Beverly Hills Gothic Class #4 - February 22, 2010

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #4: DeAnn brought samples of Gothic written in different sizes and on different papers. She also reviewed the “a” and “s” using the “o” as a guide, as well as demonstrating picket fence spacing with the hangover letters (c, e, f, r, t, x).

For letters after the hangover letters, don't write the square serif and overlap the downstroke if necessary for correct spacing:

Handout: Lombardic capitals – these letters will be used for the first 2 lines of the illuminated manuscript project.

Goal for this week: practice the text you’ll be using in your project with the 1 1/2 mm Brause nib, x-height = 2 boxes (1/4-inch). Write on the see-through paper that DeAnn provided in class using the project template as a guide. For those who’ve taken DeAnn’s copperplate class, the cotton comp paper can be used for practice.

Decorative Capital for illuminated manuscript project: The decorative capital is the first letter of your text. Find a decorative capital from the books DeAnn brought to class or from online sources and trace it or download it. It should be 2-inch by 2-inch in size so resize it as needed; use the template as a guide.

Tip for tracing: if you don’t have a light-table, put white paper underneath the sheet you’re tracing to better contrast. Use a sharpened pencil with 2H lead. A harder lead is better for getting a thin line that won’t smudge easily.

DeAnn demonstrated gilding the decorative capital:

1. Trace the letter using a pencil with 2H lead onto the pergamannata paper.

2. Paint the glue mixture (2/3 Sobo glue, 1/3 water, some red watercolor to tint it so you can see it when dry) into the letter using a pointed synthetic #1 brush. You want to pull the glue so that it’s smooth. Use big broad strokes, not dabs. Paint on top of the pencil outline; it’s better to go outside the pencil lines than stay within the lines. You can always scrape away the excess later.

3. Paint 3 thin layers of glue. Make sure each layer dries completely before painting on the next layer of glue. Rinse your brush after each layer so that the glue doesn’t dry on the brush.

4. TIP: don’t let the brush sit in the water – this will ruin the tip.

5. Once the glue is dry, breathe on it to re-moisten the glue (BEWARE: remove any lipstick or chapstick from your lips first). Then place the gold-leaf on top (gold side down) and rub gently.

6. Remove the backing. Using a soft brush, brush away the excess gold.

7. Using a #16 blade in your x-acto knife, scrape the edges of the letter to smooth it and remove any gold glued on outside the outline.

8. Burnish the gold with an agate burnisher.

HOMEWORK: For the next class, bring the decorative capital that you want for your illuminated manuscript project. It should be a 2-inch by 2-inch size to fit into the area on the project template. DeAnn will bring the supplies so we can practice gilding this decorative capital.

Beverly Hills Feb.1, 2010 Gothic

This is what you should think of as "true picket fence spacing" the stroke that you make and the white space that you leave should exactly match, between letters and inside letters. Put just a little more between words so that you know it's a new word but doesn't leave a big "gap" in the over all texture. This is very difficult to read but just do it this way for now and then we can modify it later.

Beverly Hills Adult School Class #3: DeAnn reviewed the “hangover” letters (c, e, r, t, f, x) and commented on common mistakes she saw in the homework.

Be aware of the following mistakes:

• Making the square – downstroke – square or rectangle into one continuous stroke. Pick up your pen after each stroke so that they’re separate strokes.
• Making the rectangle stroke too steep: the direction should be flatter, NOT going at the same angle as the pen angle (that’s the square stroke). Think “square goes down, rectangle goes across”.

Today’s handouts were the Gothic capitals exemplar and the illuminated manuscript project template for Gothic. Because we won’t have class for 2 weeks (2/8 & 2/15 are Beverly Hills Adult School holidays), the goal is to move down to the 2 ½ mm Brause nib, practice the capital letters, then move down the 1 ½ mm Brause nib. Start looking at what text you’d like to use in your project and practice writing it out using the template as a guide. You’ll need about 75 words.

Review of Drawing Lines (lining your paper): Both the C-thru 18” ruler and the 17”x22” grid paper we use in class have the same 8x8 grid, which makes lining easier. By having a 2”-inch margin on each side, you only have to make one 18” line as you move the ruler down the page. Place your left hand in the middle of the ruler to steady it, then draw the line from left to right. This sharpens the pencil as you draw the line.

For 2 ½ mm Brause nib, the x-height (the length from waist to base, or the length of an “x”) is ½-inch or 4-boxes. So to line the grid paper, match the darker blue lines to the dark blue lines on the ruler and draw your line. You don’t have to draw a line on top of the darker blue line since those are already visible. The ascender and descender is barely 1 box, so you don’t have to draw those lines; just remember that. Label the lines “waist”, “base”, “waist”, “base”, etc. and put an “x” on every other line so that you can easily see which line you should write on.

