Easel/Table Suggestions

[Michael_B]

Just when I thought I could spend lots of summer hours practicing calligraphy, my landlord decided 25 years of being a good tenant wasn't worth spit when he could get three more Benjamins a month from a new tenant. So I am scurrying around packing, selling, tossing and looking for a new apartment. I've got a large desk that no longer makes sense  so I'm trying to figure what might work in the corner of a smaller desk. The folding easels look good, but I don't know enough to make a smart choice. Much of my day is computer related, but I want to be able to practice without needing a separate table.

Any ideas?

[NikkiB]

Wow, 25 years...😕 That really sucks.  I have no idea on easels but I just wanted to say I'm sorry you have to move ☹️

[AndyT]

Yes, I'm sorry to hear that too.  You'd think 25 years would have earned you the right not to be treated so shabbily.

Regarding easels, I'll assume that what you're referring to would be more of a drawing board sort of affair for calligraphy purposes.

Now, I have a board which I use for technical drawings from time to time: it's enormous.  It's a strenuous two man lift even with the counterweight and the board itself removed ... of course once it's in place it's as solid as a rock and going nowhere.  So you'd think I'd be well and truly sorted, wouldn't you?  Well, yes and no.  I won't pretend that it isn't a nice option to have, but there are significant downsides, of which the most serious is the size of the thing: 42" x 36".  Almost invariably it's far easier and more comfortable for me to work on the dining table, with or without a much smaller board.  So, take heart.  For calligraphy at least you don't need to dedicate a large space to the working surface.

For pointed steel pen a steeply inclined board is no use anyway.  Some people like a modestly sized surface with a thin lath fixed to the underside of the back edge to raise it a degree or two: you can pad it out with blotting paper or whatever, and you have pretty much the ideal set up which is portable and easily stowed out of the way.  So that's no problem.  For an inclined board, there are many people who will use something very similar resting on the knees and the edge of the table.  If you can get on with that arrangement then it's got to be the way to go on grounds of simplicity.  My usual solution is a bit more elaborate, but not much, and consists of a board with hinged supports at the back.  With a little thought it's an easy matter to come up with some sort of arrangement which will provide a range of angles and collapse for storage.  Or you could follow the example of the sainted Edward Johnston and use two boards hinged together and a big paint tin:



Or you can take the path of least resistance and buy a ready made folding easel.  I doubt you'll go far wrong: it's unlikely that the commercial options are going to be seriously deficient so long as you steer clear of the very cheapest ones.  Coincidentally, I inherited something very similar to this bamboo contraption recently, and could see it working quite nicely (haven't tried it), except for that support lath at the front edge which would have to go.  I think they're usually pretty inexpensive ... let's see ... how does $32.95 sound?  Seems reasonable to me.

If you do decide to make your own, a piece of decent plywood or fibreboard would do be an obvious choice, but I'd go with softwood because it takes drawing pins easily.  That's a useful option to have.

[Michael_B]

Thank you both.

Johnston's rig looks like a pretty steep inclined surface, doesn't it? Or perhaps it was just a pose for a photographer to look more  intense I'm most certainly sure he was!

I forgot (in my distress) that I do have a small old-fashion portable writing desk--the kind with storage beneath the front-hinged writing board. It has a slight incline. Is that completely ok rested on my lap, or should I keep it on a regular desk to be used? The only basic downside is that it doesn't have much integrated adjacent room for pens and such.

[Doesy]

Small desk spaces are always a challenge for me (I'm constantly knocking things - usually all things liquid and uncapped - over). What about a fold down desk, the kind that is sort of like a small wall cabinet with shallow shelf storage and a desk surface and supporting legs that fold out when you need them and can be tucked away when you don't.

[Michael_B]

I think there's a special version of gravity for calligraphy people. Liquid tilts sideways before going downward. 

I've been thinking about a table that might fold up. The issue I have is that things that are out of sight tend to be put out of mind.

[AndyT]

Johnston's rig looks like a pretty steep inclined surface, doesn't it? Or perhaps it was just a pose for a photographer to look more  intense I'm most certainly sure he was!

45° is pretty standard for broad edge, especially with quills.  It slows down the flow!  Johnston's position is exactly as he describes it in his book, Writing & Illuminating, & Lettering.  Pointed steel pens need a spot of help from gravity.

An old fashioned writing slope is a highly desirable item, I reckon, and well worth trying.

[Elisabeth_M]

First, I'm sorry you have to move!  You don't happen to live in Silicon Valley do you?  Your story sounds very similar to ones I heard from neighbors when I lived in Mountain View. 

For easels, the ones I have tried are, 1. the Edward Johnston method as shown in Andy's pic (but with books instead of a can), 2. one of the easels at Paper and Ink Arts (in Tools of the Trade, Easels and Drawing Boards)when I was in an Italic calligraphy workshop, and 3 this with either a lightpad or a piece of plywood (sometimes I need more slant, and prop the back of it on a book to get a better angle).  I do broad edge calligraphy, so I usually prefer a more pronounced slant to my writing surface and would like to buy one of the PIA easels one day, along with the light to put underneath it so that I can trace things or use guidelines under my paper, but if you do pointed pen and only want a fairly gentle angle to your writing surface, then I think the one from Amazon would be the way to go (it's quite nice for working on my laptop, too  ).

[Michael_B]

I'm not in Silicon Valley, but the same sort of conundrum applies!

Really great advice and leads. I've got more than enough info now to find what I need. Since I am using italic and pointed, I probably will get something adjustable along the way.

Thank you all so much!