Purple Scrolls: Part I - Dyed Paper

In my research for new manuscript images to inspire me (and quite by accident) while researching black medieval manuscripts, I came across mention of purple ones. Medieval manuscripts where the parchment or vellum had been painted purple. Purple being my favorite color I, of course, had to dig further.

Just a quick Google search turned up several images and digging through them to find more information was quite the process. At first most of the images were either such a dark purple they were nearly black or purple with a high red tone. Since I wanted to get them as close to the proper medieval color as possible I grabbed a couple of the reddish images to start my experimentation with.

The first image I was working with was featured on a number of sites but finding the actual source was going to take more work. I downloaded the image and decided to try to find the source of it later.

I loved the style of the initials and wanted to see more but first I had to be sure I could come up with appropriate paper to put them on.

My search for appropriate (acid free) purple paper yielded no results. The appropriate weight of Bristol only came in white or black. Water color paper only came in white. And anything else I found was not acid free nor heavy enough weight. My options at that point were very limited so I decided some experimentation was in order.

I did several searches for how to dye paper and found that it was possible but none of the posts I found were appropriate for what I was trying to do. They recommended using RIT dye and showed just basic craft dipping of things like coffee filters and light papers for making flowers or other 3d crafts. I found nothing detailing how to dye heavy paper for art.

I've never been a fan of RIT dye for anything that you want the color to last, not transfer to other surfaces, or dye a true, even color. I used to do tie-dye clothing and was always fond of the vibrant colors created with fiber reactive dye. I still had some supplies of dye from that time as well and figured since fiber reactive dye is made for natural (cellulose) fibers (cotton, linen, hemp, etc) that it would likely work well on paper.

I used Procion Fiber Reactive dye purchasable from Dharma Trading Co. online. I've done business with them for years and have always had good luck. They have a number of cloth dying and wood chip dying tutorials on their site and it was from there that I drew my technique for the dying process.

My first attempt at dying paper was a little disorganized and I didn't get pictures of the process but I still managed to create a few limited pieces to play with. In that first batch I tried to recreate the color above but couldn't find my Crimson Red so ended up combining 50/50 Grape and Fuscia Red.

The color didn't quite turn out how I wanted but I decided to keep it and continue working with it to see if I could create a usable scroll. I painted on my initial and delivered it to the calligrapher for more testing. More on that later.

Page from Lectionary on Purple Vellum

The second batch I got pictures! And by that point I'd found the source for the above image and it seems the color on it is shifted a bit off. As you can see from the below image taken from the Bibliothèque nationale de France their images of this particular manuscript show the tone to be a little less red but you can see they're still higher on the red side than the grape purple commonly thought of as "purple". Since I can't actually view the manuscript in it's original form I'm going to hope that the images presented on the BnF site are a more correct color representation. However I decided to keep my dying batch simple for the second round and just used a straight purple without the added extra red. I'm still in the testing stages and will refine as I go on. Fortunately I have found other manuscripts with more of the grape purple coloring so at least I know it's still possible.

My first batch was a sampling of Bristol and pergamenata. The Bristol performed well but the perg really wanted to wrinkle, and stay wrinkled. Those two test pieces are still in a press.

For the second batch I stayed away from the perg and dyed some Bristol and hot press watercolor paper.

Fiber reactive dye requires some extra supplies to make sure it "sets" properly. These include salt (about half a cup for the batch size I was working in) and soda ash (about 1/3 cup mixed in warm water).

I won't go through the whole mixing process as that would make this post hugely long but if anyone expresses an interest I'd be more than happy to share it. The condensed version is mix your dye and put your sheets of paper in and agitate them (move them around in the dye solution) for about 15 minutes (or until the corners of the paper start to get mushy).

Always wear gloves and cover your work surface with paper

When dying the paper I tried to keep the pages separated (I dyed multiple pieces to maximize dye use) and mostly succeeded, though even if there is some stickage it's not a total failure. I made sure that I dyed at least two pieces of each type of paper to ensure I had a "working" piece and a "testing" piece from the same batch to ensure color consistency.

