In March I did  a Laurel scroll for a good friend, Vivian de Dunbar.  Her research was Ottoman era, so I chose something that would fit her personna.  The example is below

Reference: https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Ottoman-School/659616/Folio-from-a-Quran,-sura-71:9-28;-sura-72:1-9-and-part-of-10,-detached-manuscript-folio,-2nd-half-of-16th-century-(ink,-opaque-watercolour-and-gold-on-paper).html
16th century



I had a lot of help with this scroll. 

Text by Alys Mackyntoich 
Arabic Translation by Sara al-Garnatiyya
Illumination by Nataliia Anastasiia Evgenova
Calligraphy by Æsa feilinn Jossursdottir



Rejoice! For upon this 26th day of March in the 56th year of the Society, Ioannes and Ro Honig, Imperial Sovereigns, invested and endowed Vivian de Dunbar with laurels and high accolades, showering praise like rose petals upon her head. A wreath of laurel leaves they gave her, and gifts of great value, and, that her worth be known, also Arms by Letters Patent, Purpure, a decrescent and on a chief argent three sprigs of heather palewise purpure. Rejoice!

Arabic:
نبتهج! في هذا اليوم السادس والعشرين من شهر مارس في السنة السادسة والخمسين من عمر الجمعية ، استثمر إيوان ورو هونيغ ، الإمبراطورية السيادية ، ومنحها فيفيان دي دنبار أمجاد وأوسمة عالية ، وتملأ الثناء مثل بتلات الورد على رأسها. أكاليل من أوراق الغار التي قدموها لها ، وهدايا ذات قيمة كبيرة ، ولكي تُعرف قيمتها ، منحت مكانة خطابات براءة اختراع ، أرجوانية ، متدلية وعلى رأس ثلاثة أغصان من هيذر أرجوانية باهتة. نبتهج!

Transliteration:
Nabtaji! fi hadha al-yawm al-saadis wa leishrin min shahr maris fi al-sanat al-saadisat wal-khamsin min eumr al-jam-ee-ath , aistathmar 'iiwan wa ru hunigh , al'iimbiraturiat al-siyadiat , wamanahaha fifiaan di dinbar 'amjad wa'awsimatan ealiatan , watamla al-thana' mithl bitlat al-ward ealaa rasiha. 'akalil min 'awraq alghar alati qadamuha laha , wahadaya dhat qimat kabirat , walikay tuerf qimatuha , manahat makanat khitabat bara'at aikhtirae , 'urjuaniat , mutadaliyatan waealaa ras thalathat 'aghsan min haydhar 'urjuaniat bahitatun. Nabtaji!

The above picture is to show off the glittery gold.  Damn, Feillin.

Black hours scroll for a fellow artist.  Companion of the Maunche for Aurelia Colleoni a'Buccafurno, including portrait and over the top gold and silver leaves.  I'm pleased with my calligraphy on this one, it is improving as I practice more, and I used black arches paper, gold and white goauche, and Dr. Ph Martin's bleed proof white for the calligraphy.  I used a regular calligraphy pen and painted the Dr. Martin's ink - which is super thick btw - onto the pen with a little bit of water onto the pen to help with the flow. 

Calligraphy and illumination by me
Words by: Liadan ingen Chineada (LEE-a-din IN-yen keh-NAH-dah)
Based on a sonnet.

Yes, it seems that it has been tough to really keep anything as we tromp through the pandemic, but here we are.  My plan is that I'm just gonna throw down some good stuff I've been doing and fill in things later.  All work is based on an exemplar.  When I have had the brain space to pull and upload the research, I certainly will.   Hopefully.

One of the tough things is that I have been struggling throughout the pandemic to do anything creative.  I have found others are in similar spots.  My art went a little backward and I'm trying to bring it around again and increase my abilities.  Without practice my art muscles atrophied.  This is not an excuse, just an acknowledgement that I am in a different place than I was two years ago.  I'm still working on improving my calligraphy and often farm it out to my gifted calligrapher friends.   I'm also my harshest critic.  I love that the art that I have been able to do because it feeds me, and it is a new beginning.

