Zosia is an Enabler

Zofia Kowalewska inspired me to create my own scroll celebrating my own arms. 

A fun project; took me about a week in between other projects. Now, to get a frame.

One last scroll for 2024.

 Last Illumination of 2024.

Finished and scanned with just six hours left in the year. 
This is scroll # 584, for me. It is also part of my attempt to redo my alphabet challenge that I did in 2014. I thought I was going to breeze through the same 26 designs with ten years of experience under my belt, but I really did not want to do half of the designs, that I did in 2014, ever again. This one made the list. Here is scroll # 169:

Pretty much the same scroll, only better paint. Here is a link to a high resolution image of the latest one.

Finally Finished

 Design from the AEthelmearc Scribal Playtime.

Started in 2013. Finished in 2024.

No clue what paint I used on this, originally. Probally what was on the table for the Scribal Playtime. It was okay.... Kinda of blotchy and I went over the lines in places. Might have been why I hid it away.

So, a quick coat of red and blue W&N gouache to remove the blotchiness. Some W&S gold to cover the little gold paint I used way back when. A Micron green brush to even up the green vine. A .25 black Micron pen to outline everything, and some W&N opaque white ink for the white work. Applied with a fine brush: I didn't feel like digging out a pen. A simple wavy line for the blue and red and some dots on the leaves. And now it looks like someone who knows what they are doing did the scroll from scratch.

This ended up as Scroll # 561

 First scroll blanks of the year.

First three scroll blanks of the year. Wanted to do something but didn't want to dig out the paint. I've done all three relatively recently, but blanks are blanks. 

Progression part 2

Another progression comparison. 

The image on the left is my scroll #33 from 2012. The one on the right is scroll #511 finished up today. Same source material but better paper, better paint, more practice and a greater idea of what I am doing. In the last 11 years I have sat in on I don't know how many classes on illumination and spoke with as many scribes as I could about technique and process. I have learned to use less paint but to use the paint more efficiently. Using multiple layers of paint to build up the shading rather than slopping on a thick layer and using black ink to make shadows. Now I put more layers of paint where I want the shadows. My white work was non-existent way back then and now I have a clue of how to use white paint and ink to bring out the high lights. I am going through my early work and re-doing the images that I used period sources to show myself that I have indeed learned something and to help me pin point the areas that I need more instruction and practice. This past couple of weeks I learned how much of a difference a couple of drops of ox gall can make on persnickety paint.

I highly recommend keeping notes on what materials you use and what classes you take. And keep good quality pictures of your work so that you can see your progression. 

Both are inspired by the 12th century English Psalter MS G.43 fol. 102r.

Progression 2023

 Another retrospective on improvement.

This month, I was at a loss as to what to work on, scribal-wise. I had no scroll assignments and little to no motivation to do any work. To give myself a metaphoric kick in the ass, I decided on re-doing some of my early work; images I did when I started working on illumination. I went through my Flikr account and picked some images that I had not re-done since way back when. And images from actual period sources instead of the fantasy pieces that I had done. 

On the left is scroll number 38 (I had started numbering my scrolls when I started the A&S 50 project) completed in July 2011. On the right is scroll number 509, completed today. Both are inspired by MS G.43 fol. 99v (England, perhaps Canterbury, ca. 1180).

On both images, I didn't stick with the source material's colors, but had my own idea of what I wanted them to look like. On the older image, I can clearly see that I had slapped paint on the paper without any clue as to what I was doing. The older image was on Bristol cotton/wood pulp blended paper, 140# hot press; the newer image is on Arches 100% cotton 140# hot press paper. The older image I think was done completely with Reaves gouache while the newer one was done with Windsor & Newton gouache, except for the brown, which was also Reaves. 

In addition, the blue of the newer image had the addition of ox gall. The blue was being difficult and I couldn't stop if from looking blotchy. Friends suggested a couple of drops of ox gall, which did help greatly. 

