a new thing since I've been in the Scout House for years and I'm quite fond of it. Some don't appreciate it's charm much, but I like it. Yet, of all the times to change rooms, when I can't move any of my things from one to the other. And the new classroom is #121at the High School where it's really uphill from the parking. I don't know how I'm going to wheel myself in the wheelchair to get there. I will go with the flow, and make the best of it. In the end I think it will be great!

I haven't been able to go to Costco

2010-08-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

So this morning I had to brush my teeth with Crest Sparkles that taste like bubble gum. I searched through all my drawers, through all my travel cases, through all the brick-a-brack that is in the bottom of the cupboard and finally I found a promotional pack from the dentist, Eureaka!!!!!! At least it didn't pop and sparkle in my mouth, which I was prepared for. But, desperate times call for desperate measures! All this is because I haven't been to Costco since May. I usually buy a 6 pack once or twice a year and I never even think about not having toothpaste or new toothbrush when I need it.
I don't have any of the yellow and green sponges that I clean and do dishes with. But, since I'm not doing many dishes or cleaning I don't think to have someone buy them. Paper towels and toilet paper are a given, yet Ray just buys a few rolls at a time from the neighborhood market, which is more expensive but it comes with the added bonus of fitting under the cupboard without stuffing them under every cupboard and closet to leaving the massive pack in the bathtub because I don't have anywhere to store that much paper.
We all have a routine that keeps the house running smoothly and we don't think about those things much. But, I am compiling a list of things that we've completely run dry. I'm hoping to get my husband to take me over there just so I can wander around and look at "stuff". But, my husband isn't much for window shopping or just wandering around a store, unless it's the 99¢ Store. (Don't get me started on that!) "Well, it was only 99¢!" is the answer to all my questions or accusations. So besides laying around I'm having "withdrawal" symptoms of time to myself just wandering around a store or mall. Actually, I never go to the mall, I'm happy walking around Costco and ending the trip with a hotdog and beverage, and my favorite "VeryBerry Sundae." So we'll see, I won't be in this cast forever! (Or will I?)

Pain or Itch. Which is worse?

2010-08-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

I've been asked lately if my ankle is still in pain. I wonder how to answer that. Since I can't move it inside the cast it doesn't ache like it used to but it itches to the point of pain. Seriously, I don't know which is worse. At least I could take a pain pill and go to sleep but when it itches, I'm on the verge of insanity before I can go to sleep. I take a piece of a Benadryl hoping to stop the itching or put me to sleep but I have to scratch deep inside my cast. Now, the Orthopaedic Surgeon said not to scratch as it can cause other problems, but seriously, I'd like to see how they deal with the mind boggling itch. So I have experimented with a variety of tools to get to the itch and scratch it. I have settled on the 18" inch rigid metal ruler with a cork back! It's narrow enough to skinny down between the cast and can scratch the itch all the way down to the ankle. But, I have to be careful to not cut my leg with the end of the ruler. So it's not ideal. But, I have tried a number of other tools to scratch. Henry, the cast tech, said he opened one guys cast and the head of a spatula was inside. The guy said, "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." He was BUSTED! He didn't realize that the head comes off.
1. I've tried the comb.
2. The deckle edge ruler that in my mind seemed like a good idea, but it kept getting stuck in the stocking thats inside the cast.
3. The brush didn't reach far enough and it wasn't thin enough to get to my ankle.
4. The long meat fork......well, no explanation needed there.
5. The lettuce knife....hmmmm, I thought twice once I felt how sharp it was.
Sooo..... this is what I've come up with. Got any better ideas?

New Cast or ugly sock?

