New Class at RAND in Santa Monica

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 14 Beverly Hills Carolingian Illuminated Manuscript

November 16, 2009

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #9: Today DeAnn demonstrated painting the versals (drawn letters) for our project.

Illuminated Manuscript Project Steps:

DeAnn estimates that it’s about a 5-hour project. Do one step at a time and don’t get overwhelmed.

1. Design Piece and choose words

2. Write words – figure out how many will work (about 40). Cut & Paste words and illumination. TIP: use removable Scotch Tape (with blue plaid)

3. Trace Decorated Caps and decorative elements. Trace onto the pergamanata paper with a 2H or harder lead. It won’t smudge as much (DeAnn has some for sale).

4. Get all prepared.

5. On the original (i.e. Pergamanata paper using the project template):

a. Trace Design

b. Write Text

c. Gild

d. Paint versals & decorated cap design

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 project. Use the Versals handout the 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.

HOMEWORK: Really try to finish your project. Remember, illumination can never be too gaudy, so go for it! You have to do it to learn it.

Next semester DeAnn will be teaching Gothic and the project will be a similar illuminated manuscript piece.

REMINDER: next week is our last class – POTLUCK!

Oct 26, 2009 Bev Hills

October 26, 2009

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #6: Today DeAnn brought in lots of books about illuminated manuscripts and decorative capital letters for us to look at and take pictures of.

The handouts were the template for our illuminated manuscript project (8 1/2 x 11 size) and an exemplar for Versals and Lombardic.

Project Template: DeAnn recommends highlighting the waist-base lines which you’ll write on so that they’ll be clearly visible even under the pergamanatta paper to be used for the project. Use the 1 1/2 mm Brause nib with black ink for the body (about 40 words will fit). You will be drawing & painting in the initial decorative capital and the first four lines.

Look at Books for Ideas:

1. Color Schemes – e.g. Red-Blue-Green; usually 3 colors & their tins

2. Style - i.e. Flemish, Celtic, Leaves, white vine

3. Trace Letters or Designs – you can Xerox the decorative capital bigger or smaller to the desired size needed for the project

4. Use Camera to take pictures of letters and decorations

5. Use 1 1/2 mm Brause nib

6. We will paint with gouache or watercolor

Don’t get overwhelmed – as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do!” Break down the project into steps and work on one step at a time:

1. Choose text (poem, song lyrics, excerpt from long piece)

2. Trace decorative letter that is the first letter of your poem. Trace other decorative elements you like.

3. Take photos of manuscript pages in the style you like.

4. Draw the first few words in Versals and Romans (follow project template)

5. Write text in black ink with 1 1/2 mm Brause

DeAnn’s tip: whenever you feel overwhelmed, practice your text.

Oct 12, 2009 Carolingian at Beverly Hills

October 12, 2009 by Judy Shibata

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #4: We continued working with the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib. DeAnn had 2 color copy handouts, the Carolingian exemplar and the “quick brown fox…” alphabet sentence, both written with the 5mm Brause nib. She also brought illuminated manuscript samples and photo albums with more samples.

For warm-up, we wrote sentences with the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib, paying close attention to the homework DeAnn corrected and returned to us.

The class made name tags on red paper. DeAnn showed us to bend the paper lightly to figure out in which direction the grain ran. The direction with less resistance when you try to fold it is the direction of the grain & the direction that you should fold the paper for a cleaner fold.

DeAnn demo’d Zig calligraphy markers, Pilot parallel pens, and using watercolors with a brush to feed the nib. DeAnn doesn’t recommend learning or practicing calligraphy with markers or fountain pens because the student will not be able to use the nib successfully and become too used to the ease of markers/fountain pens. Learning calligraphy with the chisel-tip nib will enable one to use any type of medium and have the most flexibility. Once you learn how to write with the chisel-tip nib, you’ll be able to use any type of pen.

DeAnn likes using the Pilot parallel pens for Society for Calligraphy events and demos. Because the 6mm size uses up the ink in the cartridge very quickly, DeAnn dips the pen in ink (she likes Pelikan 4001). You can refill an empty cartridge with watercolor and gouache. Just don’t use waterproof inks. The nib section can be removed & cleaned if it clogs up.

There was a demonstration where we "pounced" the paper to help with the "bleeding" of the ink. It did help a little bit. Just lightly dust the paper with Pounce and rub it in with the felt ring then either blow excess off or wipe it off with your hand.

HOMEWORK: Continue practicing with the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib. Remember: 3-2-3 boxes for the lining. Look for text that you want to use for the illuminated manuscript project. If you’ve already chosen some text, practice that.

Intermediates: try putting the slant in (see the handout for exact angle).

Next week we’ll put the slant into the Carolingian.

writing carolingian with 5mm & 2.5mm nib. Spacing

October 5, 2009

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #3:

Warm-Up:

1. Come in and set up your work area

2. Tape down your ink well

3. Line your paper if needed

4. Put your drawing board into your lap

5. Write at the right level on the Board

6. Practice the pen angle & letters

7. Rehearse for the performance!

Today DeAnn discussed spacing for Carolingian. Unlike Italic or Copperplate, Carolingian does not have picket-fence spacing because the letters are so wide. Curved letters can be quite close together – think of Carolingian spacing as a pearl necklace. The overall look of the writing is round shapes placed close together running along the horizontal lines. Don’t place the stem strokes of the letters too close together; you don’t want to create dark spots.

For spacing between words, only put enough space to distinguish each word from one another. Too much space will make the sentence look like individual words in a list.

Archaic = old or ancient. In old manuscripts, the “long s” was used – it looks like a modern f but without the cross-bar. To create an archaic-looking manuscript, calligraphers will use the long s.

