you are here [x]: Scarlet Star Studios > the Scarlet Letters > mhcc calligraphy: class 6
<< before
Our Halloween: "the making of Let Sleeping Gods Lie"
after >>
lost and found in the stacks
November 5, 2005
mhcc calligraphy: class 6
by gl. at 1:19 pm
below is a bookhand layout using color for emphasis. the ink is actually much greyer than the scan makes it look: i watered down sumi fairly heavily to make the red stand out more. (and i like the whole grey/red thing. can you tell? ;)
[click for a larger verion]
my least favorite thing about calligraphy is struggling with materials. and i hate doing projects for classes which aren't actually functional -- why put in all that work if i can't actually display it or give it away as a gift or sell it? that's why the artist's way open studios have been working well for me, because at the end of the night i have created not just art, but a card i could give to someone.
i struggled w/ "two ways" because my typical card stock proved to be troublesome with the size of nib i had to use (a tape 1). the nib skipped and shook and wavered more than a nib even a half size larger. even turning the card inside out to use the hot press side didn't help. so the time i'd rather be spending tweaking layout and lettering got swallowed by debugging instead, making a 4-hour process 8 hours long.
so i frantically scrambled through all my papers for a smoother grain. what i should be using because i bought it specifically for this purpose is arches text wove, which i bought because the amazing teri martin recommended it during the sdfc coloring books workshop. i think teri uses gouache & acrylic, though: every single ink i've tried to use on arches text wove has feathered & spread: even sumi spreads a little. it's part of the trouble i was having with joanne's wedding comission earlier this year. i have about $75 worth of arches text wove in the flatfiles but if i can't use it, what's the point? i ended up using cheap paper from a strathmore drawing pad.
the sdfc did a paper sample workshop which was really interesting, but at this point, though i still have the samples, i don't what they are anymore (though i have some sort of vague memory that i was impressed w/ fabriano). and really, all i want is a good off-white text weight and cardstock/envelopes that work w/ inks & a variety of pen sizes. i got recommendations from the advanced calligraphers in the backof the class (aquarius 2 & fox hill), and i think i may be due for a paper & ink or daniel smith shopping trip.
we won't be meeting next week or the week of thanksgiving, though we may be doing a pastepaper workshop on saturday.
posted by gl. | November 5, 2005 1:19 PM | categories: calligraphy, classes & workshops