2010-08-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

I realize that its pretty lame to talk about my broken ankle and the idea that I have to tell people that I got a new cast, but in a world that is as limited as mine at present, it's as exciting as getting a new pair of Jimmy Choos. (Not that I've ever had anything even close to designer shoes) (When Jimmy Choo starts making orthopedic type shoes, I'll be first in line) So when I picked out a nice purple for my new cast (in honor of Karin Gable) and Henry, the cast maker, suggested a stripe of my bright pink so that I could keep my pink toenails and not have to get a new pedi, I agreed. Somehow, I didn't really picture how that would look, but I'm good for a little "change up". But, when he was finished it looked a little like Pippy Longstockings! Oh, well! I have a sense of humor and it is rather humorous. So I'll probably be fielding "ugly socks" jokes. Or ugly sock jokes. It's a good thing my hair is really short and won't go into turned up pig-tailed braids.

I want you to sympathize with me. I realize it's in bad taste to post this picture. So close your eyes if you can't take it.

Exhibit in Burbank

2010-08-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

My exhibit piece "From Gothic to Graffiti"

A wonderful SfC Calligraphy exhibit is now showing!

Expressions: Images from Our Pens

Creative Arts Center Gallery 1100 West Clark Avenue Burbank, CA 91506 Ph. 818 238-5397

Gallery Hours; M-Th 9am-8 pm Friday 9am-7pm

Sat 9am-1pm Closed Sunday

Marci, Francine & David at the exhibit opening

Scribe Fair Olive Park, Sat. August 14, 1-4pm.Come buy things offered by calligraphers in the park. There will be many craft objects, books, calligraphy materials, and fine prints and art. If you come in the morning to see the exhibit, have lunch in the area, (we ate at TallyRand, excellent) then check out all the things offered at the Fair. I will be writing names with metallic watercolors on black paper in a flourishing copperplate for $5 each. Need presents for the holidays? This is a personal gift that is reasonably priced but something that is always appreciated. Just as long as we spell it correctly.

My view for the whole summer

I went to the Opening Reception last night, thanks to my friend, Francine Oller. I had my bright pink cast and toenails and my wheelchair and had a great time. So many WONDERFUL friends and students and calligraphers were there. Really, it was terrific to see everyone. Course I haven't been too many places since my accident, so it was especially sweet. The canvas on top is the piece that I made for the exhibit. I also had a page from my"Portals" book on display. Please try to make it before it closes on August 26th. There are around 100 pieces of beautiful calligraphy from many artist around Southern California. Well, worth the effort to get out there!!!

On the Mend!

2010-07-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

Just a little peek of how gross it is.And thats only one side!

I haven't written anything lately because I had lost all my sense of humor, but I feel it coming back. My ankle repair surgery was 2 weeks ago and I'm afraid it really wasn't funny. If I'd have known it was going to be this much trouble and pain, I'd have had the paramedics shoot me on the spot instead of take me to the hospital. I guess it's a good thing we can't see into the future. But, surprisingly enough, each day is much better than the last, and this is how I get over it. I know I shouldn't really complain, there are so many worse things out there. But, a few people have asked me to get back to the blog so I decided I'd write today with or without complaining about my circumstances.

What I see from my bed. Besides the TV

I'm thinking back and trying to find something about the hospital stay that stands out. Yes, the lack of dignity and modesty!!! Your butt is hanging out of the gown and your bowels are the subject of a lot of conversation. The only other time I was in the hospital was in 1981 when my daughter was born and I had a c-section and a premature baby so I stayed a week. I was in a fog so don't remember a lot. So this whole episode was different to me. Luckily, I had a really nice roommate who had had both her knees replaced so she was in worse shape than I. Just getting up to use the bathroom is a group affair, so you can't lay there until you can't hold it before summoning the "troops". At least the first day you have a catheter but they want to remove that as soon as possible because the chance of infection is so high. I'm surprised that in this day and age they haven't come up with a better method of "bed pan" for a woman! Those of you who have ever been in this situation know what I'm talking about. Really! So we had to get used to getting up and at least I had a bedside commode so I didn't have to go far. At home I used a computer chair to sit upon and roll to the toilet, but they didn't have that here. So I would need my crutches if I were going very far. But, I did manage to get this exercise to a pretty good flow once the drugs were out of my system and I wasn't faint or ready to throw up at any given moment. It was amazing how much better I felt from one day to the next. It's a really good thing that the memory of all this fades easily. I had to ask my daughter about details of a few of the days because I couldn't remember. Elizabethclaire said she had a friend who kept getting things in the mail that she had ordered off info-mercials and didn't remember ordering them because of the meds she was taking. So far I don't think I've ordered anything that I am unaware of. But, I still have in mind to order the Music of Relaxation with the bonus 4 CD's if I'm one of the first 500 to order.

