My first attempt to use gold leaf was purely out of curiosity. I’m always excited to work with new materials, and during the first year of school we had a project called “Illuminated Manuscripts”. “An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations. An illuminated manuscript is not considered illuminated unless one or many illuminations contained gold foil or was brushed with gold specks, a process known as burnishing. By adding richness and depth to the manuscript, the use of gold in illuminations created pieces of art that are still valued today.” read more I started by trying to recreate the letter “P” from the “Book of Kells” (“an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier.”) I had a lot of fun working with gold leaf, so I decided to make a tutorial afterwards. (*Please note that I made this tutorial based on a few other tutorials, videos and articles I have read on this subject, as well as my “letter P” experiment. It is just the technique I had used, and I’m sure there are lots of other techniques out there.) How to Apply Gold Leaf Step 1: What you need You need: your board with the outline of a shape, Gold Leaf, Rubber Cement, Metal Leaf Sealer, Exacto Knife, a small brush, Q-tips, a tissue paper and a cotton pad. Step 2: Cut/Prepare the Gold Leaf Transfer the Gold Leaf onto a tissue paper and cut it into small pieces. I have found that small pieces are easier to handle, but if you want to cover a larger area, you can cut it into bigger pieces. Use the Exacto Knife to cut and a cotton pad (or a tissue paper) to hold the Gold Leaf. Step 3: Apply Gold Leaf With a small brush apply a thin layer of Rubber Cement (or Metal Leaf Sealer) on your shape where you want the Gold Leaf. The Metal Leaf Sealer is easier to handle. It doesn’t dry out so fast and it is like watercolour, so you can work with small detail. It’s up to you how much you want to cover at once. A) You can cover everything with one leaf (a small shape without too much detail). B) You can work on one small area at a time (a bigger shape or details). * Apply Metal Sealer to one part of the shape, apply Gold Leaf, wait to dry, clean it, and then move to another area OR *Apply Metal Sealer to one part of the shape and the Gold Leaf, then apply Metal Sealer and Gold Leaf to another area, and so on until the entire shape is covered. Clean everything at the end. I prefer to work with one area at a time (and clean it) because I can keep track of how my shape is supposed to look like when I’m cleaning it. Step 4: Clean Your Shape Roughly clean the excess of Gold Leaf with a Q-Tip. Be careful not to go over the shape too many times. That is why I said it is important to remember your shape. If you crack/rip off the Gold Leaf, you can go back at anytime and apply Metal Leaf Sealer and Gold Leaf over it. Don’t worry if you can see the line where the Gold Leafs meet. You can hide it with a thin layer of Metal Leaf Sealer in the end. (Step 6) Here is how my rough shape looks like. Step 5: Define Your Shape Take the Exacto Knife and define the shape. Step 6: Seal the Gold Leaf Apply GENTLY a thin layer of Metal Leaf Sealer over your final shape. It will set it in place and protect it. You can use a small or a big brush. I would suggest to use a smaller brush and don’t go over the outline because it will be harder to clean. If you do go over with the sealer, just scrape it off with the Exacto Knife. (You can always add/repair/change your shape with more layers of Gold Leaf. Just remember to seal it when you’re done). Congratulations! You finished your Illuminated shape. Really easy, very rewarding and a lot of fun. Below you can also see the "Illuminated Manuscript" project and how it came out.

Stay updated on the latest events, trends, and commentary before diving in to one of our online courses from top universities.

I recently learned the expression "border trouble", in this case referring not to immigration---nor to illuminated borders, like the one above---but rather to the sometimes-daunting obstacle between the idea for a piece and the point at which it begins to take shape. Since I sometimes struggle mightily to move through that region, it helps me to think of it as just a transition, kind of a bothersome ordeal one has to go through to move into the pleasure on working on the piece once it starts to come to life, not to mention once it is finished. It's school fundraiser season once again and I created this piece to raise some money for a good cause. Artwork doesn't always do well in a silent auction but this was displayed nicely and went for a pretty penny! The border outline came from the fabulous collection of the Graphics Fairy (you really need to go to that site, and bookmark it!); I was able to take a little shortcut and print it onto tracing paper (rather than actually tracing it) and then transferred it to Arches 140 lb hot press with Armenian bole. Because of the nature of the quote, I used more colors than I usually would have in the border. The ink is Pelikan (with some powdered gum arabic added); the rest of the design is gouache, pen, and 23K gold leaf. I used a [left-handed] Brause 1.5mm nib; the image is about 7.5" X 10.5". I used my Logan Compact Mat Cutter (which has come in handy more times than I can count) to cut the mat, then popped it into a frame I picked up at Michael's half-price. Ta-dah!

