Hey there fellow art enthusiasts! Let me share a little journey with you, a story that’s close to my heart and involves my very first brush with a competition. Picture this: years ago, I eagerly entered my first competition with an illumination piece. I poured my heart into it, meticulously using tracing paper to transfer…
Greetings, creative companions and fellow SCA scribes! I’m excited to share a little behind-the-scenes info from our June Calontir Scribes’ Guild meeting. The baronies were encouraged to assemble a scribal supply kit. These kits are destined to be the heart of scribal creativity at our kingdom’s upcoming events, especially for those eager to help or…
So, let me tell you about this little adventure I had with ChatGPT. You see, there’s this local group I’m part of called the Barony of the Lonely Tower, and we’re about to welcome a new Baron and Baroness. Exciting times, right? Well, they asked for some help in writing award texts for the honors…
Although easy to use, pergamenata acts differently than paper because it’s surface is smoother and less absorbent. So your inks, pencils and paints behave different. Here are the strategies you’ll want to know to get your best results.
It’s hard to know which paper is best for a scribal project especially when shopping online. While you can use any support you choose, cracking the paper code will help you find the best support for your calligraphy or SCA scroll. Here’s what you should know.
Whether you’re shopping for an SCA scribe or you are the creative person here are 18 gift ideas to consider. Some are so economical so you might combine them together. Or use them as small tokens of appreciation at an event.
There are so many art tool combinations possible. Every scribe has their favorites. I have a few to share.
Ahem. It’s that time of year. The time for decluttering. That itch hits me every spring. Do you get that feeling too? Spring is a time I feel compelled to purge and organize my craft supplies, SCA hobby materials, and tools. If I don’t act on it soon enough it gets lost in Lilies Prep…
If you’ve been around kids recently or were ever one yourself I know you’re familiar with scratch knife nibs. For kids they’re just called scratch art nibs because even small knives are considered dangerous. Scratch nibs are commonly used to scrape through one surface revealing a lower contrasting color layer. But did you know they…
I got a new camera. I’m over-the-moon excited. I’ll be able to take awesome, crisp friends and family pictures, fur-baby portraits and dreamy hued travel shots. You’ll see better blog photos too. A&S projects, events, garb, scenery, and action fighting pics. The possibilities are endless. Right now I have no idea what all its buttons…
I often read James Gurney‘s blog the Gurney Journey. Gurney is the Dinotopia guy. His art is amazing and his posts inspiring. Recently, I found a post of his I think you’ll find interesting. Some gouache tests his associate Cathy Gura ran comparing gouache brands rewetting behaviors. She also compared their consistency and of all things their…
My students making their own paint. I missed something. Something you will really want. Two or three years ago when I was getting up to speed again for teaching my paint making class I missed the best introductory Medieval paint making post. It is the Medieval Yorkist’s Eulalia Piebakere‘s adventures in “Making Your Own Paints: A…
Vellum or parchment is made from animal skins processed until they are smooth and thin enough for light to pass through. It’s been used for book-pages longer than has paper. You can find one of the oldest surviving books in the British Library, the Codex Sinaiticus. It was written on parchment in the fourth century and is over 1600 years old….
I’ve been searching all over the web for a metal pen picture I know is out there. It seems to have gone the way of some other historic metal pen pictures. If you’re like me you’re another scribe wanting to know metal pens and nibs are pre-17th Century. While metal pens and nibs have roots…
Today’s scribes learning to paint Calontir’s preprints often start with a Reeves gouache set for their paints. They’re an inexpensive student grade non-acrylic paint that does well for painting entry-level awards. What do you do when you use up your first paint, usually white? What is the best white gouache to buy?” In gouache, there are…
I’ve told you about my studio in the past and mentioned my dual swing-arm lamps. The double lamps that keep shadows away from my work. Showing the Reveal bulbs But the 65 watt Reveal light-bulbs serve another purpose. They speed-dry the gouache. Placing them over the work and leaving them for a time dries the paint…
My large grid and the computer text example If you have a large peerage scroll to do what do you use for a grid that’s larger than printer paper? What about if you have two scrolls to do? You could make your own oversized grid. You could use 11×17″ Bristol board and make your own. That’s what I did….
While at my local Office Depot recently I came across white vinyl pencil-cap erasers. I wasn’t there to buy them, but they went home with me. I was excited to have white erasers for my 4H pencils tops. A silly convenience. Usually I find today’s eraser market confusing and the white pencil-cap eraser adds to…
My recent scroll showing gold Finetec paint over black underpainting and natural pergamenata I have a new favorite gold paint. It is Finetec’s Artist Mica Opaque Watercolor. It’s as good as the Perl Ex mica paint I used previously plus I don’t have to mix it with a gum Arabic binder. It comes in small hard paint…
Ly. Lucinda painting at Coronation A scribe can work anywhere they choose. While I prefer my home studio, other scribes prefer a traveling studio, at least sometimes. A scribe’s studio is as individual as the person using it. Having a travel studio has advantages, besides mobility. It’s compact, can be placed near other activities, and…