Pull the pieces apart repeatedly during dye soak

Once the dye soaking was done I placed them all in a plastic tub to transport to the bathroom for rinsing. Rinsing with cold water after the dye process is complete is important to make sure you get all the excess dye particles off the paper. You don't want them all over your hands, clothes, or art table while trying to work with it later.

Rinsing in the shower

Not exactly the best setup for rinsing but it worked this time. I have plans to fix it for later batches.

Once it was all rinsed I let it hang in the shower until it was done dripping then took it out to the nice, warm garage to hang for a bit longer. At this stage it is important to not let the paper dry completely or it's going to curl, warp, and basically do it's best to be a pain to work with later. It just needs to be not drippy and just barely damp to the touch. If it starts to warp then it's time to take it down and toss it in the press.

A lot of sites out there tell you to press paper in a heavy book or heavy art pad. I've discovered that this is not a good idea when you're working with tub dyed paper. The pages of said book or pad like to pick up the remaining moisture from the paper and warp, thus causing your paper to warp as well. You get a lot of funky wrinkles that are difficult to draw or paint on.

What I used as my "press" was two pieces of 3/4 inch plywood and some cloth. Solid, heavy, and will allow the paper to dry without contact warping. Paper shouldn't be dried directly on the wood but instead on a layer of thin cloth. I used a sheet doubled over on the bottom and since I didn't have a second sheet to put over the top I used thin bath towels. The cloth will wick out the moisture without warping allowing the paper to dry flat.

My "high tech" press of plywood and bed sheet.

After everything was in place with the paper "sandwiched" between cloth and plywood, I weighted the whole thing down with boxes of books. The plywood was pretty heavy anyway but this was a precautionary measure. I wanted to keep them as flat as possible during the pressing/drying process.

Then I had to be patient, which was the hardest part of this whole thing. I waited about a week to ensure the paper was completely dry and pressed before removing it. That process might have taken longer if my garage wasn't as warm as it is currently.

During the rinsing process I discovered that some of the paper had stuck together during the dying step despite my best efforts to prevent it. Still, nothing was a complete failure and all pieces still came out workable. You can see in the below picture which ones stuck together by the large, pale patch in the center. (The one next to it is turned to show the unstuck side).

Bristol board pieces that stuck together

It's interesting to note that the Bristol board took the color more evenly than the watercolor paper, but I don't consider the inconsistent colors on the watercolor a failure. I actually rather like the look of the way it dyed. I'm fairly happy with both types and look forward to putting art on them.

Watercolor paper with dye inconsistencies

I've already tried painting on one piece of dyed paper from my first batch and while there were some adjustments to technique needed for the changed properties of the paper (it really likes to suck up water from gouache) it wasn't anything insurmountable and the first initial I painted in gold turned out lovely.

The first batch was pretty bright but those who are doing the calligraphy testing think it can still be used for something if they succeed with the calligraphy. Once the results of that come in I'll post them here. (I don't do calligraphy myself so had to bring in experts in the field for this portion of the testing).

Brighter than actual color in person

The B turned out amazing on this and I really hope it can be used for something. Even when I'm experimenting I always approach it as if I'm doing something FOR someone so it's my best work. I don't want it to fail because I didn't try my best. If something is going to fail, I want it to fail for something beyond my control (at that point). Thus, why I gave this "experimental" piece such a highly detailed initial.

I'm really enjoying puzzling through this process to reach a point where I can regularly produce purple scrolls based on manuscripts. Since I can't afford to work with vellum or parchment it's been a unique challenge to create them in materials I can work with.

When the results of the calligraphy are in I'll be sure to post them here and thanks to Richard and Eva for their willingness to participate in my crazy experiments.

Black Blanks: First Design, Second Painted

I've gotten a little behind on my blog posts so decided to talk a bit about the first black blank I designed and why it became the second to be finished.

As I discussed in a previous post, when I became interested in doing black scrolls the first hurdle was going to be putting the design on paper. I tried first using the transfer method with white carbon paper and while it worked to a degree, it wasn't terribly efficient and the lines were not as clean as I liked, however I was pretty sure I could salvage it.

The process for this one actually started out digitally. The last few years I've been doing primarily digital art and I decided to draw my design that way, print it in the appropriate size, then transfer it to the black Bristol. This gave me plenty of leeway for cleanup without damaging the paper. The finished design looked like this:

Not a bad design but turned out a bit more complex than I was used to.