Folio 4v - Christ in Majesty - The Aberdeen Bestiary - MS 24

Adventures in Medieval Tools, Jewelry, Clocks, and Armor

Museum quality Giclee print - Premium fine art paper, 100% cotton, acid-free, archival

26

@marenostrum2 このページ、ほかの所もたのしい。

The Mac Durnan Gospel is a beautifully illustrated, but little known Irish manuscript

Simon Bening Prayer Book of Card Albrecht of Brandenburg Flemish (Bruges), c.1525-1530 Getty Ludwig IX 19, fol. 62v. This Satan has rather unusual feet. “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, & he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, & the angels ministered to him.” Mark 1:12-13 All 3 Gospels relate that Jesus spent a period of 40 days & nights in the desert immediately following His Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist & the dramatic recognition given by Heaven to this event. The number 40 obviously has resonance with such Old Testament events as the 40 days & nights of the Great Flood (Genesis 7:9), the 40 days & nights that Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 24:18) & the 40 years in which the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness (Numbers 14:32-34). Mark’s reference to the Temptation of Jesus is the shortest of the three. Matthew (Matthew 4:1-11) & Luke (Luke 4:1-13) both describe in detail the temptations tried by Satan, temptations to power & pride, which Jesus resisted. All three agree that at the end of these 40 days & nights, Jesus was tired & hungry. "Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, One does not live on bread alone." Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, "I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me." Jesus said to him in reply, "It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve." Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus said to him in reply, "It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.” Luke 4:1-13

How would you like to read a genuine medieval manuscript? In this two-part series we will do just that. I’ve selected a very handsomely written 11th century Carolingian manuscript of Vergil…

watercolour, gouache

For the past few years, medieval book historian Erik Kwakkel has been poring over some of the world’s oldest books and manuscripts at Leiden University, The Netherlands, as part of his ongoing research on pen trials. Pen trials are small sketches, doodles, and practice strokes a medieval scribe would make while testing the ink flow of a pen or quill. They usually involve funny faces, letter strokes, random lines, or geometric shapes and generally appear in the back of the book where a few blank pages could be found. More

I discovered the unbelievably mind-blowingly beautiful calligraphy and illustration of Marina Marjina the other day via an image on We Love Typography. I might have a new hero. The following images…

Chansonnier

The English language has been subject to change for thousands of years. Major events such as the Battle of Hastings, the invention of the printing press, and the standardization of spelling have drastically changed the way we speak. Understanding these changes, English continues to grow and change, adapting to the needs of the modern world and the future.

God’s writing group met on Sundays. He planned his whole week around it. One day he was in the coffee-shop early, muttering, scribbling a few words with his quill, and then invariably scratch…

I am doing my heraldry backwards! By that I mean I have just started a CLAS Certificate of Skills course in Heraldic Arts, with the hugely talented Tim Noad. He and I are members of Oxford Scribes and we have 7 other members on the course and 4 other CLAS members joining us. We started two weeks ago looking at how to draw a shield correctly and then how to do it in paint with a ruling pen. Try as I might there is always an inaccuracy in my drawing. I am working on the homework now. Here are the early examples: and some I did earlier - I'll show the finished ones later... The backwards bit comes because I have just finished an Affiliation Scroll for the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers. It has been a very steep learning curve and I have had advice from Tim through the roughs stages and the final piece. I couldn't have done it without him. The nearest equivalent commission I have had was to do the Freedom Scroll for Jenson Button's Freedom of Frome which I completed while I was studying part-time at Reigate with Gerald Mynott: This is Heather Child's version of the Leathersellers Arms My first go at the arms drawn larger than finished size Practise version number two - I have corrected the number of sections on the crest to six, changed the motto scroll to a much better shape and changed the colour of the lining of the helm and the scroll so there is not so much red. I used Winsor blue with a touch of zinc white. I had the roe deer looking at you because that is how it is on a tapestry at the Leathersellers and on their website but I was advised that I should not change it - there is so much to learn with heraldry about what you can and can't modify! I have stylized the mound after Tim showed me some had done. My practise version of 1st the Queen's Dragoon Guards Badge: The three roughs I produced - the bottom one was chosen This is the second actual size practise version done on HP paper using gouache not real gold: At last I was ready to start on the vellum. I had a lovely skin from Cowley's. The lady I dealt with had been trained with the help of funding from the Leathersellers so I could trust her to select me an ideal skin and it saved me a very long drive to Newport Pagnell. So after tracing everything out using Armeniam bole on a sheet of tracing paper, I started as traditionally done, with the lettering. It is a delight to write on vellum and it always seems to look better than the practise one - thank goodness! Next job is the coloured lettering: Then I did the gold lettering using Ormoline - it did not go well and all needed scraping back - the lettering just wasn't sharp enough. I took to Facebook and got advice from Canada, London and Australia! Now it's time for the gesso - I used a batch I had used before with success: Transfer and loose-leaf gold applied, shell gold for the flat areas e.g. the deer and the re-done lettering and then time to start the fun bit - painting... Here is the finished result - only about 4 months work!

Vikings lapbook. Free Viking lapbook, printables and unit study for homeschoolers. Your kids will love this hands-on unit.

Tutivillus or Titivillus is a demon associated with writing and literacy. In the Middle Ages he was painted on church walls and carved on misericords, bench ends and corbels; he trod the boards as a character in the Towneley Judicium and Mankind; he introduced errors into scribes’ work copying texts...

from the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Sweden national anthem first page calligraphy: by Barbara Calzolari illumination: from Tiziana gironi