Spring Classes

Even though there's still snow on the ground, Spring has sprung. That means it's time to sign up for Spring classes at the Worcester Art Museum. There are lots to choose from.

There are still openings in:

Introduction to Heraldry, Mondays, 4/27 - 5/18, 6 - 9 PM, 4 sessions and

A Taste of Calligraphy, Wednesdays, 5/13 - 6/10, 1 - 4 PM, 5 sessions

Introduction to Heraldry

Commission 16 in x 20 in, ink and gouache

Even though the view outside my front window looks like the tundra, there are only 76 days until the Spring session of classes at the Worcester Art Museum.

I'll be offering a new class for this session. Introduction to Heraldry.

Monday, 6PM - 9 PM
27. April - 18. May 2015, 4 weeks
(if we don't keep having snowstorms Sunday night into Monday)

During the Middle Ages, coats of arms were used to distinguish knights on a battlefield. In this introductory class, learn the language of heraldry to design and paint your own coat of arms, or your family coat of arms.  Learn Uncial, a 5th. c. script to add your motto or family name to your coat of arms. Continuing students may use the script of their choice.

Despite the course title, this class isn't a historical class in the rules and regulations of heraldry. We'll be bending the rules for personal expression and enjoyment. We'll look to the Knights exhibit and other pieces in the gallery for inspiration.

I hope you can join me (if I can get out of the driveway)

Keep Art Alive

Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples
used with permission of Gemma Black 

This is a game from Facebook to keep art alive. Leave a comment and I will assign you an artist. It doesn't matter if you don't know their work; just Google them and choose an image of the piece you like most, and post it on your wall with this message. If the artist is alive and well, you may want to write and ask permission to use one of their pieces in your blog post or on Facebook.

My artist is my good friend and teacher, Gemma Black from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. You can visit Gemma at her blog or her website, and read about the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples.

When Jupiter Aligns with Mars

Prynne, Coat of Arms

For my Artist in Residence du Jour, I chose The Scarlet Letter VI by Tim Rollins and K.O.S. from the WAM collection as my inspiration. I decided I wanted to alter a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and use the book as my canvas. I didn't have a copy of the book on my bookshelf and friends and relatives didn't either.

On a search of AbeBooks, a site for used and out of print books, I found a 1970 Penguin Classics version with a cover picture of Elizabeth Freake and her daughter, Mary as Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl. The portraits of the Freakes are also in the WAM collection.

After finishing the mixed media piece, I heard of Unbound Vol. III, a juried art show from the Artistree Community Arts Center and Gallery in Woodstock, Vermont. I submitted my piece for consideration. Entering this show was a little out of my comfort zone. I almost talked myself out of entering. I thought my work wouldn't be edgy enough, calligraphy isn't considered fine art, and any number of excuses why I shouldn't submit the work. I was pleased with myself for following though.

Many would say these events were coincidental. Maybe, they are "wyrd", Anglo-Saxon for fate or personal destiny. Either way, I'm pleased to announce my book was accepted into the show. Color me my favorite blue with excitement.

Unbound Vol.III
26. July - 7. September 2013
Artistree Community Arts Center and Gallery
Woodstock, VT

Opening Reception: Friday, 26. July 2013, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

In The Studio

And you thought all I would need would
be a pen and ink?

The afternoon session of my Artist in Residence du Jour was spent in the studio. The book had been prepared ahead of time for its use as a canvas. The last line of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne had been selected as the text. "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules" This is the blazon (the written description) of Hester Prynne's coat of arms. I had hoped to scribe the text on the last page of the story, but the book didn't naturally stay open on this page. The pages were painted with gesso with a touch of Titanium Buff to keep the look of the original aged pages. The edges of the book were painted with gold acrylic to simulate the gilded edges of old books.

The text was scribed using a 2 mm. Brause nib and Ziller Glossy Black ink.  In the book, the text was printed in uppercase Times New Roman. I'm working on my Romans and wasn't confident enough to use them in this piece so Uncial was chosen as the hand  or script I would use. (When talking about calligraphic writing the term "font" is never used. Font is for type, typography. Hand or script is the correct term for calligraphy. But you already knew that, right?) Uncial is a majuscule hand. There is no "lower-case" so this would approximate the uppercase text used in the book. The text was scribed on the verso page and then a large, modern illuminated A, in the style of Sherrie Kiesel, was drawn on the recto page and would be upside-down to the viewer.

A paper doll base was prepared ahead of time. The dress was a page from an old Worcester Museum Class catalog. It was painted Payne's Grey and folded with modification into an origami dress. An articulated arm was made, and a collar and cuff was glued from a scrap of eyelet trim.

