My husband and I decided to tackle our first event as event stewards with Christmas Tournament XLIII. Planning moved forward, we had a great staff put together, and the end result couldn't have made me happier. It was a bonus to be able to try my scribal skills in the couple weeks leading to the event - Baroness Eleanor put together the texts for these three awards and I took my first stab at the calligraphy and illumination for actual award scrolls. These were done on various papers, but all were hand-drawn and colored with gouache.
This has long been an SCA dream of mine... to have the opportunity and the time to complete award scrolls. I felt a little less pressure starting at the Baronial level - until I found out that one was for a Calligraphy/Illumination Laurel! No pressure there! I did Mistress Bianca's scroll in a style that most reminded me of her work, and it was very small, maybe 5x5 inches. The second scroll was for House Drachenstein, and I added their dragon to the scroll because I felt it was appropriate. That scroll measured about 4x6 inches. Another was for my own husband, so I had to work on that when he wasn't around and he had absolutely no clue he was getting it until his name was called during court. I got to hide tiny St. Catherine's Wheels in the white-work on his scroll to help personalize it, and the overall size was 8x10 inches.
This was a huge learning experience. I was happy to try my hand at calligraphy again, although I still need a lot more practice to be confident with the Gothic script I've learned. I also want to branch out to more scripts so that I can produce scrolls for various personae and time periods. I still need to work on spacing issues to make sure I can fit everything where I want it. I figure that will come with continued practice. When the scrolls were awarded, I cried for every single one. Mistress Bianca had been sitting next to me while we both took photos during court, and it was really touching to see her with her scroll, especially since she was able to give me some of my first instruction on calligraphy and illumination techniques.
This has long been an SCA dream of mine... to have the opportunity and the time to complete award scrolls. I felt a little less pressure starting at the Baronial level - until I found out that one was for a Calligraphy/Illumination Laurel! No pressure there! I did Mistress Bianca's scroll in a style that most reminded me of her work, and it was very small, maybe 5x5 inches. The second scroll was for House Drachenstein, and I added their dragon to the scroll because I felt it was appropriate. That scroll measured about 4x6 inches. Another was for my own husband, so I had to work on that when he wasn't around and he had absolutely no clue he was getting it until his name was called during court. I got to hide tiny St. Catherine's Wheels in the white-work on his scroll to help personalize it, and the overall size was 8x10 inches.
This was a huge learning experience. I was happy to try my hand at calligraphy again, although I still need a lot more practice to be confident with the Gothic script I've learned. I also want to branch out to more scripts so that I can produce scrolls for various personae and time periods. I still need to work on spacing issues to make sure I can fit everything where I want it. I figure that will come with continued practice. When the scrolls were awarded, I cried for every single one. Mistress Bianca had been sitting next to me while we both took photos during court, and it was really touching to see her with her scroll, especially since she was able to give me some of my first instruction on calligraphy and illumination techniques.