From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V2 #6 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Friday, May 15 1998 Volume 02 : Number 006 In this issue: Re: [scribes]: Teaching Calligraphy Re: [scribes]: Font help Re: [scribes]: Translations Re: [scribes]: Teaching Calligraphy Re: [scribes]: Pennsic War Artist Needed Re: [scribes]: Font help Re: [scribes]: Teaching Calligraphy [scribes]: Nibs/corrosive inks Re: [scribes]: Calendar question Re: [scribes]: Nibs/corrosive inks [scribes]: Humor ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 11:37:19 -0400 (EDT) From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: Re: [scribes]: Teaching Calligraphy > A feather quill pen is great because it lets you glide on the page >> with almost no pressure are all. I have difficulty getting this out of my >> metal nis and I use TAPE and BRAUSE nibs. My way around it has been to >> press the pen to get a flow going, then release pressure to glide with the >> tip until that charge ends. What are some of your techniques? > >Funny, I have the opposite problem! My quills don';t seem to hold as much >ink as >my Tape nibs [which I really like and highly recommend to people, expecially >those using Speedballs--Nibs can make A LOT of difference in how easy it is to >master the finer points of a hand ] SNIP A FEATHER QUILL CAN NOT HOLD NEARLY THE VOLUME OF INK THAT A MODERN METAL NIB HOLDS BECAUSE THE QUILL HAS NO RESEVOIR LIKE THE ONES WE HAVE TODAY. THAT LITTLE DEVICE ALSO MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO WRITE ON A HORIZONTAL SURFACE LIKE A TABLETOP. THE FEATHER QUILL MATERIAL IS SLIPPERY TO INK, WHICH IS WHY IT WORKS SO WELL, BUT IT NEEDS TO BE HELD AT CLOSEER TO A HORIZONTAL ANGLE THAN NOT. THAT WAY, A LARGE CHARGE CAN STAY UP INSIDE WITHOUT RUNNING DOWN ONTO THE PAGE. THAT IS ALSO THE REAL REASON THAT SCRIBE DESKS ARE USUALLY SLANTED. > >I still haven't figured out how anyone could write by loading a pen with a >brush, >too awkward and time consuming for me and I would end up with lots of >splatters. >{Besides, medieval scribes are shown holding penknives, not brushes while >writing} SNIP LIKE A MEDIEVAL SCRIBE, I ALMOST ALWAYS DIP A FEATHER QUILL BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A PROBLEM WITH HAVING TOO MUCH INK BLOOPING AT THE TIP. HOWEVER, WITH THE MODERN NIBS, THE RESEVOIR SEEMS TO GET REALLY OVERLOADED WHEN I DIP, SO LIKE MANY PEOPLE I TEND TO LOAD THE NIB AT THE RESEVOIR DIRECTLY WITHOUT DIPPING. I BUY THE HIGGINS NON-WATERPROOF INDIA INK AND IT HAS A NICE EYEDROPPER IN THE JAR LID. OTHERWISE, I WOULD BE USING A BRUSH. THIS WAY SEEMS TO ME A MUCH CLEANER METHOD THAN WIPING BIG THICK NASTY LINES ON SCRAP PAPER (WHICH IS JUST ANOTHER THING TO KEEP ON THE TABLE) AND I DON'T HAVE THE DRIED ON BUILD-UP OF CRUD YOU GET AROUND THE CLIP WHEN DIPPING. Ranthulfr Asparlundr Randy Asplund-Faith 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 (734) 663-0954 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 98 09:05:12 PDT From: Dyan Boven Subject: Re: [scribes]: Font help Does anyone out there have fontagrapher? if so please email me! I have = a situation on my hands, no pun intended, I want to preserve the "hand" of someone who has been told she may not have too much time left to do this art. Help. Ches - ------------------------------------------------------------ I'm sorry, no help here, just another question. Boy, do I feel silly,but what on earth is a fontagrapher and what does = it do. Picking the wordt apart I suppose it has something to do with rec= ording fonts, but how would you do that? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tais van Vlaenderen, Kingdom of Caid ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 98 09:11:22 PDT From: Dyan Boven Subject: Re: [scribes]: Translations Greetings, Are there people on the list who can translate texts within a short period of time (2 weeks)? I have two scrolls to do this summer (one is due at Pennsic, the other is backlog but it is 18months old). I'd like both to be in German. The problem is time. I'm afraid if I don't get going on these soon, I'll run out. Can anybody help? Thanks in advance, Kenrick Byrne of Northampton mperry@ade.com http://www.geocities.com/athens/delphi/9950 ========================================== Kendrick, if you haven't found anybody yet who'll help you with your German translation, why don't you e-mail or fax me the text for your two scrolls and mark the one you would like done first and I'll see what I can do. It's been a while since I spoke it, but I do have a friend who's German, and if I do the work, maybe I can talk him into reading and correcting it. I'll do my best anyways, plus I have some good dictionaries that will be of help. dyan@thegrid.net -- fax 760-365-5922 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tais van Vlaenderen, Kingdom of Caid ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 09:07:06 -0700 From: "Carolyn Richardson" Subject: Re: [scribes]: Teaching