Pretty much the position I'm in every day!

Anyway, I'm home and being careful to keep my leg up and have been exercising so that I can regain some strength. I was hoping to go to my Studio Group meeting but the 18 stairs to the house were more than I could manage. I've been practicing on the 3 steps to my house and getting much steadier on the crutches. I see that this is really going to take as long as I've been told, so I'm getting used to it and will make the best of it. But, I'm going to take a nap now so I'll think more about that tomorrow, fiddle dee dee. (Gosh, what am I going to do when I can't take a nap whenever I want?)

Alaska Cruise Today

2010-06-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

Today was going to be the first "real cruise" that I had ever gone on. And in honor of this occasion I watched Sleepless in Seattle because we were to fly to Seattle this morning where we embark on the cruise ship Sapphire Princess for a 7 day trip to Alaska. And since we won't be going to Alaska I watched The Proposal which is filmed in Sitka Alaska. Yes, I feel that the substitution was quite fulfilling because I've only seen each movie 19 or 20 times each. I just felt that it was important to point this all out to myself so that I don't lose the "vacation" aspect of it all. Ray went to work, so he's given up on the "vacation" aspect and my sister Allyson and husband, Dan went camping in Bryce Canyon in honor of their vacation. They, too, were going on the cruise but were disappointed by the turn of events. Oh well, the weather today is rather gray, not unlike Seattle and maybe I'll have Hailey (my daughter) bring me fish and chips from Jack in the Box to make me feel like I'm at the wharf. Whenever I used to go to Seattle I'd go to this really good fish and chips place on the docks that had the best clam chowder ever, I forget the name. (Something like Ivar's) We'd go to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop to see a real mummified man in a glass case and the Lords Prayer on a grain of rice. Sure was looking forward to that!
Things are moving along well though. My ankle is reducing in size and is ready for phase 2 and the screws and pins will be placed in the bones on Tues. I will be in the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital for a couple of days then hopefully the healing will begin and I will be on the road to recovery! Yes!! I'm not sure how Rooney is going to take all this. He has become so co-dependent on me that he may need to go on Prozac because of separation anxiety. I'm still eating well and am well attended. Judy P. brought me 2 novels and Su Doku For Dummies (to keep my brain from going to mush from watching rerun movies on t.v.) TOO LATE! She brought a chicken salad from the new "Pit Fire Pizza," YUM! Judy S. brought a supermex burrito from Paco's Tacos. My personal favorite place! That was good for both lunch and dinner on Friday. Then Lisa came with her cupcakes so we all told stories about surgery and injury and ate cupcakes. DELISH' I've been snacking on fresh boysenberries from Utta's garden all week long. Debra, long lost Debra, came over with salad and Trader Joe's Sparkling Lemonade for a Saturday lunch and visit. She's been very busy with family for the last few years so it was great to see her again. So ALL IS WELL. It may be different then expected but it's all still very good! I'm completely blessed to have such nice friends and family to take care of me under these circumstances. My love and thanks go out to all of you that have sent cards and helped me during this time and I will continue to encourage and enjoy your visits and food.

Do you need this product?