After printing I put a piece of white carbon paper between this and the Bristol and used a bit of artist tape to secure it on all four sides to ensure it stayed in place. After I first started tracing I realized the first challenge was going to be making sure I got all the lines without being able to see them being placed.

I worked out a system of methodical tracing and even with regular interruptions by helpful cats, I still managed to get most of them. Most. Not all. Even with care I ended up missing a couple.

I also realized that even tiny shifts in the paper would throw the lines off which became more apparent when it was completed. Once I pulled all three layers apart I knew I was going to have to find a different way to design on black because of the numerous reasons listed in the previous post.

I started with the gold since that was the bulk of the design on this scroll and quickly noticed that the gouache I use would just roll off the applied lines. In some ways this was a good thing - reducing accidental overpaint for example - but covering lines to correct something was going to be an issue. As well, a lot of the beauty of black manuscripts is the black showing through the open spaces as the lines of the art. Instead mine was showing just the white lines.

After adding the gold I put this one aside a couple weeks while I worked on another. I was putzing around about completing it because I had the quilting pencil by this point which made designing much more efficient and clean for me. But after I finished the second scroll and started on a third, my guilt at leaving this one laying around got the better of me and I decided to finish it.

I thought about colors for a bit and decided how to work them. I knew I wanted the dragon to be green like the Midrealm dragon and white for the bird but the leaves took a bit more thought. I finally decided on red and blue for those and they turned out far better than I was expecting. However during the process of using the non-metallic colors the paint rolling off the lines was even more prominent.

I did a bit of testing and discovered black calligraphy ink would cover the carbon and blend in with the paper so only if someone was inspecting it closely would they be able to tell. With shaky hands, however, this was just one more place to make errors; and I made a few of them. More inefficiency. Eventually I finished it to my satisfaction and I'll pass it along to my Kingdom for use as a scroll. If nothing else it should make a lovely AoA or perhaps children's award.

My goal, even when experimenting, is always to produce something usable. While this isn't perfect (or even great) it is a tremendous step forward in learning for me (since I haven't ever done much work in traditional media) and I still managed to produce something that will benefit my Kingdom.

Pencils for Drawing on Black Bristol

In the SCA I dabble in scribal art. I like to paint blank scrolls to be delivered to others for calligraphy who then turn them into award scrolls. Once I was introduced to black medieval manuscripts I was hooked and knew I wanted to do some of those.

Working on black Bristol has it's own challenges. I was used to sketching on white Bristol and inking it in black then painting it. Of course when working with black I had to come up with a way to put my design on black for painting that would be visible.

When I drew out my first planned one, I originally drew it on paper then used white carbon paper to "trace" it onto the black Bristol. Even before I completed the process I could tell there were issues why I didn't like it.

First, it's like drawing the piece twice. That's terribly inefficient to me as well as painful. I have arthritis in my hands and having to do the task twice, and the second time having to apply more pressure to get the design to transfer, quickly became painful and resulted in me having to break the process up over three sessions.

Next I discovered that even the tiniest little shift of paper, carbon, or Bristol would foul the design as it was applied. My loving cat helped me discover this one. Upon completion several of the lines were off kilter and I knew I was going to have to try to fix them with paint instead. More extra work.

The lines were extremely heavy. I used my smallest lead pencil to do the transfer work but the lines were still very heavy and thick and stood out way too much on the black paper. Yes, I could see them well, but I could also tell this increased the chance of them remaining visible after painting.

You can't see where the lines are going down as you trace so it's very easy to miss one. I tried to create a methodical pattern of how I placed lines so I wouldn't forget anything but with constant interruptions; phone, rest breaks, cats hawking on the floor or spike-climbing into my lap, I found after it was done that I still had missed a line or two. I did leave two edges taped before taking the assembly apart but even with that and laying the carbon back down to correct threw those lines off.

And last I discovered when trying to paint, carbon lines don't take gouache paint well. Gouache is a type of opaque water paint and when you run it over the carbon lines it likes to roll off. With a heavy application of thickened paint you can manage to finally cover it, but it's more like stacking the paint on and does not cling well.

