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LINE, LETTER, AND NEGATIVE SPACE: TRAINING OUR EYES TO SEE
A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP One of the grave disadvantages of not attending art school is that we do not have the experience to observe and perceive with the same acuity as an art student. This workshop is an attempt to redress the balance. While the whole workshop will be about training the eye through painting and drawing, the ability to paint and draw is not a pre-requisite. The use of the drawing and painting will only be to see how well you, the student, have observed the letter placed in front of you and how well you can reproduce it when it's removed The first day will consist not just of drawing letters from memory, but then drawing their counters and creating letters of white on black. How do we handle the spacing to create a good sense of rhythm when we write? The second day will deal with color analysis. Students will bring in an ‘objet trouvé’ (a small stone, a piece of bark, a flower petal, etc.) and paint its colors, much larger than life, using a magnifying glass. If time permits, we shall then go and use the colors to seen in the objets trouvés to create a small color painting of a word These simple exercises will enable you to look more closely at letters and see the subtleties that give them their unique character, as well as giving students a greater appreciation of the tiniest nuances of color. It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you. You will need to bring: • Two pencils - HB and 4B • A range of gouache paint (primary, secondary and tertiary colors plus black and white) • 2 good pointed Kolinsky sable brushes size 0 and 3 (more sizes if you wish) • A pad of layout/detail paper 14" x 17" (or A3) • 1 sheet of good quality Hot Press watercolor paper • 1 porcelain or plastic mixing palette • 1 large pen 3/8" (8mm) Coit, Automatic Lettering, Horizon, Hiro or similar • A waterpot • A drawing board • A pair of scissors • A roll of magic tapeEdward Johnston once gave a lecture, wherein he wrote on a blackboard with the side of a piece of chalk for a full fifty-five minutes. He then turned to the assembled students and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, the angle of the pen remains constant. Good morning”. And left! However, later on, one of his students, Irene Wellington, noticed that EJ’s pen did, in fact, change angle and made some remark to that effect. Unfazed, Johnston said: "Sleight of hand, my dear, sleight of hand"! Much later, Arthur Baker developed his own approach to pen manipulation which has given us, as calligraphers a totally new outlook on our art. While some of Mr. Baker’s letters are not too practical for general writing purposes, the techniques that he has espoused open up whole new avenues for us to experiment with. During this workshop we shall look at how to achieve these different effects in our writing; how we must change our body positions and even the positions of the pens in our hands, in order to make these different letters. There will be plenty of demonstration of different alphabets with one-on-one instruction. It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you. You will need to bring: A Gentler Gothic Hand The Gothic hands of the Middle Ages from the eleventh century up to the time of the Rnaissance developed a certain harshness about them. In the search for rhythm and compactness they tended to lose some of their legibility. However, in the southern parts of Europe the gothic hands tended to be less harsh with a certain softness to them. Italy had its Rotunda, and in some parts of Spain a hand developed which is what this workshop is based on. Using some historical examples we shall look at what appealed to the Mediterranean peoples as opposed to those of northern climes. We shall try to create a hand which is a little more appropriate to present day usage. A little softer and thus a little more legible. We shall still attempt to maintain the "picket fence" look and strength so characteristic of good Gothic hands while adding a certain curvature and flair to the strokes. Some knowledge or understanding of the Gothic hands would be an advantage but is not essential. It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you. You will need to bring:
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