Carpe diem

I wanted to use rust in conjunction with engraving. It's now done with this short quotation from the Odes by Horatius. I think, I'll do other works using this technique, I really like the result.

First, I engraved the slate and second, I added some filings and then waited for rust to do its job. Once happy with it, I varnished the whole to freeze the development.

You can see another detail here, to see the whole work, it's there.

Villa Mille Roses - dedications

The first edition of Villa Mille Roses, text by Pascal Aussi, published by Christophe Chomant, is released since beginning of december.
The twenty first copies of it will be dedicated on demand so, if you're interested, send me an email :-)

Rust

After playing quite a lot with zinc, I'm now experimenting steel as a medium for calligraphy.
Here is my first try almost correct of a cadel letter.

Next time, I'll have to better sand the surface and to adjust the edges as the varnish is too sticky to get clean contours on the first stroke.

Brooch

Christmas Eve has passed, one can now open the presents.
And in the box, this is what can be found.

This is my second try in jewellery after the bracelet. This brooch is 3.5cm in diameter and is made of zinc, varnished then engraved using acid.

The white vine pattern is my creation and I added a cabochon of slate.

I'm quite happy with it and so seems the person who received it :-)

Recycling- continued

Another possible use of drafts is the creation of origami boxes.

That's perfect for Christmas presents but to know what is in it, you'll have to wait until tomorrow :-)

Corpses of cities

At last, I'm done with the calligraphy of Giovanni Papini's short story, Corpses of cities.
I used most of my favourites techniques to do this job and I must say that I'm quite happy with the result.

Embossing on carbon paper

Zinc engraving and filigrees

To have a look to the whole work, click here.

Other close ups are available here and there.

Recycling

A few years ago, I started to work on a text by Thomas de Quincey, creating a palimpsest by writing with walnut stain and partially washing it before adding a new coat of text. After 4 coats, I stopped and did something totally different with the text.
Lately, I was looking for something to soften the light of my bedside lamp and found this uncompleted work in his portfolio.

The moral of the story is : never throw away anything, recycling can have surprising results.

I've just created a palampsest ;-)

Rose window

Here is a draft of my latest work in progress, a text by Giovanni Papini.

As I'm working on a paper I'n not used to, I make drafts of the different parts as proofs of concept, just to be sure that everything will fit in place and that, for example, this paper can put up with embossing.

Copper vine

After the zinc, I'm trying to engrave another kind of metal, copper.
For this first try, I chose a white vine pattern.
Here is a picture of the plate once varnished, waiting for the vinegar to react.

Last chance before disappearance

I invite everyone of you to came and have a look to the mural in my gallery on friday, december the 14th from 6PM.
It will be the last chance to see it as, from 7PM the same day, every person will be asked to participate in its erasure (paint, roller and protective clothing supplied).

I hope you will be numerous to join this event :-)

Nibelungenlied

At last, I'm done with the "first adventure" of the Nibelungenlied. In addition to the calligraphy in gothic fraktur script, I wrote the title into runes, partly engraved on zinc and partly embossed.

As I was saying in my previous message, I'm quite satisfied with it :-)

To see the whole thing, click here.

And as the picture is a bit small, you can get à look at two closeups here and there.

Almost

Amost done with my latest work.

Just have to clean some parts and to wait for good natural light to be able to show you the whole tihng.

I can already tell I'm quite happy with it :-)

Runes

To decorate a text, I started to engrave the title using a runic script.

It's only a fragment, I will mix engraved bits with embossed ones, I hope the result will be worth it.

Next steps coming soon ...

scumble draft

Again a draft, it was a proof of concept for something that has nothing to do with this but my wife not only forbade me to throw it away but forced me to give it to her (it's quite normal as it is her first name).

Actually, the more I look at it, the more I like it and the more I want to do other things with the same technique.

If you want peace ...

Having started to thin out the leaves from the book entitled "Instruction du 1er janvier 1923 sur les grenades à l'usage des troupes de toutes armes" for a work on a poem by Léo Ferré, I'm left with a load of unused leaves which content is quite martial.
I decided to take advantage of this to work on the famous sentence : "Si vis pacem, para bellum".

To see the whole work, follow this link.

Guest house

A recently finished commission for a guest house.

the front :

and the back :

It was my first work with this special paint used for outside, not easy to deal with, very viscous.

Anyway, the result is not too bad, is it ?

Initial

While waiting for inspiration for more ambitious works, I continue with filigrees. This time it is a V and in blue shades to change a bit from the usual B&W.

To see the whole thing, click here.

While I thought that I was learning how to live...

I had this small piece of paper and a few hours to spend lately, I took advantage of this situation to calligraphy this short sentence by Leonardo Da Vinci.
I chose to use only black & white, first because I love B&W (in case you didn't notice) but also because the contrast meets the contrast that exists between the two parts of Da Vinci's quotation.

To see the whole work, click here.