So to new beginnings.

First up - Maunche for Joannes von Braunsthweig given a short time ago and is in the hands of the recipient.  Formal date of presentation is March 5, 2022.   I loved the happy, little swirls and detailing.

Next up.  Golden Rapier for Wentlyanna Bengrek, a very good friend and comrade in arms, given out at Bhakail Yule in December of 2021.  I found a rapier manual that showed several poses and that looked all the world to me like our modern melee tactics and put Wentlyanna front and center.  I had to put clothes on them first because, well, it was Agrippa and Agrippa is a clothing optional manual.   I really wanted to have a nice portrait of Wentlyanna and was able to find a picture of her that looked so lovely and I was quite pleased with how it came out.  I used white goauche, grey goauche which I thinned a little to capture the shading of the face.  I used pen and ink for the rest of the scroll. 

In  late 2021, I did a Silver Crescent for Alexandre L'Espangnol de Orleanz which had to chase him for a while.   It was supposed to go out at Crown in November, but didn't catch up to him until Bhakail Yule in December, of 2021.

Another collaboration.

Words by Sir Matthias Grunewald, Calligraphy (so tiny, so beautiful) by Duchess Thyra, and illumination mine.   This piece went out at the Coronation, in the last court of Tindal and Alberic.

I consulted with his lovely lady and she said: "If someone wants to go overboard, the Borso d'Este Bible is a fine example of over the top."

Thus, that is the exemplar for the piece.

The pandemic really got to a lot of people.  Especially me.  I haven't posted since June 2019, a couple of months into the pandemic and now it is 2021.  Artistically I had a difficult time and I did a few things but I felt that my work could have been better.  We are our own worst critic.  I hope that the people who received these pieces are pleased because that is what matters.


The Artwork:

The first one is a piece that I made for a Silver Tyger which I think came out nice.  This was for a Zofeia Jodurqin with a Mongolian personna.    It is modeled after a mongolian travel pass.  It was given out October 11, 2020 in an Ethereal court.  Simple, to the point, gold gouache paint on black paper. 

Words on safe passage

Tindal and Alberic, Mighty Khans East, Give to ZZofeia Jodurqin Silver Tyger Award her Arms

Words said in court

Tindal and Alberic, Mighty Khans of these Eastern Lands hereby greet our visitor from afar with mighty rejoicing,

The Warrior before us has illustrious skill in armored combat and brings great fame to the Northern Army horde.  Zofeia Jodurqin will be honored and Awarded arms to be carried by her alone Per bend sable and gules, a Bactrian camel statant Or maintaining under its front hoof a wolf's head cabossed argent, a base rayonny Or and furthermore, induct her into the Order of the Silver Tyger, thus giving her this paize for safe passage across our lands, done in the fall of our reign at our Ethereal Court.

Words, calligraphy and illumination: Nataliia Anastasiia Evgenova

Another piece of artwork was for a good friend Cezilia Raposa. 

I had the honor of working with a great word person, Countess Meggie, and we made some real beautiful art together.  It was given out February 21, 2021 at an Ethereal court.   My photography skills don't necessarily put this piece in its best light. 


It is on pergamenata, with black goauche for the background.  I included personalized items, such as the compass rose and Cezilia's beloved cat Winston. 

That's it for now.  More later.

Much as I have tried to not have the Signet job take over my art life, well, here it is in all it's glory.  I haven't posted since October of 2017, and it is now June of 2019.  Okay, then.  Let's catch up. 

From present backwards into time here we go.

For a dear friend, I made a Silver Rapier scroll for his elevation given on June 8, 2019.  Matthew Miller is the nom de plume of Ysmay that she uses for fencing.  I went straight to our good friend George Silver for resource material and the play on words was for fun with a very Italian Queen and a very English subject.  