DeAnn’s TIP: Once you start writing (practicing), go to the end – don’t cross-out, crumple-up, stop & start elsewhere. Even if you feel like you’ve made a bad mistake, continue writing and don’t dwell on it.

Tips for the 2 ½ mm Brause nib: fill the reservoir ½ - ¾ full of ink. If you feel that too much ink comes out when you start writing immediately after dipping the pen into the ink, place a post-it note by your dinky-dip and make some zig-zag lines to use up the excess ink.

Remember to use your left-hand as a weight and leave the sheet you’re writing on moveable. Don’t forget to BREATHE!

Materials you will need for the Illuminated Manuscript Project:

• Round watercolor brush with pointed tip; e.g. Winsor Newton Series 7 in size 0 and in size 1 (2 brushes). Because these are expensive brushes, you may prefer to get a version that Utrecht or Dick Blick makes, which will work just as well for this project. Gouache = opaque watercolors. You will need Permanent White and a few other colors of your choice. DeAnn will provide some in class, but if you prefer a certain palette of colors, she may not have all the colors you want to use.
• Palette for your gouache. This can be a small 6-well plastic palette or one that comes with a cover. Even if the gouache dries, you can reconstitute it with water and it works fine.
• Micron Pigma 005 Pen in black. This is a very fine tip permanent black ink marker.
• Pencil with 2H lead (can be a sketch or mechanical pencil; or a 2mm Lead Holder if you have one). A #2 pencil has HB lead. You’ll need one with harder lead for this project so your lines won’t smudge.
• Pergamanatta paper – DeAnn will provide this.

The 1 ½ mm Brause nib and black ink will be used for writing the text in the Illuminated Manuscript Project. Once you’ve moved down to writing with the 1 ½ mm nib, practice writing out your text on thin paper (e.g. Cotton Comp from Borden & Riley) placed on top of the template so you can see the guide-lines through it. This way, you won’t have to line the paper each time.

When we return to class on 2/22, bring your digital camera so that you can take pictures of illuminated manuscript examples that you like. DeAnn will bring many books on illuminated manuscripts and decorative letters. You can download the photos you take to your computer and resize them as needed to use in your illuminated manuscript project. During the break, search on the web for illuminated manuscript examples; start getting an idea of what style you might want to do your project in.

Gothic Capitals: are just slightly higher than x-height but they are wide.

The decorations are: s-curve, hairline, flag, thorn, horizontal, straight vertical.

Basically, a Gothic capital is taking a Roman capital, fracturing it (hence the German “fraktur”), and adding decorations. The whole idea of decorations is to fill up some of the white space within the capital letter.

O-shape: the initial is not rounded, but goes down so the shape is more like a grapefruit than an orange.

NEVER write all Gothic capitals!

HOMEWORK: Write alphabet words (for alphabet flowers, see DeAnn’s website: www.designingletters.com. Practice writing with the 2 ½ mm Brause nib (x-height = ½-inch or 4 boxes) and the 1 ½ mm Brause nib (x-height = ¼-inch or 2 boxes). At the 1 ½ mm size, line a sheet of grid paper, then tear it in half (length-wise) so that you have 2 pieces you can practice on without having to line them separately.

Reminder: No class on 2/8 & 2/15. Next class on 2/22.

Flowers
A Amaryllis, Alyssum, Aster, Acanthus, Alstroemeria, Anemone
B Bluebell, Buttercup, Begonia
C Crocus, Camellia, Carnation
D Dahlias, Dianthus, Daisy, Daffodil
E Edelweiss, Euphorbia, Escholzia (California Poppy)
F Forsythia, Foxglove, Forget-me-not, Freesia
G Gladiolus, Geranium, Gardenia, Gerbera
H Heather, Hyacinth, Hollyhocks
I Iris, Impatiens, Ixia
J Joseph's coat, Jasmine, Jonquil (narcissus)
K Kniphofia, Knapweed, Kangaroo Paw
L Lily, Lobelia, Lupine, Lavender, Lilac
M Marigold, Morning Glory, Myrtle
N Narcissus, Nasturtium, Nemesia
O Orchid
P Pansy, Primrose, Periwinkle, Peony
Q Quince, Queen Ann’s Lace
R Ranunculus, Rose, Rhododendron
S Salvia, Snapdragon, Sunflower, Stock
T Tulip, Tigerflower, Temple Bells, Tuberose
U Uvularia, Urbinia
V Violet, Vinca, Verbena
W Wallflower, Wisteria, Water Lily
X Xeranthemum
Y Yarrow
Z Zinnia

This is the x-height example for the 2 1/2mm nib. 4 boxes for the waist to base and one box above and below the line for extenders. (ascenders and descenders)

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 1^st 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.”

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