[Scriptoris] Seeking Advice

[Crystal Lamb]

Hi Elswythe!

I'm glad to hear that you fell in love with scrolls 'n such.  Scribe's
Point was just the beginning of a far larger world.  :-D

In the beginning I, too, lived where there were no classes and ventured
out on my own in learning calligraphy and illumination.  In those days,
the internet was just a thing called the "bulletin board" and we walked
five miles in the snow to get our gouache...and.....okay...okay...

My advice would be to order that really nifty book we mentioned a few
posts back by Marc Drogin called Medieval Calligraphy:  Its History and
Technique (or "Very Truly Yours, King Arthur" by the same author). While
you are waiting for it to arrive, I wish you had a local library that
had books that showed examples of period manuscripts.  That way you
could see what hands, periods and styles interested you.  Find the
nearest Barnes and Nobles, or Half Price Books.  Or...if you are like
me...the nearest Barnes and Nobles is 45 minutes away....lol!

Once you get Drogin, flip through and see how it's broken down into
common stroke patterns.  Then, grab some blue line graph paper and pens,
and start playing!  Lots!

Here's a trick:  take a pencil, and draw a "base line" across the bottom
of a row a squares....then count a certain number of "squares" up on the
blue graph paper...say four....then draw another parallel pencil line.
Now count two more squares up and draw another parallel pencil line.

Why do that?  Well, you've just made a "template" for your letters.  Now
you don't have to think about writing "straight."  Now you know where
the top of your "h"'s will stop (the top line) as will the "hump" of
your "h" (the middle line).  See?

Believe it or not, if you spend way too many hours practicing on that
little template thingy, you'll build muscle memory and stroke memory.
And the more you study the way letters were formed in period and
translate that into your hand, the more authentic your hand will be.
It's a rhythm thing (insert joke here).

And Serena is absolutely correct about marathon calliging.  When you
can't feel your hands, stop.   When you stop calliging, take the pen out
of your hands, and your fingers don't move, it's time to take a break.
LOL!!!

~Aslyn








-----Original Message-----
From: scriptoris-admin at ansteorra.org
[mailto:scriptoris-admin at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Elswythe of Wessex
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2003 9:57 PM
To: scriptoris at ansteorra.org
Subject: RE: [Scriptoris] Seeking Advice

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

Sorry about using the "Reply" button but I would like to know how
difficult calligraphy is to learn on one's own? I fell in love with
scrolls and such at Gulf Wars at Scribe's Point and there doesn't seem
to be any classes around here.

Morgana Vandya, Incipient Canton of Rivers Run


 Hillary Greenslade <hillaryrg at yahoo.com> wrote:Another book of Marc
Drogin's that a lot of folks don't think about is:
'Yours Truly, King Arthur: How Medieval People Wrote, and How You Can,
Too'
ISBN: 0800887654
It's intended for an audience of teens or youths, but what I like about
it,
it that it makes no assumptions that you know anything about penwork,
how to
hold a pen, fill it with ink, etc. It only covers 4 hands, as I recall,
but
the basis for the hands is the same as the book below. You may want to
take a look at this book for ideas on how to begin with the basics. It's
available on Amazon.

And I agree with Aslinn, Carolingian is a good hand to learn as well,
it's
amazing how difficult writing on a straight verticle line, with very
rounded
'o's can be complex. But once you got Carolingian, the rest come a bit
easier I think.

All the best, Hillary

--- Crystal Lamb wrote:
> Take Drogin, break it down, and teach another hand or two in the weeks
> remaining (my personal favorite to teach is Carolingian).
>
> Marc Drogin breaks each step down so easy that once you've master
three
> or four strokes, many hands are achievable to novices.
>
> In case anyone doesn't know this book, it's (all together now)
"Medieval
> Calligraphy: It's History and Technique" by Marc Drogin.
>
> Just a thought....
>
> ~Aslyn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Subject: [Scriptoris] Seeking Advice
>
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> I am teaching a mundane calligraphy class. It is a six hour class
being
> held over a few weeks. I was planning on teaching Italian Rotunda to
> begin but I've got so much time I don't know what else to do with it.
> Does anyone have any suggestions???
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