The words are as follows:


O that men for their defence would but give their mind to practice the true fight indeed and learn to bear true British wards for their defence,and that those imperfect Italian devices with rapier and poniard would be clean cast aside save for the protection of Us and Our persons, King Ozurr and Queen Fortune, most giving, loving and trusting of Their subject Matthew Miller, though he be English, do say this day that therefore with the zealous and unfeigned love that We bear for his true knowledge of this noble science and the excellence of the rapier fight, do we induct Matthew Miller into the Order of the Silver Rapier on this eighth day of June, A.S. Fifty four at our Southern Region War Camp in our Barony of Carillion.

From George Silver’s Paradoxes of Defense

Words, calligraphy and illumination by Nataliia Anastasiia Evgenova
Illumination done in pen and ink on opaline vellum, which is a vegetable composite to replicate animal skin vellum.

...............the initials of the Royalty giving the scroll, Ozurr and Fortune!

A scroll for our beloved Zsuzsy done in pencil on pergamenata with Higgins eternal ink for the words.  I thought that Zsu would like a portrait and I worked in one of her hanging earrings that she loves.  This was done for East Kingdom Fifty Year in June of 2018.

There was a writ for a Laurel for Raziya that I was able to do.  This was a gigantic leap for me as calligraphy is not my gig, but for Raziya, I'd do it.  December, 2017.  Based on calligraphy in the Mira Calligraphiae monumenta.

Silver Brooch for Antoni for his metal work.  A portrait that I snagged off of the devil of all sources, Facebook, and some nice pencil work, and voila!  I know that I did do the calligraphy but don't have a picture of it.  Drat.  Given in October of 2017.

More to come as I find more.  Share yours!

I called dibs on a Silver Crescent assignment for Caoilfhionn.  She, along with Brennan, gave me my Master of Defense, so there is a little bit of a desire to give her something special.  I also want to encourage her in her endeavors in fencing.  I was given quite a bit of latitude on what I could do.  I was told that she liked my fencing manuals but would love anything that I did.  I wanted to make something stunning.

I did a lot of thinking and some research.  I found a medieval representation of a mermaid.  Caoilfhionn also has blue and white flowers as her badge and I wanted to incorporate that into the design. 

I used Black Arches paper, 80 pound, with miniatum ink not regular miniatum because I wanted to make fine lines.  The white ink was Dr. Martin's White Ink and the paint was Holbein or Windsor Newton goauche.

The Dr. Martin's white ink definitely made a more consistent layer on the black paper.  My calligraphy is getting better, but I can still see some slanting here and there.  The pencil layer is visible, and the layer of miniatum layer is almost invisible against the black paper on the left hand bottom of the paper.

First layer of gold leaf on all that miniatum.

Second layer of miniatum, and some buffing.  You can see the shine in the upper portion of the photograph.  I started to add details and white accents.

Layer of ultramarine goauche, Windsor Newton.    I continued to put several more layers of blue to even out the color.  As you can see from the photograph, there are dead spots where the paint was just soaked up by the paper.  Helpful hint for those doing Black Hours scrolls, always make more paint than you think you will need and leave time to do several, several layers. 

It has been since June that I posted last, and boy has there been a lot going on.

First up - I received the honor of receiving a Laurel in July.  Yay.
Next, I took over as Tyger Clerk of the Signet for the East, and that has cut into my process photos of artwork and documenting my progress. 
Luckily I have taken some pictures, which I will share here.

Laurel scroll for me by Mistress Isabelle Chamberlain.  Wow, just wow.

Summer ended up with me teaching the drawing class again at Pennsic.   Below are pictures of the portrait class.

Count Ruslan is one of my regular models.  

My fabulous model, Mistress Anastasiia Gutane.

I'm at Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium and realized my blog is out of date.

​

Woohoo!  I was able to do the Golden Rapier Scroll for my friend Engracia Madrigal.  It was an effort put together by many to surprise her with awesome.

Engracia has a Spanish personna, and is the cadet of Alys MacIntoisch.  Alys was awesome and provided me a couple of different options, and Alys particularly like this one:

https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=12793

I forgot to take many pictures at each step, but did a little better with some of the details.

The first step was Alys wrote the words, then Rhi translated them into Spanish, then I took the tiniest nib I had and wrote the words in Spanish.