The gold on the newer image was lumped on unevenly; I like how the lumpy surface catches and reflects the light better than a smooth surface. Aside from that, I am using less paint, but I've learned to use it better. Instead of one think layer, I learned to paint several very thin layers of gouache. The thinner layers dry faster, and each layer worth of pigment has a greater chance of scattering light as the light passes through each layer until it reaches the white of the paper, where the photons are reflected back through the layers of paint, further scattering the light.  The end result is deeper and richer colors

The white dots on the blue background enhance the blue, making it brighter and covers up any unevenness of the top layer of pigment. I used Windsor and Newton white ink applied with a pen. The source image just had a solid color as the background, but I think the white dots adds some depth to the image and helps the grotesque stand out. 

This is not the first time I have posted my illumination progression on this blog, but I feel that going through my notes and memories is good for me to see what I learned and the steps and lessons that brought me closer to doing excellent scribal work. I recommend any beginner scribe who might read this to keep notes on what materials you use and what classes you take. Scan all of your work and number them so that you can better track your work. Since we give our work away, only by scanning our work allows us to keep a copy of the gifts we give to others.

 This is a project I did for the 2022 College of Three Ravens A&S competition. I submitted this under the category of The Journey: " Show us your project, from the earliest learning of the art to as complete as you want to consider it. You don’t need to have a “complete” project for this one, just show your work! "

==================================

Scroll - A Journey

Description:

This documentation will describe my journey, over the years, towards scribal excellence. I have made several scrolls based on an image from the 12th century manuscript Charleville-Mézières BM212. This paper will document what I have learned while making each scroll.

Details of the original image:

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any details about this manuscript, other than it is owned by a French university and that it dates to the 12th century. I will assume that it was made on vellum and used gold leaf.

First attempt - Technique:

The first time I attempted this image was in late 2009 or early 2010: the start of my journey of scribal work. I made it for a Golden Bee.[1] Looking at this image, now, I can clearly see that I did not know what I was doing.[2] The image was painted on Bristol cellulose paper. Probably 200# weight. 8x10” in size. The paint I was using was water-based acrylic: not gauche or water color. I used the same paint I used to paint RPG miniatures. Working from a high resolution image of the manuscript,[3] I removed the background colors and printed out the image. The design was transferred to the paper by tracing over a light box. I feel that there is no shame in using a light box, as I am better at tracing than I am at drawing free-hand.

Not knowing what I was doing, I slapped the paint onto the paper with no thought towards shading or even detail. Not used to working on paper, it is clear[4] that I was putting one wet layer of paint on top of another. If you look at the background, you can see how blotchy and uneven it is. I believe that my “plan” was to apply enough paint so that it was one, even coat. Unfortunately, too much water soaked into the paper.[5]

The only details that I had managed to do was with the addition of a black pen (Micron). While the majority of the design was traced from the source, I had free-handed the bee of the award. Not too terrible. Certainly looks more bee-like when viewed normal size.

Second attempt - Technique:

The second time I attempted this image was in 2013. It was for a backlog AOA scroll for someone in CAID. This was scroll number 117 for me [6] and I had taken some lessons on painting, and it shows. Like the first attempt, I had traced the image on a lightbox, but this time I used Arches 100% cotton paper: 9x12” in size, 140# hot press.

I used gouache, this time: Reeves for the color and Holbein for the gold. I went heavy on the gold to give it some texture. For the figures and background, I used a very watered down base coat all over, with three or four layers over each area; each layer thicker and thus, darker, than the previous one. Once the paint was dry, I added the white work. I have found that with the gouache, the added white really makes the paint pop, especially the dark paints. I applied the paint so that if the virtual light source came from the upper, left-hand corner of the page, the darkest shades would fall into the right-most corners, producing shadows.

Instead of a solid color background, I had decided to use a diaper pattern, as I had taken a class on diapering shortly before I started on this scroll. The coloration was based on the recipient’s device. Unlike the first attempt, this time was using less paint, and taking steps to attempt to do shading. Finishing with white gouache lines to simulate areas in bright light. I had also replaced my light box; the new one had a brighter, more even bulb which allowed me to see more detail of the source material.

