Friday, January 29, 2010

Journaling at Bev Hills

See the June 2009 posting that's titled "Picture of Journaling Materials"

Beverly Hills Adult School

701 Whittier Dr. Beverly Hills

310-551-5150

Journal your vacation or special events

Have you ever wanted to journal some of your vacations or special events? I’ll

show you what I use and how to draw and write what you see. You don’t have to

draw very well to do journaling. We will use some drawing, painting, collage, and

other interesting techniques to add to your pages. Call the school to register Material List Follows

Mondays; January 25, February 1, February 22, March 1st 2010

1:30-3:30 pm

Journal your vacation or special events

In 4 two hour classes, we will learn enough to get started on our journals. If you already

journal we can work on improvements or just get new ideas to make it better. We will

schedule some classes later to continue improving your journaling skills such as; mixing

colors, how to draw what you see, how to draw quickly and polishing-up your illustration

techniques.

Materials needed:

1.Fanny pack

2.Small watercolor set that is meant for outdoor painting.

There are many brands, some are as cheap as $16. They generally come with a pointed

watercolor brush. I use a Windsor and Newton Cotman set with 12 colors. If a brush is

not included bring a Windsor and Newton Series 707 size #3 sable brush.

3. Small jar

1 oz. size, something like a little honey jar or jelly jar from a restaurant. This needs to be

water-tight. Put into a small zip lock bag till you know for sure if it’s water-tight.

4. Small container with water (1oz.)

5. Journal that will fit into fanny pack

I like a 5x7 with black hard cover and spiral bound. It usually has paper suitable for

sketching but will take watercolor. Canson and Strathmore make journals. Bring what

you have and we’ll see what works best.

6. A waterproof fine tip black pen. I use Zig Millenium black .01 pen or

Micron Pigma .01 or similar tool

7. A mechanical pencil that the lead can be retracted to keep a tip. It can be

HB or 2H lead

8. Small blunt tip scissors

9. Glue stick


Bev Hills Gothic Class




Beverly Hills Adult School Class #2: DeAnn reviewed the Gothic Textura alphabet letter by letter and also went over spacing.

Today’s most important idea: The overall texture is more important than the individual letter’s legibility.

One historical theory to explain how Gothic textura evolved into a very compact style of writing is that the Crusades were on-going during its development. Because the Crusades cost so much money, the Church spent less on parchment and so to conserve its use, the writing style became compact. For example, a large book would need a herd of cattle for its parchment pages.

Lining the grid paper: For the 5mm Brause nib or the Speedball C0, the x-height (width between waist to base) is 5 pen widths, 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. So line the sheet so that the darker-blue 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. (see photo).

Review of the elements that make up the Gothic textura letter: think of the squares as serifs; serif = decoration. The rectangle strokes are not decoration.

The square serifs should pierce the waist-line and base-line just slightly so that the letters don’t look too short. Practice will help you learn where to end the down-stroke so the square serif only slightly pierces the base-line. The square serifs can touch (e.g. m, n, u, v, w)

Spacing is true picket fence; the space between the down-strokes = the width of the down-stroke. White space = dark space. So the “color” of the text is very dark. All the down-strokes for the letters in a word should look evenly spaced apart. Spacing between words is only slightly more than between letters; all the whitespace should look more or less equivalent in texture.

Notes on individual letters:

“h” : the left side of the rectangle-stroke should touch the letter and the waist-line.

“g” & “y” : for the descender, you can either curve out or slant away and leave a hairline to connect to

“p” & “q”: for the descender, rock your nib to the left at the end

“d” : think of it as an “o” with a longer rectangle stroke on top; start slightly to the left of the edge of the first down-stroke. The ascender is not a curve, but more of an entrance serif, either in the up or down direction.

Hangover letters: for “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. ru, ei, ci, ce.