Calligraphy I've been using Speedball nibs forever, primarily because those are the ones I originally used to learn calligraphy so I guess I'm just used to them. I've never had a real problem with dipping them - that's the way I alway do it. Of course, I do wipe the *side* of the pen on the jar before using it to remove some of the ink load (surface tension pulls it out of the reservoir). I rarely have to use a scrap to test before I write unless I've just cleaned the pen. Lately what I've been doing is this: I also like Speedball's waterproof india ink for calligraphy but it tends to clog the pen after about a half hour of writing. So I keep a cup of 1/2 water and 1/2 Formula 409 on the table too and when the pen gets too clogged I use this to clean it. 409 seems to clean ink *really* well - I also use it to clean my technical pens. A little bit of this mixture on the pen also seems to make the ink flow better longer but you have to be careful - don't add it to the nib, just use what's left after cleaning and drying the pen. One warning about the Speedball waterproof ink - when they say it's permanent, they *really* mean it. I dropped some on a pair of pants back in high school and 10 years later those ink spots were about the only thing left of those jeans. Tetchubah of Greenlake Kingdom of Caid ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:22:34 -0400 From: Michel Macdonald Subject: Re: [scribes]: Pennsic War Artist Needed Greetings to the list from Lady Michel Almond de Champagn, War Herald for Pennsic 27 and Deputy Signet Clerk for the East Kingdom in charge of the care and feeding of novice scribes. Hi, I am putting together the Heralds staff for Pennsic War and I am in need of a Heraldic artist. So if anyone is planning on attending the war and would be interested in volunteering their talents please contact me. Thanks, Michel ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 12:33:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Kathleen Sperling Subject: Re: [scribes]: Font help > Does anyone out there have fontagrapher? if so please email me! I have a > situation on my hands, no pun intended, I want to preserve the "hand" of > someone who has been told she may not have too much time left to do this > art. Help. For those wondering, Macromedia Fontographer is a piece of software which allows you to make your own fonts (making your own fonts is very nifty - making your own fonts from examples of medieval texts is *extremely* nifty :) - I'm currently working on making a font from the calligraphy in the Book of Kells). You can order Fontographer online from http://www.macromedia.com/software/fontographer/ However, if you don't want to spend the $349US on this program and you happen to have CorelDraw 3.0 or greater, you can make your own fonts with that. Instructions are available at http://www.flightofthedragon.com/makefont Unfortunately, I'm unaware of any freeware or shareware font creation program. You want to create fonts, you have to shell out money. Cheers, Sayyida Zahra al-Ishbiiliyah Scribe in the Incipient Kingdom of Ealdormere Avid calligraphy and illumination geek :) http://www.interlog.com/~kms/SCA/scribe.html (is that an okay self-introduction to the list?) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 11:46:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Elizabeth Maes Subject: Re: [scribes]: Teaching Calligraphy I'm a chemist in real life. The reason 409 cleans your nibs so well is because the shellac in the ink (which is what makes it waterproof) is being removed by the 409. The shellac is also what is gumming up your nibs every 30 minutes. I encourage my students to use non-permanent ink - it isn't really any easier to get out of clothes/carpet/etc., but it is less corrosive to your pen nibs and doesn't clog them up, even after hours of use. My nibs started lasting twice as long with non-permanant ink. It is also more corrosive to the material you are writing on. We don't think about the super-long term existance of our art - any more than they did in the middle ages. Using less corrosive materials will let your work last longer - especially if you are working on real parchment. I also discourage the use of speedball nibs - I find it much simpler to simply remove the reservoir cap on the Brause nibs to clean them with plain soap and water. I also find the speedballs to be far less flexible. Nothing compares to real quill pens for this, I realize, but there are compromises to be made. Of course, I also emphasize that you should scout around for what suits you the best. - ---Carolyn Richardson wrote: > > > I've been using Speedball nibs forever, primarily because those are the > ones I originally used to learn calligraphy so I guess I'm just used to > them. I've never had a real problem with dipping them - that's the way I > alway do it. Of course, I do wipe the *side* of the pen on the jar before > using it to remove some of the ink load (surface tension pulls it out of > the reservoir). I