2010-06-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

Are you disorganized? Is your desk full of paper chaos? Are your vegetables and fruits moldy and spoiling right before your eyes? Well, we have the product for you!!!!
AND IF YOU CALL IN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES WE'LL ADD FREE SHIPPING! And above all you won't get just one, you can have 2 products for the price of one, just pay the shipping and handling.
While watching "That Darn Cat" (old version with Haley Mills) I realized that I needed all these products: The Kangaroo Keeper Purse Organizer. You can put up to 70 items into it's own pocket and change it from purse to purse. "No more fumbling for my cell phone amid a bag of chaos" and if I buy it now I can have a second one for the same price in stylish black that will go with any purse. I can organize my life with this product. WAIT......I never change my purse and I only put 10 things in my purse at any one time. But maybe I really need this "kangaroo keeper" anyway.....
My closets are very small so my life would be so much better if I had the SPACE BAGS. I can put all the blankets and pillows into these bags and put them under the bed. OMG I really need this and if I call now and use my credit card I can get NOT 1, NOT 2, But 3 sets of SPACE BAGS for only $19.95! I can't live without these! Now, that I think about it, my sunglasses only darken the world that I look at, I could buy the High Definition, HDVision sunglasses and see the world as if for the first time. It's like looking through rose colored glasses. Hmm..how could I have gone this long without them especially if I call now I can get two pair for only $10, plus shipping and handling.
I must admit I've sent for a few of these products, one being, the containers that keep fruits and vegetables from spoiling because they allow the ethylene gasses to flow away from the produce. And, for only the extra shipping and handling I doubled my order and received 2 sets of these containers with lids that nest into each other. Only problem, when I got them in the mail the invoice said 19.99 + 6.99 s/h = $25.99 +$23.99 s/h for the extra set = $49.98. I kid you NOT!!!! I could return them if I'm not satisfied minus the shipping and handling costs. Since then I've gotten much more cynical about whether I can live without these things. I've learned to be cautious and not be so trusting......wait, The Pasta Pot is only $10 for 2 sets and I get a handy pasta measuring tool free if I order right now......better go!

Lets just say.......

2010-06-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

You know just about the time I start wallowing in my bad fortune I learn of the fatal car accident that killed one of the lovely ladies that has been a part of the Society for Calligraphy. Carrie Imai called me and said that her longtime friend and student, Lois Graver, died on Monday after a speeding car hit her car in an intersection in the valley. She was coming home from yoga. Just like I was coming down the steps of my own house, a split second changed our lives. But, at least I have a life to still live. Lois was killed and there were a number of others injured in this morning accident. I don't know all the details but her funeral will be today in Northridge. (link to article in newspaper) http://www.dailynews.com/ci_15352718 Once I understood a little more about this I decided to SHUT MY MOUTH about being badly done to. This family won't get their wife and mom back and at least I can lay around all summer and probably be as good as new at some point. So for today, I feel damn lucky that all I did is break my ankle with no head or other injuries and my deepest, deepest sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Lois. Let's all be grateful for today and every day.

What's up with cable TV?

2010-06-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've gotten myself dressed and cleaned and straightened up with makeup today in anticipation of the visitors who will brighten my day. Rooney is by my side and I've taken my morning pills. Ray has tidied up the room and straightened out the bedding. I'm ready for the day. Now it's not that I'm that interested in television but it's "company". I don't like it to be too quiet. I know there are plenty of you out there that know what I mean. So you'll know what I'm talking about when I say, "I have 99 channels and there's nothing on!" I'm watching Chevy Chase in "Vacation". Which is a nice change. I've already watched Julie and Julia 6 times! Well, at least parts of it. OMG, the crap that is on television is amazing. And, I'm paying alot of money for this privilege. No summer is complete without watching "Aunt Edna tied to the roof of the family station wagon while on the way to Wally World." Pretty sad when all I have to look forward to is getting pins and screws put into my ankle in another week. Another WEEK! My summer is wasting away without me. Back to Clark W. Griswald and the "fam" on another incredible adventure!