Kerrlligraphy: Medieval Illuminated O

Welcome!

I grew up in Raleigh at a time when the nuns taught at Our Lady Of Lourdes. They lived out back of the school and wore those imposing yet Holy Habits that commanded your adoration, attention, and, quite frankly, your fear. So, when they asked you to "sit up straight" with your "feet flat on the floor" and compose your letters properly according to the Palmer Method of Handwriting, you did just that! I believe it was at that impressionable age that I became infatuated with the formation of letters. When I was introduced to calligraphy in 1978, it was no wonder I fell in love with this beautiful art form. My first taste of the calligraphic world lasted no longer than one hour. The instructor turned a piece of chalk on its edge to form calligraphic works of art from A to Z on the chalkboard. That was that! But it was all I needed to fire the embers that had been sparked in elementary school. Watching the slow, rhythmical shaping of those letters was like listening to classical music. It was not until 1997 that I enrolled in my first formal calligraphy class. Boy, were my eyes opened! I knew I had a lifelong road of learning ahead of me. It's been 38 years since that white piece of chalk was laid on its side. I am still learning. Come learn with me!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Medieval Illuminated O - finished

Do you remember the earlier post of my pencil sketch for the Medieval "O" that I was going to finish during the Renaissance Fair at the Museum of Art here in Raleigh? Well, I did start working on it during that fair, but finally finished it to my satisfaction yesterday. So, here it is. I posted images of the full piece plus little detailed sections.

Hope you enjoy it! It took a few months to finish because I had to set it aside to work on my videos for my online classes. But I usually set pieces aside for a bit so that I can look at them over and over and decide if I like what I have done so far. If not, then I need to redo whatever I do not like.

For instance, the O-N-C-E was a green color. I was not happy with those. So I decided to make them a dark blue, but kept just a hint of the former green in little areas of those letters.