NOLAA meeting – November 14, 2015

Blackletter Workshop

*Please Note:   New Location We will meet at the North Kenner branch of the library at 630 West Esplanade at 9:30am

November’s meeting will be a hands-on study of blackletter led by Vince Mitchell and Yvette Rutledge of Mystic Blue Signs. We will begin by making the basic forms of this constructed alphabet, then we will follow the video of Reggie Ezell’s version of the same alphabet, step by step. We will use black ink as well as mixing colored gouache and watercolor for use in pens.

Materials:   For lettering,  you should bring
 *a broad-edged pen of of your choice:
  a parallel pen size 3.8mm or
  a dip pen like Speedball C1 or Brause #5
  (with bottled ink like Higgins Eternal) or
  a chisel-edge marker 3.5 mm
 *pencil, eraser, ruler, water jar, paper
  towels
 *practice paper–something heavy enough
  that the ink doesn’t bleed through
For working with colored gouache or watercolor,  please bring
 *a mixing tray, a small brush, a tube of
  watercolor or gouache paint.
  You will need to use a dip pen with this
  paint

 **Knowing the fundamentals of blackletter will be helpful at our spring 2016 workshop with Irish calligrapher Denis Brown, who will spend two of the four days he is in town showing us a cursive form of blackletter. (See the previous post “Save the Dates” below for more info)

Note: In 2017, Reggie Ezell will be teaching a year-long workshop for NOLAA where we meet for a weekend every two months. The workshop will cover many advanced techniques.  Our November meeting is a good opportunity to preview his teaching style.