Greek Manuscript Photo Captions: Design

Tools of the Trade: The bulk of the materials used for the early stages of design, parchment preparation and gilding.

a.) Barrier cream— protects the skin from immediate contact with toxic materials, but certainly no match for a pair of gloves. Also moisturizes skin that has been washed many times in one afternoon.

b.) Design paper, or drafting vellum— somewhat stiff and transparent paper on which I designed the manuscripts. Its smooth surfaces and transparency also make it possible to substitute this for glassine paper, which I was unable to find.

c.) Triangle— continually useful for ensuring straight lines and 90 degree angles.

d.) Scissors— I think everyone knows what these do.

e.) Iron gall ink— for use in outlining and calligraphy. A very permanent ink made using a medieval recipe.

f.) Walnut ink— for use with sketches and guiding lines. A good practice ink for calligraphy. Lightfast and permanent.

g.) Gum ammoniac crystals— can be made into a size for flat gilding. Rather pungent, opaque, brownish crystals filled with impurities.

h.) Quill pen in water jar— the basic tool for medieval calligraphy, kept moist in a jar containing a sopping sponge.

i.) Ruler— cork-backed to prevent skidding. The slight height provided by the cork prevents mishaps with the ruling pen (nickels taped on the underside of a flat ruler would achieve the same effect).

j.) Paper towels— good for everything from spill cleanup to puddle blotting to nib cleaning.

k.) Film canister of glair— dates back to November 1999. Used as a binder when making paints, but can also be used alone as gilding size or as the base for reconstituting gesso buttons. Made from whipped egg whites.

l.) Gum sandarac bag— a powdered gum used for preparing the writing surface. A dusting of it, excess carefully brushed off the page, promotes crisp lines and discourages ink from bleeding.

m.) Dental pumice powder— finely ground, this stone powder acts as a mild abrasive and removes surface grease from the vellum. Rubbed onto the vellum using a cloth, it is thoroughly brushed off before the vellum is used.

n.) Gesso buttons— purchased as backup in case my own gesso recipes should be unsuccessful. Reconstituted with glair and distilled water, gesso is painted onto the vellum as size for raised gilding.

o.) Patent gold on gilder's cushion— leaf comes in packets of 25 23-karat sheets. The gilder's pad is suede and provides an ideal surface for cutting gold leaf.

p.) Various pens— crowquill, for outlining on vellum; ruling pen, for making ruling lines of adjustable width; rolling-ball pen for design.

q.) Sandpaper and cloth— tools for preparing vellum surface. Sandpaper is Wet-and-dry 400 grain; used for raising a slight nap on the vellum's surface so the pen will have a certain amount of resistance. Cloth is a t-shirt rag; used for rubbing pumice into vellum.

r.) Various tools— uncut cured quill; agate dogtooth burnisher; soft brush for clearing vellum surface of dusts, eraser bits, gold fragments, etc.; mechanical pencil, for design; curved x-acto blade, for cutting gold and scraping calligraphy errors; needle tool, for pricking guiding dots in vellum.

s.) Bone folder— useful for adhering gold leaf to size with flat general pressure. Can also be held in left hand as an implement for holding paper still (many medieval scribes used such a device).

t.) Pencil sharpener— infinitely useful for keeping a point on the soft-leaded drawing pencil that made transfer surfaces.

u.) Eraser— self-explanatory. I now use an oval-shaped white plastic eraser– fewer crumbs.

Blank Vellum and Template Sketch: At this point, the vellum has been scoured with pumice and sandpaper and brushed clean. Using ruler and triangle, I cut a 12''x16'' rectangle from the vellum, reserving scraps for future experimentation. With ruler and needle tool, I pricked guiding dots in the vellum for margins. The template sketch is an early version of my manuscript design, and has not yet been completed or fully clarified with ink for transfer.

Guiding-lines on the Vellum: I ruled pencil lines on the vellum according to the prickings and ensured their straightness with ruler and triangle. Next, I dabbed areas to be inked with the gum sandarac bag and brushed off the excess. The ruling pen was filled with walnut ink and the outsides of the pen cleaned off, then the flat side of the pen was drawn smoothly down the edge of the ruler, creating lines of chosen width.

Preparing Sketch for Transfer to Vellum: Once the design was reinforced with ink on the design paper, I turned the sheet over and, using a soft-leaded drawing pencil, outlined the reverse of the design on the sheet's back. This will act in the same manner as commercial carbon paper, for transferring the design to the vellum.

Post-Transfer: I placed the design template, carbon-side down, on top of the vellum, and secured it with removable tape. Next, using a hard drawing implement—mechanical pencil or ball-point pen works well— I traced my design again, pressing hard so that the carbon would transfer to the vellum where my pencil moved over it. This image shows carbon backing and the transferred design to be mirror images.

Full Page in Pencil: Using a clean sheet of drafting vellum as a protective sheet, I strengthened the faint transferred carbon drawing with a mechanical pencil on the vellum. Shortly after this, I added further pencil detailing in the roofs and other areas.

Gall-Ink Outlining: I have used the crowquill and iron-gall ink to strengthen the pencil design on the vellum. Such outlines will act as a helpful guide when painting, showing faintly through semi-transparent paints. This iron-gall ink needs to be stirred regularly to prevent sediment from settling to the bottom and weakening the blackness of the ink.