Classes, practice, as well as 117 completed scrolls had taught me some valuable lessons. The most important of which was to see that what I was doing was wrong. That even coats was not achieved by thicker layers of paint, but by thin layers that I allowed to dry before moving on the to next layer. Better paint helped, as well. I use the cartoon method of painting: trace/draw with pencil; ink over the pencil lines; erase the graphite; paint; then ink over the lines. This gives a clear boundary between elements and allows the colors to stand out..

Third attempt - Technique:

The third time I attempted this image was in 2015. It was for a Millrind scroll. This was scroll number 240. Like the second attempt, I had traced the image on a lightbox onto Arches 100% cotton paper: 9x12” in size, 140# hot press.

This was also done with gouache: Reeves for colors and Winsor & Newton for the gold. I liked the diapering on the 2nd attempt, but I used a different style for this scroll. I used a three color square pattern: red, blue, and gold, with white, diagonal lines running through the red and blue squares. Then finished with a dot of black ink at the vertices.

I was learning to use less paint, yet make what was present do more work. I was learning to use more layers of paint in areas that I wished to be in shadow and less paint where I wanted to portray bright light. I was learning about how gouache works: by using thin layers of paint, light has to pass through more pigment before reaching the white of the paper and bouncing back towards our eyes. The layers scatter and diffuse the light, making the paint appear to be deeper, and the colors richer.

Like the second attempt, I used white lines to showcase highlights, but I was also learning to smear[7] the white ink across the paint to create areas of higher contrast. I would apply the ink with a pen, either a JellyRoll or UniBall ball point pen, or with a fountain pen loaded with blueprint ink. Then I would drag the ink with a damp brush from the spot where I wanted maximum brightness into darker areas. This smearing provided a diffusion of contrast from very white to barely detectable against the background color.

If you would compare the green in the ‘T’ on this image with the blue background on the first attempt, you can clearly see that I was much better at applying an even coat. I believe that the ‘T’ required 4 separate layers, each of gouache watered down to the consistency of Cool-Aid. The end result is visually more appealing than the thick layers of paint I used to use. I was still working on shading, but it is clear that I was making improvements.

Fourth attempt - Technique:

I had decided to use this image for a fourth time for this project.[8] There was no assignment, and no rush to make it. This blank will be used at some point: the “paper” was left blank and might have an award badge painted on it, with the tip of the brush painted in whatever color would match the badge.

This is scroll number 489 and I had made some changes to my kit and techniques. I had replaced my lightbox with a slim-line LED model in 2018. I had also added Winsor & Newton red and blue gouache.[9] Also, I had used up all of the blueprint ink that I had purchased for a drafting class I took in high school. The label had fallen off and I could not remember the brand of the ink. I had acquired a bottle of Winsor & Newton white ink and a dip pen to apply the ink.[10] I also was using a new brand of paper, new for me: Fabriano brand paper: 140#, 100% cotton paper

My technique was the same as the third attempt, only more refined. For the scribe’s garb, I first applied an extremely thin wash of paint, blue or red, then, once the wash was dry, I applied a 2nd coat starting from the right-hand edges (where I wanted shadows) and dragged the paint towards the left and lifting the brush up before reaching the left-hand edge. A third coat was applied in the same way, only I lifted the brush up further away from the left-hand edge. Then a fourth coat. Finally, a fifth coat was applied only on the right-hand edge. The method gives a feathering effect in the areas where the paint is transitioning from light to dark and prevents a solid boundary between the layers.

The white ink was applied to the left-hand edge, and where I wanted to simulate the top layers of the folded fabric, and smeared, with a damp brush, towards the right-hand edge. This gives the effect of a 3D surface, with some areas in light, and others in shadow.

I had left the skin unpainted: it’s winter. It’s okay to be pale.

