Gothic / Blackletter

[Linda Y.]

I just finished a beginner's 12-week session on Gothic and thought I'd share some of my work here for fun.

I was super-frustrated by Gothic Textura at first because everything is so.straight.and.structured. And my teacher is super-picky because she knows I want to be good at it (and I appreciate her pointing out mistakes I would not have seen myself). But when we moved on to Fraktur, I started to "get" it more and couldn't get enough! Fraktur is such a beautiful letterform and so fun to write.








I also loved writing Fraktur with flat brushes which my teacher showed us how to do.




For our final project, we took all of our 11"x17" practice sheets and bound them into a book! It was such a great idea and nice to see our progress from Week 1 to Week 12.




The class truly made me appreciate the beauty of Blackletter. I know pointed pen is the preferred style of calligraphy as of late, but I do have to say - if anyone wants to be better at calligraphy and letterforms in general, it's a good idea to brush up on all the basics. After having taken Romans, Foundational, Italic, and now Gothic, I think my pointed pen has improved.

Thanks for reading!

[PS] Roseann, I saw you mention an interest in taking a Gothic class - my teacher is planning to teach a Gothic workshop for the Society for Calligraphy sometime in 2014!

[Roseann]

Yes, I've been in contact with her.  I just hope I can get in.  She's such a good teacher, demand will probably be high. 

[Roseann]

I forgot to say, your work is beautiful!  It makes me want to take those classes even more!

[Lori M]

Those are beautiful, Linda! I especially love the last one, with the two tones of green letters overlayed.

I love Fraktur, too, but had never heard of it until recently. (I learned Textura, but no other variations.) I recently came across it in a book by Julien Chazal that I found at the local bookstore. (http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/400)  Another Gothic style in there I really like is Flemish -- not very legible, but really pretty!

Is your class local? I need to get in touch with my local Calligraphy Society about classes. They don't seem very active based on their website, though...

[Linda Y.]

I forgot to say, your work is beautiful!  It makes me want to take those classes even more!

Thanks Roseann! I hope to see you in one of Yukimi's classes soon! We'll have so much fun!

[Linda Y.]

Those are beautiful, Linda! I especially love the last one, with the two tones of green letters overlayed.

I love Fraktur, too, but had never heard of it until recently. (I learned Textura, but no other variations.) I recently came across it in a book by Julien Chazal that I found at the local bookstore. (http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/400)  Another Gothic style in there I really like is Flemish -- not very legible, but really pretty!

Is your class local? I need to get in touch with my local Calligraphy Society about classes. They don't seem very active based on their website, though...

Thank you Lori! Yes, the class is local - I found my teacher through the Society for Calligraphy in Los Angeles. I do drive 30 miles each way to class, but I do it out of love. I really dislike driving, too!

In the 12-week session, we explored Textura and a few versions of Fraktur, including Julien Chazal's, Claude Mandevilla's (not sure if I spelled his name right), Frederic Neugebauer's, and also an exemplar put together by my teacher. I feel like I probably could've used a few more weeks on the capital letters alone!

Some guilds are more active than others I guess - I'm really very lucky the LA one is so well-run.

[Erica McPhee]

Wow!!! So, so beautiful Linda! Just gorgeous! Thank you for sharing with us! 

[Estefa]

That's so beautiful, really impressive, Linda!!

Some thoughts on Textura and her relatives (I don't want to hijack this thread, so Erica, I don't mind if you put this elsewhere!!) … when I started learning calligraphy last Spring I also tried around a bit with Textura, and later Bastarda. I liked it very much, these letter forms have their special beauty. I put it aside not least because I really don't know what I would use this for. That may sound terribly utilitarian – but my time for learning and practising is really limited and I have to concentrate on something … so I did pointed pen mainly in the last year. –

Do you use these kind of scripts (we call them "Gebrochene Schriften" – broken scripts – is this the general expression also in English?) really for projects? I can read them (I'd problems with some isolated Capitals to be honest); I had some children books / fairytales from my grandmother's childhood which were printed in Fraktur, and as I wanted to read them I learned it as a child – but most people I know can't read it at all.

[Donna]

Just beautiful work Linda!  I really really like the final ones with the different tones of green. I thought these letterforms would be created with a broad edged pen, but than I noticed the brush in the picture?  Thats amazing control with a brush!  Is it a special type? 

[Lori M]

Interesting, Estefa! As an amateur, if I were to use Fraktur (not that I have!), I'd probably use it for a card, something like these:

http://thesmashable.com/valentines-day-2014-calligraphy-greeting-card/

I think Linda's last piece is beautiful enough to use for a background or even stand on it's own as an abstract piece of art. Not anything practical, I agree!

I'm worried that young people will soon have trouble reading scripts like Spencerian. My teenage daughters barely learned script, and never, ever use it. I'll have to do a test and see which they can read easier -- Spencerian or black letter!

[Estefa]

Thanks for that link, Lori! This example is beautiful, no doubt!

You are absolutely right about the use as a beautiful background pattern or as art in itself – I really adore what Linda did there and I would very much love to participate in a course like that! – I surely didn't want to say that it's "not useful" to learn this, I think it is always useful to learn something – I just meant that because there are scripts that I can put to a more direct use with my graphic design / illustration work, it makes more sense for me, personally, to learn these first!

Maybe what I also meant is that in Germany Fraktur has probably very different connotations than in America, which have to do with history … nobody here would use Fraktur in a Valentine's card, I guess … although in the last ten years something like a cautious revival seems to be happening, that younger typographers started to use Fraktur / Blackletter not only for traditional pub signs or something Middle Ages-related. There is a gorgeous book about Fraktur

http://www.amazon.com/Fraktur-Mon-Amour-Judith-Schalansky/dp/156898801X

that summarizes this development beautifully.

