Bonus Italic Practice

Pictured above is my practice with Italic calligraphy. I spent about 1.5 hours on this all together.

Practice: Gothic Textura

Pictured above is my practice with Gothic Textura. This was overall one of my favorite styles to write. Practice took about two hours.

Symposium Practice #4

Pictured above is my first real attempt at Nas’taliq calligraphy. This is technically four attempts and provides a nice look at the progress I made, as well as the importance of following the measurement rules of the calligraphy. On the first attempt made, I neglected to follow the measurements of each character and results were disproportionate writing. For the second attempt I took the time make specific measurements with the tip of my qalam and the results were dramatically improved. The last two attempts followed the same measurements but I didn't not physically dot the widths onto the paper. This practice took about 1.5 hours.

Symposium Practice #3

Following my practice with the Farsi alphabet, I focused on acquainting myself with the feel of a natural pen with strokes, dots, and some letters. This was also a good way for me to test out all of my pens and determine which one felt best for more serious calligraphy. This practice took 1-2 hours.

Symposium Practice #2

Pictured Above is my practice with the Farsi alphabet using a calligraphy marker.

Before taking a shot at Nas’taliq, I wanted to become more familiarized with the Persian language so that I wouldn't be practicing completely blind. By doing this, I was able to get a general feel for the alphabet and build up some muscle memory. Since it was very difficult to find quality resources for Persian writing, I decided to make use of this practice sheet by drawing in the "imaginary circle" myself on each square. I spent about two hours total on this practice.

Symposium Practice #1

A very large portion of my practice was spent creating the traditional pens for Persian calligraphy. Not including the time spent obtaining the bamboo and buying supplies, I spent about four hours on just this process. Overall, I feel that its was a very rewarding experience and I am quite pleased with the end product. However, in the future I would take many more breaks from carving to prevent the painful blister I received from the knife.

Image sorting blog entry #2

https://learncalligraphy.co.uk/italic.html



https://sakuraofamerica.com/lettering



http://www.fluidcalligraphy.com/styles



http://www.johnstevensdesign.com/calligraphic-art/

Image sorting blog entry #1

http://calligraphyalphabet.org/gothic-calligraphy-pdf-chart-2/



https://www.instructables.com/id/Gothic-Calligraphy-With-a-Wide-nib-Fountain-Pen/



https://jerusalemhouseministries.net/gothic-calligraphy-h



https://jerusalemhouseministries.net/gothic-calligraphy-h

Symposium Research #3

This was one of the most important resources used when I was first planning and attempting the creation of a qalam. It shows the process step by step and is easy to follow for a beginner such as myself.

Make your own reed pen for Arabic calligraphy [Video file]. (2012, October 10). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_OEC064Ifc

Symposium Research #4

Throughout my time searching for valuable demonstrations and tutorials for Persian Calligraphy, I have come to find that free resources are scarce. Although the video isn't technically Nas'Taliq, it provides a stroke-by-stroke view of the the characters and is quite useful for someone who is completely new to the world of Persian Calligraphy–such as myself.

OPAL Institute of Calligraphy & Fine Arts. (2019, April 03). Retrieved April 28, 2019, from                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_07J5Hy37yg&list=PLeoImUJ-c-td24Hqg-CqLxMB4-t-NhsNc

Symposium Visual #1

Considered to be the undisputed master of Nas'taliq, Mir Imad al-Hasani's works are highly renowned  in Iran.

"The Smithsonian invites visitors to use its online content for personal, educational and other non-commercial purposes." - The Smithsonian Institution

Nasta'liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://archive.asia.si.edu/explore/nastaliq/mir-imad-al-hasani.asp

Symposium Research #2

This is a great resource for understanding the tools and materials necessary in traditional Persian calligraphy.

The pen, or "qalam," is typically made of reed or bamboo. These woods are preferred over metal because of the natural flexibility they possess to allow a greater range of motion. The tip of the pen is carved with a small knife on a special cutting board, called a "makta."

Ink is typically black and made with soot, dissolved gum arabic, and water.

Although this calligraphy was typically made on papyrus or parchment, paper gradually became more typical after its introduction to the Middle East in the 10th century. Paper can be treated with dye and coated with a starch mixture called "ahar." Because the ink is water soluble, this process can make it easier to remove mistakes.

Calligraphy Qalam: An Introduction to Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Calligraphy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://calligraphyqalam.com/process/tools.html

Symposium Research #1

This website is a useful starting point for my research, providing good background knowledge of Persian calligraphy leading up to my focus point: Nas'taliq.

–Ancient–

• Ancient Persian calligraphy is believed to have been invented around 500 - 600 BC.

• Original had use for monument inscriptions (Achaemenid kings)

• Scripts contained horizontal, vertical, and diagonal characters, which were nail shaped. This calligraphy is called “Khat-e-Mikhi” in Farsi, or "script of nails."