I did make a mistake while doing the diapering. I had traced the image, inked it, then erased the pencil marks. Then I put a grid pattern under the paper, taped in place, and traced the grid pattern using a straight edge.[11] Then I inked the grid pattern. But, if you look at the scribe’s hands, I had inked lines running through the wrists, without noticing. Once I had started painting, I decided not to scrape the wayward ink, but to apply a light gray to the areas and pretend that I had intended on the scribe to have an under tunic.

I kept the same horizontal grid pattern as the third attempt, but I attempted a different motif, one based on an image I saw on Facebook. I was unable, on my practice sheets, to get a consistent red on the blue squares, so I compromised. I put a white box on the blue squares, with a white dot in the center, and a white cross on the red squares. I did apply too much white ink to a couple of the squares, but, overall, I like how they look, and that is the important thing.



The most important lesson I’ve had to learn over the past eleven years, and 489 scrolls, was to not stress over the mistakes, but to learn from them and learn not to “fix” your mistakes if they are too bad. I could scrape away the blob of thick, white ink, and redo that square. But I would at risk of removing too much paper and leaving a spot where the paint soaked into the paper, at that point, and left a greater eye sore.

After 489 scrolls, done for multiple Baronies, Shires, Cantons, and Kingdoms, I have surmounted Mount Stupid, fallen into the Valley of Despair,[12] and I am climbing the Slope of Enlightenment towards the Plateau of Sustainability.[13] I can clearly see the flaws in my work and now know enough see what I had done wrong. Perhaps in another few hundred scrolls, I will start to consider myself an expert on early period illumination reproduction, at least with modern paints. Being able to see one’s mistakes, and know what caused them, is the sign that one has truly started to learn. Knowing how to fix your mistakes, and equally important, how to leave them alone, is the sign that one has started understand the lessons.


[1] A&S award for the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael
[2] At the time, I thought it was great.
[3] From a Pinterest post.
[4] From the 20/20 hindsight of 2022.
[5] Have a joke about paint drying, but it is a bit boring and takes too long to tell.
[6] I had started numbering my scrolls when I started on an A&S50 challenge in 2010: 50 scroll blanks to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the SCA.
[7] Smear in a good way.
[8] 2022
[9] I had to replace a tube of paint: out of the blue.
[10] The ink is too thick to flow through a fountain pen or from my glass dip pen. I acquired a set of nibs that worked with this ink, based on recommendations from anime artists.
[11] I had also marked the boxes I intended to paint blue.
[12] Not to be confused with the Pit of Despair, the Glade of Despair, the Bog of Despair, or the Subshop of Despair.
[13] Dunning-Kruger.

I'm rather pleased with myself.

 This turned out rather well.

I'm happy as to how this turned out. Micron black and red pens on Fluid 100% cotton paper. 

Another Scribal Retrospective

 What a difference five years makes.

Back in 2016 I made this following scroll:

Scroll # 272

I was, and still am, happy with it. It's inspired by Royal 6 E. vi, f. 396i. This past weekend, I made a new scroll based on the same image. 

Scroll # 470

Five years and just under 200 scrolls later and it is clear that my skills have improved. 

Scroll #272 was done on Arches 140# hot press, 100% cotton paper, while #470 was done on Fluid paper, also 140# hot press, 100% cotton paper. #272 was done with Reeves gouache for the colors and Holbein gouache for the gold. For Scroll #470, I used Winsor & Newton for the gold, and the dark red and blue. I used Reeves for the rest of the colors. 

For #272 I used some white blueprint ink that I've had since High School. No clue of the brand; the label was long gone. I liked it, it was thin enough to flow through a dip pen. I believe I used a glass dip pen for the white lines. Unfortunately, I had run out of this blueprint ink and guess what isn't used anymore? Actual blueprints. And the white ink used to draw on the blue blueprint paper. So, I tried a few different inks and, for #470, I used Winsor & Newton #974 white ink and, with advice from fellow scribes, different nibs. The W&N ink was too thick to flow from my glass dip pen and it clogged all of my calligraphy nibs and fountain pens. I had purchased a dip pen set from McCree marketed towards manga artists. The nib did lay down a nice white line, however, I will have to be careful to not scrape up the paint as I move the pen, particularly since the nib I used only wants to work in one direction. 