We began using the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib. For this width, line the grid paper with 3-2-3 boxes: 3 boxes from ascender to waist, 2 boxes for the x-height (waist to base), 3 boxes from base to descender; then repeat. Cut the 17” x 22” grid paper in half vertically (11 x 17) and line it as a landscape page (lines along the 17” length).

For practice, it’s OK not to put the beak serif in, so you can concentrate on the flow of the words and letters.

Pay close attention to the white-space of each letter form; this is called the “counter space.” Really examine and think about the counter space this week while practicing; this will help you form the letter correctly. Color in the counter space with colored pencils/markers and compare the colored shapes to the exemplar.

Tip: Let the left side of the nib slightly pierce through the base-line so that the strokes look the same length (e.g. the “i” or the 2^nd stroke of the “n” where it meets the baseline).

Illumination Project

Start thinking about what text you want to use in the illuminated manuscript project for this semester. It should be about 50 – 100 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.

HOMEWORK: Practice writing text with the 2 1/2 mm Brause nib. X-height = 1/4 inch. Ascender/descender = 3/8”.

Interlinear space will have the descender meet the ascender. We will increase this in later assignments.

Westchester Adult School beginning class

We finished the alphabet today. Everyone worked letter by letter and we were sure to get each letter just right. We are still working with a pencil at 1 inch x-height. Then we worked on spacing between letters.

Vertical + vertical = farthest apart = the inside space of n

Vertical + curve = closer

Curve + curve = closest

Spacing is more important than the construction and accuracy of the individual letters. Overall good spacing will let the writing have a good rhythm and texture. We need to remember that each letter is basically the same size. We are going for "picket fence" spacing. Even space throughout. The assignment is to make up words to write keeping the spacing even. No dark spots of light areas. Practice and after writing some words, turn the paper upside down and see if it has even texture and "color". Look at it in the mirror. I like to squint my eyes down tight so all I can see is the "color" of the writing and it will show you if some are too dark or too light. When you practice, put in margin lines, be deliberate with every stroke. You are REHEARSING for the performance....don't take practice lightly! Here are some pictures of the demonstration in class.

Sept 21 Carolingian practice

September 21, 2009 by Judy Shibata

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #2:  DeAnn reviewed setting up your tools and workspace correctly so that it would 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. Remember to use your left-hand as an anchor.

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.

To review: for the Brause 5mm nib, the space between the ascender to the waist is 6 boxes, waist to base is 4 boxes, base to descender is 6 boxes. Then repeat that spacing, with the descender becoming the ascender for the next line (think of it as “big-big-small” after the 1^st line to make sure you line the paper correctly). Then write in “x” on each waist-base line to remind yourself that is the line to write on.

  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.

  When comparing your letter to the exemplar, look at the counterspace (white-space), not just the black strokes. This will help you to see the letter’s shape more clearly.

  Forming the letters: The pen angle is 22-degrees with no slant. DeAnn writes the stem-stroke first, then does the “beak”. The beak serif should be small, just a small curve. When writing the stem, especially from the ascender (like the “l”), look at the left-side of your pen.

  Carolingian is a branching alphabet, which means that for the letters like n, you start the branching curve from the midpoint of the stem stroke, not at the waist.

  For the “b”, write the stem stroke, then make the bottom stroke, so that it looks a little like an “L”. The “o” is more like a grapefruit, not a lemon – think wide.

 HOMEWORK:  practice the letters.

REMINDER:  No class next week, 9/28/09.

Beverly Hills Begins Carolingian

September 14, 2009 

written by Judy Shibata

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #1:  Carolingian will be the hand this semester. It originated in Tours, France, during the time of Charlemagne (8th Century). It spread all over Europe and the 10^th Century English Carolingian version is the basis of Roman miniscule type.

DeAnn distributed basic supplies. For this week, students will need ink (Higgins Eternal or sumi),  round pen-holder and Brause nibs (5mm, 2.5mm, 1.5mm, 1mm),  8x8 grid paper, inkwell, and a drawing board. We’re starting with the 5mm Brause nib.  For supplies call Helen Gershen 310 837-3604    3101 Federal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066 DeAnn will have the supplies in class next week.

Using black 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" 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.

  Preparing 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 4^th line is “D” for descender.

 Pen angle:  The Brause 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 nib-widths. At a pen angle of 90-degrees, draw short horizontal strokes to measure by pen widths.

  Carolingian has a pen angle of 20-degrees and an x-height of 3 pen widths (equal to about 4.5 boxes on the grid paper). In class, we’ll use an x-height of 4 boxes for the 5mm nib. The ascender & descender are 1 1/2 times the x-height, so that will be 6 boxes above the waist line, 10 all told.

  Homework:  Become really familiar with this nib. Practice vertical & horizontal strokes at different pen angles. Practice the “i” and “l” that DeAnn demonstrated in class.

Carolingian Supply List

Beverly Hills Class fall 2009

1.    Round pen holder

2.    Nibs: 5mm, 2.5mm, 1.5mm, 1mm Brause Nibs

3.    Black ink: Higgins eternal or Yasutomo sumi in the round green bottle.

4.    Ink well

5.    Bienfang:  17x 22 inch grid paper 8x8 cross section.

6.    Ruler: C-Thru 18” gridded ruler

7.    Pencil and Eraser pencil sharpener

8.    Notebook to take notes into

9.    Rag to clean your nib and wipe up spilled ink

Project materials: (don’t buy any of these, you can will buy them in class)

10.  Pergamanatta paper for illuminated manuscript

11.   23.5K gold leaf

12. Gouache or watercolors

13. Fine watercolor brush # 1& #00

14. When we start designing our page, bring a digital camera if you have one so you can take pictures of examples of illumination and decoration that will help you design your manuscript.