While waiting for the ink to dry, I painted another tiny, illuminated A in a traditional style on a 1/2" square of black Canson Mi Tientes. When dry, the scarlet letter was pasted to the doll's dress. Baby Mary and Elizabeth's head were cut from the cover of the book and the doll was assembled. A wire stand is glued to the back. "Hester" will be positioned at the top of the recto page. The paper doll is roughly in the shape of a capital A and casts an illuminated, scarlet A shadow which is also Hester's coat of arms.

The day ended with the project 3/4 complete. The rest was finished at home. The illuminated "A" was colored with various red shades of watercolor pencil to simulate stained glass. The black field was painted with ivory black acrylic. 24 gauge, gold wire was bent and glued with PVA to form the flourishes of the illuminated initial and represent the mantling of a coat of arms. A small pearl bead was glued to represent Hester's daughter, Pearl.

Measurements: 8 1/2 in. x 7 in.x 5 3/4 in.

In The Galleries

I had a wonderful time as the Artist in Residence du Jour of the Worcester Art Museum. yesterday. I had hoped the museum would have done some advertising about the event, though truthfully, the weather was so gorgeous there were very few visitors to the museum all day. Next time, I'll arrange for a rainy day. A big thank you to friends and a family who braved a trip to the wilds of Central Massachusetts. I really appreciated your support.

Since I only had the one day and was expected to have a finished or nearly finished piece at the end of the day, I had planned on using Tim Rollins and K.O.S. The Scarlet Letter VI as my inspiration. Instead of doing an illuminated initial, I wanted to do some sort of an altered book sculpture. I put out a call to family and friends to see if anyone had an old copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and came up with nothing. At the last minute, I was searching for a used copy and found a 1970 copy of a Penguin Classic. Big deal, right? Except the cover was a portrait painting of Mrs. Elizabeth Freake and her daughter, Baby Mary. The portrait just happens to hang in the American Gallery of, you guessed it, the Worcester Art Museum. Was that fate or what?

I have to say I really liked having the museum all to myself. Sitting and sketching was very relaxing. I can see the advantage of having a studio outside of one's home. No distractions to take your mind off your work. No one asking about lost items, and no guilt about ignoring the siren call of dirty dishes in the sink.

 First stop was to the 20th. c. gallery where I played with the letter A

Then I paid a visit to the Freakes. 

And then on the balcony of The Renaissance Court, I sketched a really cool, bas relief coat of arms with a dragon for a crest. 

Next stop, the studio, but I'll bore tell you about the rest of the process on Thursday.

A TARDIS Friday Five

Day Two of my Artist Retreat last week was spent at The Boston Public Library. This was an old haunt of mine when I was a student at Boston University when Adam was still in short leaves. Five things I did while at the BPL

1. I greeted the lions that are in the foyer of the old library (McKim building).The two lions that stand guard over the foyer were carved to honor Massachusetts Civil War dead. The lion to the right of the staircase, is called the Harvard lion as the Massachusetts regiment was mostly made up of young men who attended Harvard. The lion to the left of the staircase with one of his paws curved in, was dedicated to a Massachusetts regiment made up mostly of working class men from Irish descent. My family lore states that my great-uncle Manny, a stonecutter, worked on the lions. The lions look like they are carved from concrete, but they are carved from unfinished Sienna marble. Charles McKim, the architect, was heavy into symbolism. Since the young men who died left unfinished lives, the lions were not polished. Over the years, people have rubbed the tails of the lions for good luck and the oils from human hands has polished the marble.

2. At 11 am, I went on the free Art and Architecture tour of the old library (the new library was built during the 1970s). This was my third or fourth time on the tour, but by far the best. The docent, Miles, had a million back stories which I had never heard. Before the tour, I asked him if he knew where I could find info about Uncle Manny and he suggested the Louis Saint-Gaudens (sculptor of the lions) Museum in NH. He said they might have records of the sub-contractors Saint-Gaudens used. A good lead.

Don't Blink!

Enlightenment stands over the doorway to the main reading room.

Besides the lions, my favorite room on the tour contains the mural paintings of The Quest of the Holy Grail by Edwin Austin Abbey.

The masterpiece of this tour is the Triumph of Religion murals on the third floor painted by John Singer Sargent. I was so busy looking at the stunning murals I forgot to photograph them. (What a maroon!) You'll just have to be content with seeing  them at the link above.