In the last five years I have also started to "dry brush" white ink onto the highlights. I say "dry brush" because that's the technique used for highlighting miniatures. Here, I draw a line of white ink and use a slightly damp brush to smear the ink where I want it. I do this in addition to my normal shading style, rather than just leave a white line. I think smearing the white ink from the lightest section of the object into the darker shades gives a better color contour. 

I do notice, with both images next to each other, that my hand was either shaky when drawing the white lines in the red 'C' or I was having trouble keeping the nib pointed the same way as my hand moves. 

I will try again, in five years, and see where my scribal journey will take me.

 Not my best work, but it's done.

I'm not terribly happy with this, but at least it is done. I don't know if I will use it for someone, or let it sit in my big book of scroll blanks. This is based on Yates Thompson 12  f. 204. I've been working on this off and on for the last six months. It never really clicked for me. The soldiers look goofy. The original background was blue and I didn't like how it turned out; so, I painted it gold. The white work didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I had to paint over the corners several times and start over. 

But it is done. 

I am happy that I completed it, even though I can only see the flaws and failed potential. 

The last two years has not been good for my scribal work. With the pandemic, and the lack of events, there hasn't been an overwhelming need for dozens of scrolls. I've done my share of scrolls for the few events we've had, and some back-logs as well, but the scroll factory was definitely put on hiatus. Looking back, I've only completed eight scrolls this year and put calligraphy of two that I had finished last year. Instead of working on four or five scrolls at a time, I've only worked on one at a time. And I think that my quality has slipped. 

With hope, now that events are gearing up, again, more opportunities for scrolls will become available and I will get myself back into scribal shape. 

I have a few that need to be inked and painted and one, that's starring at me right now, that needs just a little bit more paint before I can call it complete.

Better

 The gold does make it look better.

A couple of coats of gold gouache and it does look better than with a blue background. I feel inspired and might finish it, this weekend. 

I hate it

 A WIP. I'm at the point where I hate it and don't want to work on it anymore.

Gouache on cotton paper. 

I'm sure that it will look nice when completed, but I can't work up the enthusiasm to do so. I'm not happy with how the blue turned out. I might cover up the blue in the background with gold. Perhaps that will make it pop. I don't know. 

Scroll - Axeman vs Centaur

Scroll - Axeman vs Centaur

Description:

Two scrolls depicting the same image of a inhabited initial ‘A’, depicting a centaur spearing a man holding an axe: opening psalm 77. Inspired by folio 101r of the 12th century Hunterian Psalter.[1] Also known as the York Psalter. Gouache and ink on Fluid 140 pound, hot-pressed, cotton paper and a miniature of the same image on vellum, also with gouache and ink.

The larger image was made as a scroll blank. The smaller was made for the Shelter-In-Place Scribal War.

Details of the original image:

Vellum, 11½ x 7½, ff. 202, originally ff. 204, beautifully written in one hand (except the last 33 folios, in XIV. Cent. hand), in single cols. of 21 lines (in Kalendar 35 lines), each 8½ x 4¼, ruled and margined with plummet, 13 full-page pictures, one full-page illumination, gilt, historiated or illuminated initials begin the first verse of each Psalm, small gilt initials (ornamented in Ps. xcvi.) begin the second and following verses, no signatures or catchwords, partial foliation, modern (in pencil), the Kalendar is written in black, red, blue and green, cropped, marginalia (first three folios only), fol. sec. Martis. Cents. XII. (and XIV.) Binding: Millboards, covered crimson morocco, richly gilt-tooled inside margins, edges and sides (lines), panelled back, title (gilt): PSALTERIUM | UETUS | IN MEMBRANIS. Late Cent. XVII. [For detailed collation see: John Young and P. Henderson Aitken, A Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of The Hunterian Museum in The University of Glasgow. (Glasgow, 1908), p. 170.]