rarely have to use a scrap to test before I write unless > I've just cleaned the pen. Lately what I've been doing is this: I also > like Speedball's waterproof india ink for calligraphy but it tends to clog > the pen after about a half hour of writing. So I keep a cup of 1/2 water > and 1/2 Formula 409 on the table too and when the pen gets too clogged I > use this to clean it. 409 seems to clean ink *really* well - I also use it > to clean my technical pens. A little bit of this mixture on the pen also > seems to make the ink flow better longer but you have to be careful - - don't > add it to the nib, just use what's left after cleaning and drying the pen. > > One warning about the Speedball waterproof ink - when they say it's > permanent, they *really* mean it. I dropped some on a pair of pants back > in high school and 10 years later those ink spots were about the only thing > left of those jeans. > > Tetchubah of Greenlake > Kingdom of Caid > > > _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 13:33:31 -0700 From: Carolyn_Richardson@cch.com Subject: [scribes]: Nibs/corrosive inks Actually, the ink isn't that corrosive from what I can tell - I've had the same nibs for 10 years or more and I'm still using them. Other than some rust in the section that gets stuck into the pen holder they're fine (and the rust is my own fault - I left them wet in the holders too long on those pens that have the problem - being in Western Seas (Hawaii) didn't help either). I'm leary about using nonwaterproof inks though - I frequently am painting close to my calligraphy and wouldn't want it to smear (which is what happened the one time I bought nonwaterproof ink by accident). Thanks for the tip about why the 409 works, though - I'd have never guessed. I'll be uns*bscribing from the list later today for the next 3 weeks (England here I come!) so have fun while I'm gone. Tetchubah of Greenlake Kingdom of Caid ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 16:33:28 EDT From: FITCHYBEAR Subject: Re: [scribes]: Calendar question In a message dated 98-05-15 06:37:46 EDT, dyan@thegrid.net writes: << Well, I don't know if this is the right place for it, but after reading about all those gorgeous books and checking out some of the bookstores that were mentioned over the last few days, I have my shopping list ready. On top of the list is the 1998 Medieval Woman Calendar that I just love. It used to be my Christmas present to myself, but then from 1995 on I haven't been able to find them. The bookstores out here claimed they couldn't order it, and believe me, I've asked. So here's my question: Would anybody happen to know somebody who'd still be hanging on to some old calendars ('95, '96 & '97) and who would be willing to part with them, maybe some friends, family, acquaintances?? I have geen idee whether it'd be possible to go through a bookstore to get old calenders. Any information is appreciated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taos van Vlaenderen Dyan Boven Caid Yucca Valley, CA >> We keep all of ours.....my wife for costuming me for the artwork. Have you tried ordering from the chain store "The Museum Company" or the Smithsonian?_jimBear ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 17:12:21 -0400 (EDT) From: stacey jill wahrman Subject: Re: [scribes]: Nibs/corrosive inks Since a lot of people were worried a week or so ago about the permanence of their scrolls, and had a lot of strong opinions about paper, I'll toss in my two cents about ink. Having seen what happens to a scroll done with non-waterproof ink after ten years or so, I will never go back to the non-waterproof stuff. It really does noticably fade, even if it's not hung in direct sunlight. I use Sumi ink and make sure to clean my nibs *really* carefully every time. At this point the number of articles of clothing I own that do not have ink stains on them is dwindling rapidly (it's really permanent!), but I do have the security of knowing it will also remain on the Bristol board... Arianwen - -=*=-=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=- Stacey Wahrman wahrman@wam.umd.edu Like a parrot in a picture window, I can see where I want to be. But repeated blows to my feathered little head Have taught me not to fly straight. -- The Bobs ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 13:51:31 -0700 From: guineth@juno.com (Emily SD Thompson) Subject: [scribes]: Humor I got this on a mundane calligrapher's list and could not resist passing it on! Sister Guineth the White Dragons Mist, An Tir - --------- Begin forwarded message ---------- I couldn't resist passing along this joke from the Funky Winkerbean comic strip in last Sunday's paper: Teacher: Can anyone tell me what an illuminated manuscript was? Student: Isn't that what monks considered light reading? ...you know, teaching us about the middle ages is feudal! - --------- End forwarded message ---------- _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V2 #6 ***************************