Medieval Techniques Up Close

By Max Ehrmann - Artwork by Anne Rita Taylor ©2017

I was recently invited, along with a few bookbinders, calligraphers & artists, to visit the Rare Books Collections in the MD Anderson Library of the University of Houston. It was very inspiring! I highly recommend visiting. Be sure to schedule a tour!

My biggest surprise was actually handling this Medieval book from the 1400s: Reims Book of Hours. When I visited The Getty Center and The Huntington Library in Los Angeles, their books were under glass and opened to a particular page. By the way, the medieval period lasted from the 5th to the 15th Century.

Lisa German, the Dean of Libraries at UH and Christian Kelleher, the Department Head of UH Special Collections were very informative about their Special Collections. So exciting to learn about these treasures! Go here to learn more about Special Collections at UH: 

http://libraries.uh.edu/branches/special-collections/rare-books/

When I attended a demonstration at The Getty Center in Los Angeles, white gloves were worn while handling a piece of ancient art. Sylvana Barrett demonstrated how gilding and paints were made in the 1400's - here is her website: http://www.cennini21.com

I authored an article in the Newsletter for the Association for the Calligraphic Arts in 2004 about the two hour demonstration. Focusing on the painting of St. Andrew by Masaccio in 1426, Sylvana showed us how historically authentic materials: gold leaf, egg tempera, and terre verde pigment, were used.

Sylvana explained that distemper was pigment mixed with rabbit glue. Painted on fabric - it has a dry look such as The Annunciation by Dieric Bouts in 1450. It looks as if the paint could flake off, and is kept under glass.

Artwork by Anne Rita Taylor ©2017

With their limited art supplies, unlike the range we have now, it is amazing what the Medieval monks were able to accomplish six hundred years ago! 

Please let me know if you have any thoughts about these historic treasures.

See more of the UH Digital Library here:

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/reims/item/437/show/21

©Anne Rita Taylor 2017

Learning Copperplate Calligraphy

Last year I took a class with a Houston calligrapher, Terry Hausner, to learn Copperplate calligraphy - wedding invitation calligraphy - also called English Roundhand. See Terry’s website: http://www.terrygraphicsink.com

My name on top written by Terry Hausner - on the bottom written by Heather Held

I have not practiced - I should if I want to get better at it. I also took a Spencerian calligraphy workshop with Michael Sull a while ago. See his Facebook page: 
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRSull/
For me, Spencerian is a tiny bit easier since I do not have to write thicks and thins with ink, but there are more swirls which are called flourishes.

One of my many Copperplate practice pages. Terry taught us to write in various sizes, increasing and decreasing the dimensions of our written letters. I think smaller for this type of calligraphy is slightly easier for me. Plus the slant, when practiced against the slanting lines, made me realize what mistakes I was making.

I find it difficult to be light when making thin lines and then heavy by forcing the tines of the  nib into a thickness. In the class we started with learning how to hold an Oblique Penholder - I’m still learning. I prefer a staff.

Terry supplied many different nibs for us to try. As noted, I have a heavy hand when I write, so I need a nib that can withstand pressure. After much trial and error, I like to use the Nikko G and Zebra G, plus the Speedball 512 nib. 

I have written a form of Copperplate with a water soluble pencil, then sprayed it with water achieving a blurry effect as in the quote below: There is nothing else.

Like anything, the more we practice the better we get. I’m not a professional calligrapher for that reason, I do not practice enough. But I do enjoy writing as an end in itself. How do you feel about it?

And here is a photo of the many writing instruments used in calligraphy - shared on Facebook by Tom Lane - known as Ginger Monkey.  Find him on Facebook here: 

https://www.facebook.com/Ginger-Monkey-208281480230/

©Anne Rita Taylor 2017