Although much of the early life of the Psalter remains a mystery, its acquisition by Glasgow University is quite clear. It came as part of William Hunter’s magnificent library in 1807, along with the rest of his wonderful collections. Dr William Hunter (1718-83) was a famous anatomist and physician, and renowned collector of books, manuscripts, coins, medals, paintings, shells, minerals, and anatomical and natural history specimens. Under the terms of his will, his library and other collections remained in London for several years after his death - for the use of his nephew, Dr Matthew Baillie (1761-1823) - and arrived at the University in 1807.

Hunter’s collection of books contains some 10,000 printed books and 650 manuscripts; it forms one of the finest Eighteenth Century libraries to survive intact. Hunter acquired this volume at the sale of the library of Louis-Jean Gaignat in Paris on 10 April 1769, along with several other books. His French agent, Jean B. Dessain, bought it at the auction on Hunter’s behalf for fifty livres and one sou; it was described in the sale catalogue as a ‘codex pervetustus’ (‘an antiquated book’). Now regarded as the greatest treasure in his library, Hunter was paying three times as much for early printed books at the time. [2]

Technique:

The initial image was a scroll blank, made with no assignment in mind. I had already made this image twice before, so I had some experience with it. I used gouache and ink on paper rather than vellum and period pigments as I do not have experience with period pigments, nor do I own any, and I did not have any vellum or pergamenta; only cotton paper. Working from a high resolution image of the manuscript, [3] I removed the background colors and printed out the image. The design was transferred to the paper by tracing over a light box. I feel that there is no shame in using a light box, as I am better at tracing than I am at drawing free-hand.

The scroll was made on Fluid 100% cotton, 140# hot-press watercolor paper. This scroll is 9x12” in size. I used gouache: Reeves and Winsor & Newton for colors and Holbein for the gold. I went heavy on the gold to give it some texture. For the figures and background, I used a very watered down base coat all over, with three or four layers over each area; each layer thicker and thus, darker, than the previous one. Once the paint was dry, I added the white work. I have found that with the gouache, the added white really makes the paint pop, especially the dark paints. I applied the paint so that if the virtual light source came from the upper, left-hand corner of the page, the darkest shades would fall into the right most corners, producing shadows.

I used a very watered down light-blue wash on the metal bits: the axe and spear heads. I have found, over the years, that the silver paint just doesn’t look good and a light wash give the appearance of if not metal than some material that is different than fabric or flesh. Leaving the metal bits unpainted gives the impression that the scroll is unfinished and using darker paint doesn’t give the impression of metal. Beside, this is a technique used in many medieval manuscripts, the Hunterian Psalter for example.

The background of the letter was painted with ultramarine blue gouache and highlighted with white dots: no highlighting or shading was used. Several layers of gold paint were used to make the objects stand out. The goal was to produce an image that would stand out and be visible when it was displayed in court.

Once the all of the paint had dried, I outlined all of the sections with black ink to make the image further stand out, then added white ink and paint to the highlights, to give the figures a sense of depth.

The second piece, made for the Shelter-In-Place Scribal War, was done on a 2x3” piece of actual vellum and was my first experience with working with the material. I scaled down the source image and traced it onto the scrap of vellum. I used the same ink and paint technique as I used on the paper version, but I prepped the vellum with a piece of fine sandpaper, followed up with some pounce, to remove any oil from the surface. A procedure not required on the cotton paper.

I kept the colors the same, except for the legs of the axeman: on the larger image I had used green, but I used light blue on the vellum piece because I wasn’t paying attention: I had started to apply the blue before I realized that I wasn’t using the correct color. Not a major mistake, but a mistake none the less. Also, due to the size of the piece, I was forced to use reading glasses in order to see the fine details. Even so, I had mistakenly applied the background paint where the centaur’s shield was supposed to be. I didn’t want to scrape the paint off of the vellum, since I had no experience with the material and did not want to damage it. I inked around the blue, I had applied, and made the shield more narrow. I think that it isn’t very noticeable when viewed full size; it is when you look at the high-res image.

