We aren't just a community, we also have an online shop that stocks everything you need.
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Feb | Apr » | |||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 | |||||
blogs books Brause brushes calliagraphy courses calligraphers calligraphy calligraphy equipment calligraphy gifts Calligraphy Groups calligraphy sets copperplate drawing and mapping nibs drawing equipment gilding gilding equipment gilding materials guidelines illumination Indian ink Inks and Paints Kolner learning calligraphy Leonardt Manuscript marker pens nibs paints Paper penholders pens pointed nibs practising ruling-up Scribblers Sealing Wax Speedball square-cut nibs SSI Starting Calligraphy Tips websites William Mitchell writing sets Zig
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck requires Flash Player 9 or better.
We have decided to shut down the community.We did have a couple of ongoing issues with the software – niggles that made it harder to do some things. But the main reason was it was not receiving enough attention from us.We actually received a reasonable number of visitors, but not many posts.So, for time being we have shut it down and are concentrating on the blog and main website.
 |
The Society of Scribes and Illuminators was founded in 1921 in the UK by early students of Edward Johnston. Each year the SSI has a Lay Member’s Day. |
The Society of Scribes and Illuminators (SSI) have invited us to the Lay Member’s Day in April for a second year.We are now planning our stall. I have just dusted down the notes I made from last year. Hopefully we will be better prepared for the rush of customers. Last year, just before the show officially started, I served our first customer. After putting her items in a bag, I turned round to give her the change and bag to see a second customer waiting to be served. By the time I had finished serving the second lady, we were packed out!The majority of our calligraphy materials and equipment stock will be available to purchase on the day.There are three demonstrators this year; Joy Daniels (pointed pen lettering in the Copperplate style), Clare Whittaker (creative books for the calligrapher) and Josie Brown (dry layering techniques in calligraphy)Denis Brown, FSSI, will be giving the Daubney Lecture: Carry Tradition Across Boundaries.
| The event will be at King’s College Franklin Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NN. |  |
With Copperplate, it is important to have the right equipment and materials.Drawing BoardFor most work, a calligrapher will use a drawing board, which if at the correct angle will help improve ink flow. When writing Copperplate, I personally tend not to use a board. By having the paper flat on the desk, it naturally increases the ink flow because the penholder and nib will be more upright.NibsPointed nibs will not last very long. Typically they will start to scratch after writing only a few A3 pages. Some nibs are better than others. The Leonardt Principal EF nib will normally last longer than the Gillott nibs. Vintage nibs last longer than most of the modern nibs.When the nibs start to scratch, I know some calligraphers have tried to sharpen them – I believe with mixed results. I have never had any success with sharpening pointed nibs.InkThe right ink is important. Many inks are too thick and will not flow well from the nib. Some inks are thin enough to flow, but are still quite thick and give a heavier hairline. Often it is possible to make the ink the correct consistency by adding a little water. For best results I use Walker’s Copperplate Ink. This recipe has been fine tuned by Brian Walker over the years and gives excellent results – a very fine hairline and dark shades.PaperThe paper must be very smooth for Copperplate. If the paper is not smooth enough the nib will catch on it as you try and make it glide over the paper. If the nib is starting to scratch or the paper is not smooth enough, you will be disappointed with your efforts and very quickly become disheartened. Ordinary layout paper can be suitable as can a quality, but very smooth cartridge paper. For final pieces of work use a quality paper, these include some papers designed for ink-jet printers. The most popular paper for Copperplate is Character Paper.
Made from washable plastic, these Flexible Curves will easily bend down to 25mm radius and keep its shape.One side has an Inch rule, whilst another side has centimetre increments enabling you to measure the length of the curves.
I recently came across this image on stumbleupon, which is from www.rokebygallery.comIt would be have been interesting to see a close up, although I doubt there would be any great letterforms 
We are now stocking Manuscript Calligraphy Parchment Paper.Each pad consists 36 sheets (90gsm) of parchment textured paper in 3 assorted colours.This parchment looking paper can add a nice finishing touch to your work. It is ideal for quotes, invitations etc.