Sample of the carbon transfer method

After learning this I began looking for something different to try for the next one. That first one was tucked away while I started the second.

What I found through digging on the net and through Amazon was a source of "art" pencils I hadn't thought of; pencils designed to mark dark colored fabrics.

There were several types to choose from and while I mulled over four of them - chalk, soapstone, ceramic "lead", and silver quilting pencil - I eventually settled on testing three.

I found the silver quilting pencil first so that is the one that I began testing. I used it to sketch out my entire second black scroll.

• Working with it was easy; just like a regular wooden pencil with a soft lead. However because the lead is so soft, if you want a fine line you have to sharpen it more often. 
• It sharpens easily in the standard plastic back-to-school pencil sharpeners.
• It does contrast nicely on the black Bristol so your design is visible for painting later yet it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
• It erases easily. This is both a pro- and con. Because the lead is soft it comes off very easily with a kneaded eraser and doesn't risk damaging the paper, however it does rub off easily if you lay your hand on it while working.
• Paint lays over it very well. You have to lay down a really heavy, repeated line for it to interfere with gouache application and even then a couple extra strokes of the brush resolve it.

Sample of the quilting pencil method

Next I found a ceramic lead pencil at the local fabric store. It's built much like a mechanical pencil with replacement leads and all. I've worked with mechanical pencils for years and this aspect appealed to me so I was eager to try it out. I began a third black scroll using the ceramic lead.

• It, too, contrasts well on the black paper; even sketches stand out nicely because the lead is white rather than silver. However it is easier to lay a too heavy line so a light touch is needed.
• It doesn't erase as easily as the quilting pencil. That is advantageous to the person that lays their hand down a great deal as it also doesn't rub off as easily but it makes cleaning up a bad line more of a challenge.
• The lead is .9mm so it lays a thicker line. I'm a fan of really fine lines and .9mm is considerably larger than what I'm accustomed to.
• Being a .9mm lead means it also makes an awful squeaky noise when you use it. That is why I was never able to use .7mm mechanical pencils either. They always squeak. It's the kind of noise that makes my skin crawl. Worse than nails on a chalkboard. I found because of the squeaking I couldn't finish drawing out the scroll with this pencil but I got enough done to provide a sample image.

Ceramic lead pencil sample

After working with both of these, I finally gave the soapstone pencil a try. I didn't do enough with it to have sufficient material for a sample photograph.

• The soapstone was difficult to sharpen. I never did succeed in getting the point small enough to be useful.
• I did try some sample lines and found it didn't contrast well, and felt strange on the paper. I can't describe it other than that. Like the paper was resisting it's application.
• It liked to indent in the paper. I found I had to use greater pressure to get it to show up well and that left too much indentation in the surface.
• I abandoned the soapstone after just a little while because I could tell it wasn't going to be suitable for my needs.

So I ended up settling on the silver quilting pencil. Fortunately they are very inexpensive and relatively easy to find (I found mine in the sewing section of the local WalMart but I've also seen them online at Amazon). Buying them at WalMart is easiest (through Amazon they're an "add-on" item. You have to buy something else worth shipping before they'll send the pencil).

So after my puttering I did end up settling on the first pencil I tried and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'll probably pick up another just to have it in reserve.

Black Hours Online Tales

Recently I've taken an interest in the black manuscripts of the middle ages. I've read two different numbers in my research about how many remain to us; 7 or 9. Either way it is a small enough number that finding good references is challenging. I do most of my reference searching online for expedience and budget reasons. As much as I'd like to spend scads of money on books, it simply isn't feasible. As well, in some ways it is easier to search for something specific directly online.

I've found some bits and pieces of black manuscripts online through digitized collections at various sites and I'm hoping to find more. But those bits and pieces are just that. Small bits in a pool of art that I find damn amazing.

For those unfamiliar with them, black manuscripts, generally Books of Hours, were illuminated manuscripts created in the middle ages. The pages were made of parchment or vellum dyed black and then painted on using period pigments or gold. Even in the few limited examples the artistic styles and techniques vary.