The other point you are talking about is something very interesting – my son is 6 and just started learning a "real" cursive, but it is not the same in whole Germany. There are different cursive scrips teached to first-graders (and some are quite horrible), and in some cites / states they start now with some kind of terrible print in the hope that the kids "develop" their own cursive out of this!!

That would be worth maybe an own thread "What kind of script are your children learning?"

[Lori M]

Maybe what I also meant is that in Germany Fraktur has probably very different connotations than in America

I can see that, Estefa. I bet someday it will make a come back, maybe re-interpreted -- it seems like everything goes through phases.

They have decided to no longer teach script in American schools, but teach keyboard skills instead.    I could go on about how studies show that script is good for your brain etc., but will hold myself back!

[Linda Y.]

Thanks so much for your replies Erica, Stefanie, Donna, & Lori! I nearly missed a great discussion here.

Donna , thank you for the kind words! The brushes we used are flat brushes. Specifically, it needs to have a real "sharp" edge so we can get the thin lines that emulate the nibs. I had to go realllll slow. My teacher recommends the Winsor & Newton Series 995 Flat Wash Brushes to create really nice & sharp lines. I bought a generic store brand for $5 (vs. the W&N one for $10) and the different is pretty clear: http://instagram.com/p/jnY4DoR7cj/


Stefanie, you made a really good point about Blackletter. Not sure if it's widely used this way in Germany, but here, Blackletter scripts are used a lot in certificates. When I first started taking Copperplate classes, I told myself I only wanted to learn copperplate, and that was IT. I wasn't interested in anything else. But I liked my class and teacher so much and I see how dedicated she is to the art of calligraphy - she made me want to not just be good at copperplate, she made me want to be a good calligrapher. Then I started learning other hands in broad pen and noticed how they helped my pointed pen improve too. I want to be proficient at many calligraphy styles because someday I may get asked to do a commission for a certificate. And someday I would like to teach calligraphy too.

I think there is a very strong/renewed interest in Blackletter. Luca Barcellona started out as a graffiti artist and now he is commissioned by big companies all over the world for his work. Check out his amazing portfolio on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luca-beanone-barcellona

Before I joined Tumblr and Instagram, I was lamenting about the possible loss of handwriting and calligraphy as an art - but now I don't feel so bad because I see so many young people picking up calligraphy pens and posting their work online! I feel very hopeful. I don't think calligraphy will ever become a lost art.

[Donna]

That would challenging lettering with a brush!  Interesting the difference in the $5 brush as opposed to the w&n one.  Sometimes you can get away with cutting corners I guess, and sometimes you really do "get what you pay for!". But you don't know til you try!  Thanks for posting that Linda, I'd love to try it one day!

Also I checked out the link for Luca Barcellona and WOW!!!  What amazing creative work!  LOVE it . He has a whole new take on an old style - so talented.

[Estefa]

Maybe what I also meant is that in Germany Fraktur has probably very different connotations than in America

I can see that, Estefa. I bet someday it will make a come back, maybe re-interpreted -- it seems like everything goes through phases.

They have decided to no longer teach script in American schools, but teach keyboard skills instead.    I could go on about how studies show that script is good for your brain etc., but will hold myself back!

Hi Lori, the above is definitely also what I think … and yes, i also read about these studies. But I didn't know that they really don't teach script at all anymore in America!!

Stefanie, you made a really good point about Blackletter. Not sure if it's widely used this way in Germany, but here, Blackletter scripts are used a lot in certificates. When I first started taking Copperplate classes, I told myself I only wanted to learn copperplate, and that was IT. I wasn't interested in anything else. But I liked my class and teacher so much and I see how dedicated she is to the art of calligraphy - she made me want to not just be good at copperplate, she made me want to be a good calligrapher. Then I started learning other hands in broad pen and noticed how they helped my pointed pen improve too. I want to be proficient at many calligraphy styles because someday I may get asked to do a commission for a certificate. And someday I would like to teach calligraphy too.

Hi Linda, I am not sure about the Certificates. The most I see these days are pre-printed, often also with parts in Blackletter, that's right – but not real calligraphy! Most are really badly done. It sounds stupid, but the art of typesetting (and writing) Blackletter was really quite lost in Germany after it was forbidden in 1941 by the Nazis. Of course there are still some who know how to do it, but it was part of the main skills of a printer / typesetter / calligrapher before. – I don't know how it is in English, but in German there are LOTS of rules concerning Blackletter, use of the long "s" for example, which are very complicated, and also use of ligatures, the "sz" or "sharp s" – "ß" – a character that only exists in German … so I would be reluctent to use it (even if I could write it) because I would be afraid to make mistakes that make it look wrong.

I think there is a very strong/renewed interest in Blackletter. Luca Barcellona started out as a graffiti artist and now he is commissioned by big companies all over the world for his work. Check out his amazing portfolio on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luca-beanone-barcellona

Before I joined Tumblr and Instagram, I was lamenting about the possible loss of handwriting and calligraphy as an art - but now I don't feel so bad because I see so many young people picking up calligraphy pens and posting their work online! I feel very hopeful. I don't think calligraphy will ever become a lost art.

Thanks for the link to Luca Barcellonas photo stream! His work is gorgeous, I know it from the book I mentioned here in the forum some time ago ("Hand to Type"). There is a very interesting interview with him in the book! You might also be interested in the work of Gabriel Martínez Meave

http://www.meave.org/78055/calligraphy

he does fantastic, multifaceted calligraphy and design, and also Niels Shoe Meulman

http://www.nielsshoemeulman.com/

http://www.calligraffiti.nl/

On the second site there are examples of his work with brush and paint – huge.

But maybe you know them already