Wedding

This week-end, among other things, I got married.
I didn't have much time to make the most of my calligraphy skills but I nevertheless did some little things.

My tie clip

The wedding box 

The borders of the table clothes

It has been a magical moment and I thank everyone who was there (even just by thought) to celebrate this turning point in our life.

Walnut stained vine

No time nor inspiration these times to create any calligraphic work but nevertheless itching to use my nibs and a rest of walnut stain at the bottom of a glass...

So here is the result, a small illuminating based on white vine only colored with walnut stain and my loved filigrees to encase it.

For the whole work, have a look at the gallery.

NEUNEULAND - the model

I did promise to post the model of NEULAND script I reworked to write the poem Des Armes by Léo Ferré.

It is now available in the resources section of the website.

Embossing

After the cut-out comes the embossing.

I'm not satisfied, runes are not legible enough due to the strips between lignes.
I have two possibilities : 
- rework the cut-out to narrow these strips but, fragile as it is, I may destroy the matrix
- restart from the beginning

I'm going to think about it for a while in case a third possibility arise.

VAE SOLI

A coming event will require that I wear a tie. I already did a few times and there are plenty of how-to on the web explaining the making of the knot so I'm not too stressed.

Being aware of the existence of the tie clip, I decided to make my own one to avoid potential issues while eating, here is the result.

I chose a short quotation from the Ecclesiastes, written in runic alphabet and engraved on a plate of zinc.

Cut-out

After quite a long work, I've finished to cut the matrix that I'll use for the embossing in my forthcoming work.

The text uses the runic alphabet, each line is 1.5cm high, more information on it when the next step will be over...

Flowers

Being inspired by the filigree pattern used in my latest initial, I decided to reuse it to create a small illumination, this time with ferro-gallic ink and wallnut stain to remain close to the shade of the kraft paper.

To see the whole work, click here.

Initial C

A recent happy occasion "forced" me to take my nib and to make one of those filigree initials I like so much.
It's to celebrate the birth of a little girl and after rejecting the pink, I eventually chose the white.
Here is a picture of a part of the initial where one can see the shiny texture of the letter (which I love !).

And another picture which reveals my industrial secret, in other words, the draft ;-)

to see the whole final work, follow the link to the gallery.

Kakemono - the end

Here it is at last. It would have been much longer than what I thought but the result is worth it, isn't it ?

Kakemono 3

It is quite long to paint filigrees on cloth, what you see here took me almost half a day, not to mention the smell of the paint which gives headaches...

Poem by Léo Ferré

As I told you last week, I've been working on the poem Des Armes by Léo Ferré and it's now finished.

I started with a collage of leaves from a book found at a secondhand bookseller which title is "Training of the 1st january 1923 on the grenades for use by troops from any army", I found it would make a perfect background for this poem which title could be translated into "Weapons".
I eventually added the text, using a revisited NEULAND, I will soon post a model of it for those who would like to follow me.
Till then, to see the whole work, have a look in the gallery.

Kakemono - the comeback

Second step of the kakemono. Only have to add filigrees in the B now.

Kakemono

First step of the kakemono which will advertise the entrance of my gallery.

Still a lot of work to do...

Any aesthetic life is despair

This sentence is not by me but by Kierkegaard. I always find it difficult to calligraphy a single short sentence, composition options are too reduced unless one launches into excessive ornementation.
Other thought that has nothing to do with the previous statement, I'm fascinated by zebra crossing textures for a while now.
The conjunction of these two observations gave me the idea of working on Kierkegaard's sentence using the morse code and playing with the texture of dash and points.

It's a first draft, I already identified some of its weaknesses and hope to correct them into the next version, anyway, I'm quite happy with some of the textures obtained.

NEUNEULAND

I hafe just started to work on the poem Des Armes by Léo Ferré. I took the opportunity to rework a bit the NEULAND script designed by Rudolf Koch.

New ligatures, retouch of edges and new shapes for some letters. I nevertheless feel I'm just copying my master without being really original except for the B, inspired by the insular manuscripts from the end of the first millennium.

Summer courses in France

As every summer, my esteemed professors will teach courses in Saint Antoine l'Abbaye (France).
I will not be able to attend this year but I can offer a 10% discount for those of you who would like to join : just add the code Anachropsy9312 to your registration sheet.

Seats are limited and time flies, hurry up !

... a little natural whiteness

Here is a new version of a text by André Gide that I already calligraphied for my professor.
This time I took only the last part of the text and wrote without any ruling to guide me. As for the decoration, I reused an embossed stained glass pattern previously utilized in other works.

To see the whole work, follow the link to the gallery.

On the wall - 5

Probably the final version of this work.
I added a fragment of Petronius' Satiricon (bottom right) in Luxeuil's script and calligraphied a large cadel initial later highlighted in black to enhance the visibility.

The wall will remain like until the end of the year then I will erase all white a coat of white paint before starting another work.