Modern Romans in Brisbane

Well I am just back from a great day in Brisbane, teaching the Calligraphy group down there my version of Modern Romans.  The title makes perfect sense to calligraphers who work with Roman Capital letters all the time; but may sound odd to others who could be inclined to think we were talking about fashionable young Italians visiting Queensland!

©2012 Fiona Dempster - Donnie's ink, pen and brush

The full day (and full-on) workshop looked at a style of writing (a hand) that I had developed to write on David Linton's log.  We explored together what I had done to 'modernise' the traditional Roman Capitals.  It was great to be able to describe the things that made it look more informal, and made it more flowing to write, and it helped people see how to make that transformation.

This hand is really well suited to weight variations, and the group seemed to enjoy testing the different nib widths and heights of the letters.  People felt it was easy to write, it flowed and showed spontaneity. All the things I had been hoping to achieve.

Jenny's practice

Susan's practice

Barbara's practice 

Anna's practice

To finish off the morning session we made a quick folded pocket puzzle - perfect for gifts and greetings - written in a Modern Roman hand of course!

After lunch we spent time looking at a few other pieces where something like a Modern Roman had been used.  We talked about the things people had done to modernise the hand and how they all differed from one another, and then people began to explore if they could create their own style of Modern Roman.  Thinking about the principles they wanted to apply - write on a slant, high cross-bars, low-crossbars, wide letters, compressed letters, different serifs, loops and twirls, exaggerated diagonals, strokes not joining the letter fully, letters dropping below the baseline and a myriad of other options.

We spoke about not choosing every option, and also having some consistency applied throughout the alphabet.  Some simply stunning alphabets appeared.

Greg's explorations and designs

I really think if people have created something they are comfortable with, where they like each letter and are familiar with its form and its rhythms, then they will use it  and they will enjoy writing with it.

The last little while we extended the modernising of Romans to Skeleton Romans with ligatures (serious calligraphy speak for mono-line letters and connections). We referenced some of Jo Miller's work and people worked on monograms, their own names and words, and also then tried to work within a square or a circle.  This work really showed that as soon as you try to join things up, you make the letters more lively, they dance and move away from a straight baseline.

I think I could have played with these for a lot longer!

Perhaps a tad too much to cram into a single day, but I always like folk to get a lot out of workshop. I was too busy to take shots of the afternoon sessions which is a shame...

A final big thank you to the GCSEQ Calligraphy Group - who made me feel so welcome and who always show such enthusiasm and willingness to explore and play. Go well.