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

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.