Illuminated Manuscript Project: start thinking about what text you may want to use. Think in terms of the time period, e.g. Beowulf, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, even later poets like John Donne or Shakespeare. But any text that you like is OK. You’ll need about 50 – 100 words, but even if your text is too long, you can edit an excerpt from it.

HOMEWORK: write alphabet sentences. See DeAnn’s website to download them: www.designingletters.com. Go to “About”, then “About Calligraphy”, then “Alphabet Sentences.”

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Rain and Traffic creates CANCELLATION

Hi All, The Rain and Traffic is going to require that we cancel class tonight at the Stampin' from the Heart and we will pick up again next week. If you were going to come to class tonight....Don't! Go home and stay dry. But, it's a good night to practice your calligraphy with a hot cup of cocoa and put on some pretty music and enjoy the "different" weather.
Love, DeAnn

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Gothic Textura Lesson Sequence

Gothic Lesson Sequence

class by De Ann Singh


1. Pen Angle is 30º-35º. No letter slant. X-height= 5 pen widths or nib widths

Ascenders = 2 nib widths Descenders = 1 1/2 nib widths


2. Learn the vertical stroke. The square stroke and the rectangle stroke. The square goes in a 30º-35º direction or cant. The rectangle goes in a flatter 20º direction or cant. The square is generally considered a ‘serif’ or decoration. The rectangle is usually an integral part of the letter. (If the letter can stand alone without the stroke, it’s probably a decoration stroke, which is a square.)5mm Brause = 1” x-height asc =2 boxes desc = 2 boxes (on 8x8 grid)

Write vertical strokes side by side. The space between strokes should be equal to the width of the vertical stroke. Practice several lines of this spacing. Practice many squares and rectangles.


3. Combine the strokes to make an i. Combine the strokes to make an o. When you make the square serif let it pierce the waistline, and baseline. When making the o shape, start a little below the waistline to make space for the second side of the letter.


4. Write: i, n, m, l, h, j, b, k, f, p, r, t, u, y. Write: o, c, e, d, g, q, s, a. Write: v, w, x, z. The counter- space should be the same width as the vertical stroke. “True picket fence spacing”.


5. Leave 3 boxes (3/8”) between asc. and desc. Next x-height or line begins on the next 1” down.


6. Write each letter 2 or 3 times. Look at the example sheet carefully.


7. Write alphabet sentences. Use the “picket fence” spacing.” When ever there is a letter that has a “hang over” stroke, let the next letter exclude the beginning square. The “hang over” letters are; c, e, f, r, t.


8. Write out a poem or text. We are still writing with a 5mm nib. Now practice using smaller and smaller nibs, until you are using a 1 1/2 mm nib. Check the size of the x-height by measuring your nib widths. Record your finding’s in your notebook or exemplar, for future reference.


9. Capital Letters. Write each letter 2 or 3 times, look carefully at the exemplar.


10. Write flower names or proper names or lists of some kind, A-Z. Use the capital letter for the first letter and lowercase for the rest of the words. Never use all Gothic Capitals together, it’s too decorative and chaotic. They’re not meant to be used this way, even though you see it both historically and on walls all over town!


11. Now experiment with the x-height. Stretch them taller then make them shorter. For example, try writing the lowercase with 6 pw, 7pw, 8pw, 10pw. Generally the ascenders and descenders still stay short, but try them taller and shorter. Label them clearly so you can see what you’ve done and can duplicate it. Write some of them into your sketch book or notebook.


12. Write text in one of these “modified” versions.



Gothic Textura at Beverly Hills Calligraphy Class

January 11, 2010

by Judy Shibata

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #1: Gothic Textura will be the "style" taught this semester. It originated in the Middle Ages (1200-1500 CE) DeAnn will teach the 14th-15th century style as it was originally written; then she’ll teach us the modifications that make it easier to read. Gothic Textura was used throughout Germany and also in England, but never adopted in Italy or Spain.