3. The third floor also houses the Rare Books and Manuscripts room. Any library patron with a valid BPL card can visit the room and request to view the rare books and manuscripts during library hours. You don't need special academic credentials in order to see the books. The receptionist had me fill out a card, and then directed me to a coat room where I could hang my coat and put my bag in a locker. No bags, books, or pens are allowed. I was allowed to bring a pencil, a loose sheet of paper, and I was told I could photograph (without flash) the books to my heart's content. I was then directed to the Rare Books room. The librarian asked what book I wanted to look at, but since I had no clue what was in the collection, I asked him to pick something for me. Truthfully, I was going to be happy with anything he chose. It's not often that one gets a chance to view a manuscript up close and personal. He got me a wedge to support the book and a pair of white, cotton gloves.

Then he brought out a 15th. century (circa 1420, 30 years before Gutenberg invented the printing press) missal, a book that is used during the Catholic service and ritual.  According to some notes, the book was thought to have been made for a lady. The book had 150 pages done on vellum (calf skin) with 13 miniatures and heavily illuminated borders. Whoever commissioned the book had beaucoup de bucks as each page was lavishly decorated with real gold leaf.

The book was so beautiful, I almost cried. Each page was ornately painted in brilliant colors. Red and blue acanthus leaves, fruits like strawberries and pears, small blue flowers which I thought might be forget-me-nots, holly

As I was looking through the book, it occurred to me that I was looking at a medieval graphic novel. I was amused with the miniature of someone being laid to rest in a grave. I love the little Alas, poor Yorrick skull in the lower right corner at the feet of the mourners. Sometimes the artists painted the patron in the book as an homage. I thought perhaps the lady owner of the book might have been a widow. This miniature dedicated to the memory of a loved one. I only speculate this because the decorations in the illuminated "D" are heraldic in design.

Before I left the Rare Books room, the librarian emailed me a draft copy of the library's Medieval and Renaissance Manuscript collection. He said on my next visit, I can just ask for whatever call number I would like to see.

4. I traded in my electronic library card for an old-fashioned library card. I can still access the library from the comfort of my home, and will be able to use it on my next trip to the library.

5. After feasting my eyes, it was time to feast my stomach and rest my hurting feet. Though I had test driven my new girlie shoes before the trip, they caused problems with walking city blocks. Tea is served Wednesday through Friday from 2pm to 4pm at the Courtyard Restaurant in the library. So I treated myself.

All I had to do was order the kind of tea I wanted (Earl Grey, hot) and then the waitress brought an entire selection of tea sandwiches, assorted desserts, and a currant scone with fruit marmalade and Devonshire Double Cream.  The tea fare was absolutely delicious especially the Devonshire Cream, but I wish the waitress had let the tea steep a bit longer before pouring my first cup.  The first cup was tea colored, hot water and not Early Grey tea.

Tea would have been a lot more fun if there was someone to share it with. The ritual of tea isn't so much about the beverage or goodies, but is also about the company. Who wants to come to tea with me next time?

Work In Progress

Poor coat of arms has been languishing in the work in progress drawer since the Summer.

Today finally lettered the name in the banner (2mm. Brause and sumi ink).

Traditionally in illuminating with gold leaf, before any painting is done the gold leaf is applied. This is done because the sheet of gold is so fine, it becomes statically charged just pulling the sheet off the pack. If any areas that are painted are even remotely damp, bits of gold will stick where they are not wanted. In illuminating classes I have taken, gold is the first step even if the gold is just paint. So I painted the first layer of gold using Schminke Gold Perl watercolor. I love this stuff as it yields a bright 24 karat gold finish. I will apply 3 or 4 coats of gold.

How's your work in progress coming along?

Work in Progress

Outline inked with black F.W. Acrylic ink.

Next Step: Deciding on style and size of lettering on the banner.

What are you doing today?

Work in Progress

Year's ago, my dad sent away for a family coat of arms suitable for framing. Dad liked to believe the family descended from the Caesars of Rome. In reality, his people came from a long line of tradesmen: barbers, cobblers, stone cutters, tailors. Didn't matter. Dad proudly displayed his coat of arms in his office.

While cleaning out the homestead, I had asked The Nephew if there was anything he wanted. He asked if he could have the coat of arms. He said he liked it, and thought it was pretty cool.

I decided to paint the coat of arms suitable for framing on my own wall. Over the weekend, I brushed up on the terms used in heraldry. The blazon, written description of the coat of arms, reads:

Azure a fess between in chief three mullets and in base a roe buck all or.

The shield is blue with a wide gold band in the center.

At the top of the shield (chief) are three gold mullets. A mullet is a five pointed star and is said to represent the rowel on a knight's spur.

In the base of the shield, a gold roe buck.

Today, I'll take creative license with the shape of the shield, the style of helmet, the drape of the mantle (covering that goes over the helmet), and the crest (the figure on top of the helmet)

What are you working on?