My first contact with black hours was a single image hosted on the Colombia University website for an unfinished black manuscript in the collection of the Hispanic Society of America Museum and Library. What can be seen online of this particular manuscript shows a single image, one left and right page, with the illumination and much of the text done in gold while some of the text is done in white. I have not yet been able to find more of this particular manuscript available to view. You can view that image HERE. (Click the image on that page to view the hi-res version)

I was hooked after seeing that and wanted to see more. Further searches revealed The Black Book of Hours digitized and hosted on the Morgan Museum & Library website. It's the most complete one I've found online yet. You can view it HERE.

I've dabbled with a piece that will have it's own article later based on that book but there were images I kept seeing on Google of another one that I wanted to study; the Black Hours of Galeazzo Maria Sforza. I was finding the same one or two images all over but no other pages. I found an old cached page where digitized images of it was hosted at one time but all the images were gone; there was nothing but little red xs left. The actual manuscript itself is housed at Austrian National Library in Vienna but as far as I can tell the manuscript is not digitized and available online. It's difficult navigating the Digital Reading Room, however, because it's in German and it could be I have just not found it yet. I'll keep looking.

However perseverance did pay off in other areas. Apparently someone else out there hosted 24 images from the Black Hours of Sforza and I was able to find them. Immediately I downloaded them (to avoid losing them all together in case the site they were at was swallowed up by the internet). They weren't particularly good resolution but some is better than none! The images are found on this blog HERE.

This is the one I've been using lately as my reference for a new black piece I'm sketching out and so far I like the look of it the best. I'll include a couple sample images here for others to see. I really love the way the black shows through the colors to provide natural shading and I'm looking forward to trying to duplicate that on my piece.

At one point facsimile copies of this particular manuscript were done but only 200 were printed and are extremely rare. I found images of one of them on a rare book dealer auction site that show much more vibrant colors and I wonder if the vibrancy was created during the copy process or if the digitized images above just fail to capture it adequately. You can see one of the images I captured below.

Either way, I feel fortunate to find what I have and I'm very excited to try my hand at creating blank scrolls for Midrealm based on this manuscript. More updates on the work will come as I progress.

Experiments and Adventures!

Recently I've been delving back into my creative side for the SCA and working on scribal arts. During these creative endeavors I love to experiment. As a matter of fact I call every project I do an experiment because I'm always trying new things.

One of the things that I love about doing nothing but experimentation is it gives me freedom to fail. I don't feel pressured to produce perfect and it allows me to try things I may not otherwise try. My goal is always to produce a usable piece, but if it doesn't work it isn't a heart-crushing loss.

What else draws me to experimentation is that I love to puzzle things out. I'm sure there are plenty of sites out there I could Google to find the "right" way to accomplish what I want, but for me there's no fun in that. I love the feeling of analyzing what I want to do and coming up with different plans to approach it, trying different techniques, evaluating the results and seeing if I can recreate it again. For me that produces an amazing feeling of accomplishment. And on occasion I sometimes come up with something different than is the accepted way of doing it "right".

So this blog isn't about "tried and true" techniques. It isn't about doing it "right" by someone else's standards. It is about creativity. It is about artistic exploration and growth. Sometimes it may be about fumbling or funny failures, but always it is about trying one's best and enjoying the art. I've never been very good at being bound by others' rules.

I decided to share my journey here just in case there are others out there that might find something useful in my adventures; maybe it sparks an idea they never thought of trying before. I don't even mind those folks that are just curious lookie-loos that want to see what I'm doing next.

Positive feedback is welcome. Comments, questions, ideas or even shared stories. I welcome them. I would love to see others who like to art off the beaten path share those stories and perhaps inspire others to break out of the box.

But trolls and those who are just here to be mean will be dealt with mercilessly. This is your only warning.

So with that out of the way, on with the game!

Reviving the Blog!

So I wanted a place where I could post my SCA stuff, especially the work I do with my scroll art, and a "page" on Facebook just wouldn't cut it.

I've decided to revive this blog as a place to dump all my SCA stuff, post photos, discuss my techniques on the scrolls I'm working on, sewing projects, or whatever other SCA silliness comes to mind.

Perhaps I'll even get inspired to revive Vinca's story.