–3rd Century CE–

• “Avestaaee” and “Pahlavits" scripts were created.

• Avestaaee was used for religious script and was written with a feather pen on sheets made from animal skins.

• Letters were not connected but rather written separately from right to left.

–7th Century CE–

• Persian initiation of Islam.

• Persia adapts Arabic alphabet to Farsi language, creating contemporary Farsi.

• Includes 32 Farsi letters.

–10th Century CE–

• Research study conducted by Ebn-e-Moqlah Beyzavi Shirazi, categorizing six major calligraphy styles. 

• Hassan Farsi Kateb invented "Ta'liq."

–14th Century CE–

• Nas'taliq: "Bride of Calligraphy scripts."

• Most popular contemporary style.

• Unlike other styles with strict rules for geographical shape, Nas’taliq follows "natural curves."

Hamed, P. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://persiancalligraphy.org/History-of-Calligraphy.html

History: Vikings Raid and Anglo-Saxon Renewal

In the year of 793, Vikings had already begun to strike terror into the lives of Northern Europeans. The Vikings reached Tours in 853 and carried out three more attacks to occur in years 862, 867 and 877. By the 870s, almost all of Northern England had been overrun, leaving one Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Under the leadership of King Alfred, the entire country was gradually reclaimed. After Alfred's death in 899, a monastic renewal movement took place; re-founding destroyed monasteries and building new ones.

Influenced by Anglo-Saxon half-uncial script, Carolingian script was the writing style of choice. This writing style featured a thicker pen and slightly more rounded serifs.

History: Greece

Writing became prevalent within Greece during 334 BCE. Greece considered writing to be art and went through several systems of writing, with Cypriot at 1000 BCE and Syllabic by 1400 BCE. HT Wade established the length of the chisel with the small scale alphabet.

The eastern Ionic alphabet became a norm within this society, with tools including brushes and chisels.

Calligraphy: Uncial

 Used between the 4th and 8th centuries, Uncial was a form of writing preferred for higher priority documents.

The bottom page was used mostly for becoming acquainted with the 2.0 calligraphy marker. I initially had a great amount of trouble achieving the correct thin to thick contrast and actually found myself preferring the highlighter from earlier postings–until I was made aware of my incorrect angling of the tip, that is.

The middle picture includes more playing around with thick versus thin contrast. After practicing with some random letters and getting a feel for the style of Uncial,
I started experimenting with words and sentences (and trying to restrict myself from using spaces).

The top picture was used in preparation for making valentines day cards.

I spent between 1:30 and 2 hours altogether, with the bulk of practice being spent on the middle picture.

History: Middle Ages

The Middle Ages, which took place between the 3rd and 5th century, was the prime era of uncial writing. At the time, slaves were often responsible for the teaching, writing, and copying of books. Reading and writing was considered unsuitable for the free man.

Greeks were in charge of society and had influence from Northern Africa.

Roman cursive was developed during this era and less formal writing was used for things such as books. Reader/writer relationships were also more occurrent.

Parchment was used for writing during this era and was considered to be superior to other options. Despite it's superiority, parchment was very expensive and untypical for practice or informal writing. Writing utensils included bone and metal stylus'.

History: BC Rome

The BC Rome era took place during 3rd century BCE. The Greeks neighbored early Roman civilization. BC Rome was controlled by kings, senate, and emperors.

The development of letter systems, math, science, and political systems all occurred during the BC Rome era. During this period, everyone was allowed to read and write and there were detailed past/present records.

Using beeswax tablets, writing was primarily done with stylus' and chisels or squared brushes. Carved stones and metals, as well as squared brushes, were all used within this period as well.

Clayton, E. (n.d.). The Golden Thread : A History of Writing (pp. 33-38).

Calligraphy: Roman Rustic & Practice Strokes

Due to a lack of proper tools, the calligraphy below was created with a generic blue highlighter.

Although this method was not as satisfactory as using tools made for the form of writing, the edge of the highlighter provided a reasonably acceptable substitute for the time being and allowed for some much needed practice.

Stroke Practice

Roman Rustic

The stroke practice went over rather smoothly. The Roman Rustic, however, was more difficult without nib width measurement. Nib width will be something to keep in mind for future practice. I spent approximately 30 minutes practicing with the highlighter (had difficulty finding materials for reference).

My First Calligraphy

Hello world. Welcome to my calligraphy blog per requirement of my First Year Seminar at University of Maine at Farmington. The purpose of this blog is to track progress of my calligraphy skills over the semester and post various completed assignments throughout the year.

-Insert Beautiful Calligraphy Here-

Although I have somewhat of a late start in comparison with the majority of the class, the content looks promising and I am excited to get this semester rolling!