SPANISH
 
El 11 de febrero, en el año cincuenta y uno de la Sociedad, en Nuestra Corte Real en Concordia of the Snows, Nosotros, Brion el Rey y Ana la Reina, ante un conjunto suficiente de señores, caballeros, maestros, compañeros, buenos ciudadanos del reino, otorgaron y dotaron a Engracia de Madrigal de la Order of the Golden Rapier, junto con todos los derechos, privilegios, inmunidades, obligaciones, beneficios, y subsidios que le corresponden, tanto como se han dotado a cualquier otro miembro de la Orden antes mencionada. Nuestra concesión y dotación a la mencionada Engracia, habiendo sido examinada y plenamente comprendida por Nosotros, es por la presente aprobada, encomendada, confirmada, ejecutada y ratificada, y Nos comprometemos a guardar, observar y cumplir todo lo mencionado en ella, y cada parte de ella, realmente y eficazmente. Además, renunciamos a todo fraude, evasión, falsedad y fingimiento, y comprometemos, por Nosotros mismos y por Nuestros herederos y sucesores, que no violaremos la concesión y la dotación arriba mencionada, ni ninguna parte de ella, en cualquier momento o en cualquier manera.  En la atestación y corroboración de la cual, firmamos Nuestros nombres a ésta, Nuestra carta.
 

 
ENGLISH
 
On 11 February, in the fifty-first year of the Society, in our Royal Court at Concordia of the Snows, We, Brion the King and Anna the Queen, before a sufficient assemblage of peers, knights, masters, companions, nobles, and good citizens of the realm, granted and endowed Engracia de Madrigal with the Order of the Golden Rapier, along with all rights, privileges, immunities, obligations, benefits, allowances and entitlements attendant thereupon, as much as have been endowed to any and all other members of the aforenamed Order.  Our grant and endowment to the abovesaid Engracia, having been examined and fully understood by us, is hereby approved, commended, confirmed, executed, and ratified, and we promise to keep, observe, and fulfill all the abovesaid that is set forth therein, and every part and parcel of it, really and effectively.  We further renounce all fraud, evasion, falsehood, and pretense, and avow, for ourselves and for our heirs and successors, that we shall not violate the above-stated grant and endowment, or any part of it, at any time or in any manner whatsoever.  In attestation and corroboration whereof, we sign our names to this our charter.


Words by Alys Macintosich
Translation by Rhiannon the Curious
Calligraphy and Illumination by Nataliia Anastasiia Evgenova
 

At this point you can see the tiny words, which I covered in frisket paper so that I would not make a mess.  You want to know WHY I did this?  Because the first draft of this scroll met with an egregious ink accident.  If any of you heard the cries of "OH NO!" on FB, that was it.

So the frisket paper, which is very shiny and ugly, went over the words to cover it from my mistakes.  I highly recommend it.

Above you can see the design for the illumination and the OGR.  The OGR is designed after my original Athena OGR pin because I wanted Gracie to have one of mine, even if only painted and inked.

Details of the left "E".  I decided that as a design element I would put a lot of swords everywhere I could.  It delighted me to figure out ways to put the swords into this design.  The large letters were EL as the first letters of the scroll wording, and referenced back to the original exemplar.

Right side "L" with swords, flowers and decorative elements.

Inking, so much inking.  Inked in the Two initials, the decorative elements, started the many, may swords.  There are 23 swords including the OGR pin.

I mixed up some Verdigris which made a beautiful green.  Used the glass plate, muller and added gum arabic to make pigment.  Painted away.  I could not find a red period pigment that I really liked, so fell back to the purple red Holbein goauche that is my all time favorite.

Ultramarine as the blue for the OGR pin for the win.  Finish detailing with ink (Higgins Eternal) and a crow quill pen and done.

I was very happy with this scroll.  The calligraphy was uniform, small and happy.  While this wasn't a flashy scroll with a lot of gold leaf, I am very happy because it has so much detail.  While it harkens back to the original, it does stand on its own.