Unlike paper, the ink and paint didn’t soak into the vellum, but floated on top of it until it dried. [4] This required me to apply a thin layer of gouache to all areas and let each one dry completely before moving on. Subsequent layers then sat atop the dry foundation layer and were less likely to run.

[1] Glasgow, University Library, MS. Hunter 229
[2] From the University of Glasgow’s web site: http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/manuscripts/search/detail_c.cfm?ID=34725
[3] Provided by the Glasgow University Library Special Collections Department’s web site: Book of the Month, May 2007, http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/may2007.html
[4] This is the same when working with pergamenta.

References:

Caballero, Rosario; Díaz Vera, Javier E. Textual Healing: Studies in Medieval English Medical, Scientific and Technical Texts. Peter Lang, 2010

Gibson, Margaret T.; Heslop, T. A.; Pfaff, Richard William. The Eadwine Psalter: Text, Image, and Monastic Culture in Twelfth-century Canterbury. Penn State Press, Jan 1, 1992

Glasgow University Library Special Collections Department’s web site: Book of the Month, May 2007, http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/may2007.html

University of Glasgow’s web site: http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/manuscripts/search/detail_c.cfm?ID=34725

Things you probably should not put on a scroll

Unless You Really, Really Want To

The image is of the aftermath of the battle between King Arthur and Mordred's armies on Salisbury Plain. 

You should never use it as an SCA scroll, unless you really want to.

This will be the tourney scroll for a speed tourney at an upcoming event. I'm not happy with my white work, particularly on the blue, but I'm not going to mess with it and make it worse. 

I am happy with how it turned out. All the while I was working, on this scroll, I hated it. It didn't look good. I didn't think it was going to work out. I had to do it twice: the first one was ruined by an errant splash of dumpling sauce. I didn't think I could remove the stains without damaging the paper. Remember, it's only paper and time. If I think I can remake the scroll in less time than I would use to fix it, I'm going to remake the scroll. 

In any case, I thought this was a complete waste, while I was working on it. The blue was giving me issues. The mail looked like a hodgepodge of a mess. It wasn't until I had finished the white work that my inner critic shut the hell up. 

Although, if I must be honest. I really messed up on the upper most horse. Either it has a very bad overbite or someone chopped it's lower jar off. Or, perhaps it was something more sinister. 

First scrolls of the year

First scrolls of the year

I have some assignments... Finally. Three scrolls for two events. As usual, Deckster Picelli, International Cat of Mystery, kept me company while I painted. 

I only have red and gold on the paper.... Blue will be next. I spent a couple of relaxing hours inking. It's nice to see that I haven't forgotten how to do this. 

This looks better

This Looks Much Better.

Yes, this looks much better. The gold background makes the dragon and the birds pop. Yes; those are birds. Not particularly well drawn birds, but they don't look any worse than the original source. 

As I wrote in my previous post, paper is cheap. I was not happy with the way the blue background was coming out and I was getting frustrated with not making it look that way I did in my brain. 

There are certain stages to my scroll making, and "this look terrible" is one of the major ones, early on in the process. But the blue background never moved out of that stage. I reached a point where I knew I would never like the image. Now that the replacement is complete, I can see that I have chosen wisely. Now, I just have to get the proper wording and I can "calligraph" it. 

My fellow scribes, all two of y'all who read this, keep this in mind: Start your assignments as soon as possible, so that when you are half way through and you hate it, you have plenty of time to start over. 

Nope! I don't like it.

Nope! I Don't Like It.

