Messages

1276

Word of the Day / Re: Quixotic

« on: December 06, 2013, 03:13:24 PM »

Oh thank you for your kind comment!! Yes, I wrote it with a pointed nib and walnut ink (a vintage Brause Rose nib in a straight penholder, as it's quite upright). – I tried it at first with a broad pen (well, an Automatic Pen), and it somehow didn't look any good. I nearly only wrote with pointed nibs in the last few months!

The paper is a Clairefontaine grained drawing paper, it is structured but a bit exaggerated in the Hipstamitic picture , and in reality only normal white!

What kind of gold ink did you use in yours? It looks nearly like gold leaf! Very nice!

1277

Word of the Day / Re: Quixotic

« on: December 06, 2013, 01:46:37 PM »

I love that golden Blackletter, wow! – Here is my word … resembling or befitting Don Quixote: not so much except that maybe it appears kind of old; somohow impractical because I tried to write sort of Bastarda-ish with a pointed nib (I know it's not a "real" Bastarda, just the inspiration!); impulsive because I did this with very few time but I wanted finally to join in this nice thread!

I hope so I get the picture online – when I tried it in the past, I had trouble uploading pictures …

1278

Workshops & Conference News / Re: Spencerian workshop with Barbara Calzolari

« on: November 28, 2013, 08:24:05 AM »

I will do that (if she's fine with it of course)! Check also out Giuseppe Salernos Blog (who gave me the hint about Barbara Calzolaris workshop)

http://calligraphyinberlin.com/

I participated in two workshops with him this year, one with Martina Flor about "Lettering vs. Calligraphy" – that was the starting point for my calligraphy practice actually!

http://www.letteringvscalligraphy.com/

They were both great and so inspiring!

1279

Introductions / Re: Hello from (nearly) Berlin, Potsdam, Germany!

« on: November 28, 2013, 08:14:06 AM »

@ Joy: it is a pity you can't come to Berlin … but I knowhow far southern France is from Berlin!

@ Nora: I hope – but I think next year will not be easy for me (I have small kids) … but I was planning to see my uncle and his family in one of the next summers there!

@ Roseann and Linda: Thanks for the nice welcome! Glad that you you like my "other" work, thanks!! I am working on my calligraphy website … I am never happy with what I did a week before. This is really a hard process!

1280

Tools & Supplies / Re: Gouache

« on: November 27, 2013, 03:22:26 PM »

Hi Joy, I am very new to this although I know from my illustration practice that it can be really hard to find a decent, covering white. I just tested Zillers Ink North Wind White and the Schmincke Calligraphy Gouache Deckweiί. For me it is hard to get the gouache to the right consistency (the Goldpearl colour works great though!). I manage to write with it, but it is not even – the beginning is covering, but a little too fluid (if I flex too much I get blots), and then it gets too transparent. Maybe I thinned it too much. Maybe I need to add gum Arabic.

The Ziller ink is really nice to write with – just when it's dry it looks a bit cracked (I don't know if I say this right …). I will try to take picture tomorrow. Did any of youhave this problem with the "craquelι" (with the other Whites you mentioned )?

So this McCafferys ivory is not really great? I was thinking of ordering one of these …

Stefanie aka Estefa

1281

Introductions / Re: Hello from (nearly) Berlin, Potsdam, Germany!

« on: November 26, 2013, 04:11:13 PM »

Hello Joy, merci pour le welcome! You do such beautiful work – I find not only your calligraphy but also your photos are stunning and full of atmosphere!

1282

Workshops & Conference News / Re: Spencerian workshop with Barbara Calzolari

« on: November 24, 2013, 04:20:27 AM »

I am also VERY excited to go! I am trying to learn Spencerian quite some time now and I think in way it is much harder than Copperplate (not that I think this is easy ...) – maybe because it is closer to normal handwriting regarding speed etc.? So I am very much looking forward to meeting her and to learn from someone so accomplished in this style!

1283

Tools & Supplies / Re: Iron Gall Ink

« on: November 24, 2013, 04:10:02 AM »

That sounds extreme, about this fast corrosion of the nibs! I am still quite new to this, and I don't write for hours each and every day, but I used some nibs for weeks with my iron gall ink. Maybe it is something to do with the recipes of these two inks you mentioned, that they are more acidic than they used to be? I mean common sense tells me that this should not be happening – iron gall ink has been used for hundreds of years after all (with quills of course, but in the two last century also with steel nibs as far as I am informed). Did you get a response from John Neal?

Thanks for answering to my post!

I also love walnut ink – it is so warm and lively.

1284

Introductions / Re: Hello from (nearly) Berlin, Potsdam, Germany!

« on: November 24, 2013, 04:00:54 AM »

Hello Nora, thanks for saying hello! Your work is beautiful, you are working in many different styles, that is impressing! By the way I have family in Aix-en-Provence, alors peut-κtre on pourrait s'encontrer un jour dans le Midi (argh my French is rusty)?!

Hello Erica, thank you very much for welcoming me here, and thanks for the compliments ... I very much admire your gorgeous, many-sided calligraphy!

It is really great that you started this forum!

I am working on my calligraphy shop / website at the moment ... I will let you know when it's "on air"!

1285

Tools & Supplies / Re: Iron Gall Ink

« on: November 23, 2013, 05:06:10 AM »

I am using this

http://www.kalligraphie.ch/store/index.php/language/en/cat/c55_Eisengallustinte.html/

iron gall ink, and I think it's wonderful to write with. I never had problems with mold or something, and I am using a big (500 ml) bottle.  Fresh from the bottle it is light grey (gets darker on the page after some days though). I put a little bit in a smaller ink jar and leave this open so it oxidezes already a little. And when I have used up or it has evaporated too much I fill it up with new ink from the bottle and stir it a bit with a toothpick. So it's always nice and black from the beginning.

As others have said, like I guess all iron gall inks it does eat the nib faster than other inks … so to save my vintage nibs I use now for everyday practice more often walnut ink, also from Mr. Schenk:

http://www.kalligraphie.ch/store/index.php/cat/c57_Walnut-Ink.html

This is absolutely comparable regarding hairlines and that it stays well on the nib without sudden "blobs" – so it is possible to write quite a bit without reloading the nib. But it is not black of course

1286

Workshops & Conference News / Spencerian workshop with Barbara Calzolari

« on: November 23, 2013, 04:24:15 AM »

This workshop will take place in Berlin from Friday, January 10, 2014 – Sunday, January 12, 2014 – as a beginner in Spencerian I am very much looking forward to meeting this great, gifted calligrapher! Maybe someone else from this forum wil be there too?

https://make-skilledhands.squarespace.com/programm/2014/1/11/spencerian-workshop

(And beware, in the Aufbau Haus which hosts the workshop there is also Modulor

http://www.modulor.de/shop/oxid.php/sid/addfcabae8b70299fc86256c93e20764/cl/start/tpl/-/lang/1

a place to find a huge variety of paper, ink, colours … everything that makes a creative's heart beat faster )

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Introductions / Hello from (nearly) Berlin, Potsdam, Germany!

« on: November 23, 2013, 04:04:34 AM »

Hello everyone,

I am a graphic designer and illustrator with a growing interest in calligraphy, pointed pen mostly – I have been practising Copperplate and a bit Spencerian some time now and I am hooked! Thank you, Erica, for starting this forum – where I live there are not many calligraphers so I am delighted to find a place to share thoughts and informations!

Stefanie aka Estefa