The term “Gothic” has nothing to do with the actual Goths; it was meant to be derogatory at the time and coined in the 16th Century. “Textura” refers to all the sides being straight with very even spacing that keeps a definite black and white texture, reminiscent of textile arts . It’s interesting to note the relationship between the letter-forms and the architecture from their time. Gothic architecture is tall and straight and the letters match this style. The invention of flying buttresses as a weight-bearing method enabled the buildings to be taller than ever (Salisbury Cathedral in England, Chartres Cathedral in France) and the style of writing becomes tall and thin. In contrast, Roman buildings were based on the Roman arch and couldn’t be very high since the arch was so heavy. Carolingian (the hand taught last semester) is based on the Roman arch and has rounded, “shorter” letters.

DeAnn distributed basic supplies. For this week, students will need ink (Higgins Eternal or Walnut ink), pen-holder, Brause 5mm or Speedball C-0 nib, grid paper, inkwell, and a board. We’re starting with the 5mm Brause nib. DeAnn will have all supplies available for purchase at the next class (1/25/10). See the Materials list handout if you want to buy supplies before then.

Today’s handouts were: Materials list, Gothic Class Sequence, Gothic Textura exemplar, Gothic Textura worksheet.

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. 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.

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.

Pen angle: The Brause & Speedball C nib 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 30º 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 30º pen angle is flatter than 45º; instead of corner-to-corner, it’s corner to about ¼ from the blue-line (see exemplar for a diagram).

In class we practiced writing downstrokes & cross-strokes at 0º, 90º, 45º, and 30º, both an inch & 2-inches in height. Using walnut ink in the nib, 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.

Optical spacing: Gothic textura has picket-fence spacing where the white-space (space between the downstrokes) is equal to the black-space (i.e. the downstrokes of a letter). At all pen-angles, we practiced writing lines that were equally spaced apart. Initially, it may be helpful to place your nib next to the downstroke written to see where to start the next downstroke so that it’s a “nib-width” away. It’s important to learn optical spacing since we won’t always be writing on grid paper and nib size will also change.

Since next week is a holiday (no class on 1/18/10) and we won’t meet again until 1/25/10, DeAnn went over the different strokes of Gothic Textura (vertical, square, rectangle, horizontal, dot) that make up the letter-forms and some of the more difficult letters. Until this period, “i”s weren’t dotted. The dot is also called a jot or tittle.

For letters with the square serif, the square should slightly pierce the waist & baselines. Be careful of making the rectangle too steep – this will make the letter start to go “downhill” (e.g. the “m”).

o, q: start the downstroke slightly below the waist so that the rectangle-stroke will pierce the waist slightly. The rectangle-stroke should also pierce the base-line slightly.

a, s: picture these letters on top of an “o”. First write an “o” – then write the “a” or “s” over the top of it to see how the strokes fit together.

Walnut ink isn’t corrosive at all, so not washing your nib immediately won’t hurt it. You can wipe the excess ink out of your nib but you don’t have to clean it each time. When practicing, wipe your nib every 20 minutes or so to remove any paper residue, etc.

DeAnn’s tips for practicing your writing: Place your exemplar (example of the alphabet) in front of you (use something like a “page-up” document holder to hold the sheet). Write the letter, then really look at the exemplar to compare. Try it again. Only write a letter 3 times in a row; then move on. Don’t cross anything out; if the letter looks bad to you, just move on. Try again later.

Only practice on 1-side of the paper. Once written on, the sheet will pucker and the writing will be visible from the other side too.

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.

HOMEWORK: Practice the different strokes to get used to the chisel-point nib. Practice the Gothic Textura letterforms; use Satomi’s worksheet to learn how to write the letters.

Reminder: No class next week (1/18/10). Class #2 on 1/25/10.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

New Semester at Beverly Hills: Gothic Textura
























If you have the materials for gothic bring them to class with you. Or look at the beginning material list in this blog. I will have materials that you may purchase in class. We will learn how to make illuminated letters and create a beautiful page reminiscent of ancient manuscripts.