Welp, I was working on this scroll for {THAT EVENT THAT YOU LOVE} and I just don't like how it looks. I love the image, but the paint wasn't working for me. The background is supposed to be a pale blue wash. The paint just wasn't working for me. Sometimes that happens. I just don't want to deal with it, right now. Sometimes, you just have to set it aside and start over. There's no point in working on something that will only aggravate you. 

So, I grabbed a new sheet of paper and started over.

This time I went with a gold background. It looks better, already. I'll take care of the other one, at a later date, and use this one for {THAT EVENT YOU LOVE}. Paper is cheap; if you hate what you are working on, you will never want to finish it. 

Starting up the scroll factory

One Scroll At A Time

I've been really.... Not lazy, but just not interested in painting. This is a last minute scroll for our Baronial Champs, to be held this weekend. Well, I got the assignment a couple of months ago. I screwed up the first image and got side tracked by a new job, repairs, and other things. I need to put one last coat of shade on this, then ink it, then do the white work. Then I have to come up with words and do the calligraphy. If all goes well, I should have this done tomorrow night. 

I don't know where I found this image. I used it for our Baronial newsletter about 20 years ago. It might have come from a Dover coloring book, or from a TI, or even from another SCA newsletter. I like the design. I did a scroll based on it eight years ago for my first A&S50 Challenge.

I think I've learned a thing or three in the last few years. I'm using better paint, less paint, and a better method. 

This will be for the Hael archery champion. I haven't been shooting very well, lately, but I'm still going to try to win my own scroll. 

Something weird

I Don't Mean 'I Before E Except After C'

Ever come up with wording for a scroll that you feel kinda guilty about writing down. Not evil. Not mean. Not insulting. But something that will make the herald hate you for making them read it out loud. Like slipping in a really bad pun. Or a tongue twister. Or using language that you know will make the herald laugh while they are reading it.

I bring this up 'cause I made a scroll from an unusual inhabited initial..... No. Oh, god no! Not the cannibal depicted above. I have a humorous streak but I wouldn't use a cannibal on an award scroll. Maybe a tourney scroll.... No, better not.

Where was I?

Oh, yes. I made a scroll with an unusual initial with an idea for certain words to go along with it. Unfortunately, as an award scroll, it would be for a very limited set of people. Like, if you were to make a scroll depicting period ice skating; how many people could you use it for so that it would be relevant? But, I was handed a last minute scroll assignment and my mind added up 2 and 2 and got blueberry pie as the answer. So, I took my idea for funny wording for an unknown award for an unknown person and turned it into a tourney scroll and cranked up the wording to 11.

I won't post it here: I want it to be a surprise. See y'all at that event that you might be at.

By the way: don't put a cannibal on an award scroll.

Some kind words

Remember To Tip Your Waiters.

Today, I received a very nice E-mail from Robert of Ferness: the Honorable Lord Robert. I had done the scroll commemorating his induction into the Noble Order of the Fleur of AEthelmearc (GoA level award for Arts and Sciences). In the E-mail, he thanked me for the nice piece of work, and for the silly joke on the back of the scroll.  

Scrolls are freely made and freely given. It is nice to get comments from the recipients of the scrolls that I make. I do like the "Ooohs" and "Aaahhs" when one of my scrolls is held up, but I don't make them for the audience; I make them for the person who will be taking the scroll home. 

I've had several people, at the last few events, come up to me saying something like, "You're Caleb? You did my AoA scroll. Thank you, thank you, thank you." I don't want to sound like a jerk, but most of the time I have to find a nice way of saying, "Who are you? I do so many assignments and blanks" Which is true. Most of the scrolls I did last year were scroll blanks: someone else did the calligraphy and wording (and made my work look great).  I try to do some cold reading and question leading in order to figure out which piece ended up going to that particular person. Sometimes they have a picture on their phones and then I can give them some details on where the image came from.

I hope that I can inspire people to keep doing that thing that they did to get the award, or win the tourney, that earned them the scroll. And I hope that if you receive a scroll, take the time to hunt down the scribe and thank them. THL Robert's E-mail really, really, really made my day.