Comparing with Original Hand: A late photo compares the Greek minuscule hand I chose with the original text I took it from. In order to derive a Greek hand, I learned the rudiments of Greek palaeography from Professor Mark Usher, and made heavy use of the transliteration provided in the book. I mainly derived my hand from Plate 27 in Greek Literary Hands, A.D. 400-1600 by Ruth Barbour—a text written circa A.D. 900—making appropriate substitutions for the letters not found in that particular passage. I also combed through the entire passage for ligatures in order to make use of them authentically.

Greek Manuscript Photo Captions: Making Gum Ammoniac

Soaking Gum Crystals: To make gum ammoniac size, I crushed up about a tablespoon of raw crystals and removed the noticeable impurities—sticks, seeds, sand—with a pair of tweezers. I put the crushed crystals in a glass jar and added just enough distilled water to cover them, capped the jar with Saran wrap and a rubber band, and let it soak overnight, for about 12 hours, to soften up.

Heating Gum Crystals: The next day, I stirred up the gum mixture—which had begun to look like heavy cream—and found that the crystals could use some more dissolving and thickening, so I sped up the process by making a double boiler. I also added some more gum crystals, which were mostly powdered already. I did not allow the gum mixture to boil, but heated it gently for about 30 minutes until it was the proper consistency, mashing the softened crystals with a spoon as I went.

Straining Gum: The gum mixture I was left with had a great deal of sludge and impurities still left in it. I made a strainer from a clean baby food jar and a single length of panty hose stretched over its opening. Moistening the hose with a bit of water helps break the surface tension, and I poured the gum mixture through a bit at a time, pushing the sludge around the hose with a spoon to strain as much of the liquid as possible. I had to replace the hose several times as the impurities built up in it, and after an hour or so of straining, ended up with little over a tablespoon of what looked like cream. Adding a drop of red watercolor ensured that I would be able to see the dried gum once on the page. I stored it in the refrigerator for several weeks before it began to mold.

Greek Manuscript Photo Captions: Gilding

Gilding Set-up: I polished the X-acto blade to keep grease off of it—grease can make gold leaf stick to the blade, causing awful tears. On the other hand, the blade put several holes in my clothes. You win some, you lose some.

Cutting Gold Leaf: The first step in gilding, after size application, is cutting the leaf to an appropriate size and shape. I cut leaf slightly larger than the area I want to gild, then save the scraps for patching holes and making shell gold. The leaf I got is patent gold, which comes in packets of 25 with backing paper. This makes it easier to handle the leaf.

Moistening Size with Breathing Tube: In order to apply leaf to the size, I first had to moisten the gum and make it slightly sticky again. This is done using a breathing tube, traditionally made from copper or reed. Mine is made of taped notebook paper—not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination, but practical. Plastic straws are to be avoided because they cause breath to condense, and may eventually drip on your writing surface.

Laying Leaf on Size: Once the size was moistened with several long breaths, I lifted the cut leaf by the corner and firmly pressed it to the size, being careful not to move the leaf afterwards. This could cause cracks or wrinkles in the gilding.

Adhering Leaf to Size: I laid a strip of notebook paper on top of the glassine, holding everything as still as possible, and with a bone folder applied firm, smooth pressure to the gold, which is just visible underneath. A few seconds of this and the gold adhered to the size.

Burnishing through Glassine Paper: Sometimes it was necessary to burnish (very lightly) through the glassine alone, in order to be certain the small corners of the gold were adhering. Gum ammoniac gilding should never be burnished hard or without paper protection on top of it, as it remains somewhat soft and could easily smudge off.

Gold Leaf on the Vellum: Once the gold has adhered, the glassine paper is removed. At the proper angle, it becomes obvious what parts of the leaf have stuck and which have not.

Brushing Away Excess Gold: Using a soft-bristled brush, I swept away the extra gold, leaving only that which successfully transferred itself to the size.

Transferring Gold with a Brush: Gold scraps are useful for patching bare spots and corners, and can also be ground with honey and salt to make shell gold. The pieces are naturally small and have no glassine backing; they can be easily moved, however, with the tip of a brush that I slid through my hair to build a slight static charge. This technique is also used for moving loose leaf gold, which comes without glassine backing.

Greek Manuscript Photo Captions: Making Gum Arabic

Gum Arabic Crystals: This is what whole gum arabic crystals look like. The more clear they are, the better. I found that the crystals that had a strong pink tint to them were almost impossible for me to crush. Gum arabic is the main binder in watercolor paints and adding a few drops here and there to my glair paints made them slightly more flexible and water soluble.

Crystals Powdered: I crushed several teaspoons worth of gum as small as possible, removing the impurities I could find. There were few of them, much less than the gum ammoniac, but the crystals tended to go flying everywhere each time I pounded them. I then put 3 teaspoons of the powder in a glass jar and added 3 fluid ounces of slightly warm distilled water, stirring the mixture every few minutes until it was dissolved.

Straining Gum: Using an empty glass spice jar topped with panty hose as a strainer, I slowly poured the dissolved gum water through, replacing the hose several times as it gummed up. This process went much faster than straining gum ammoniac, and I soon ended up with a container filled with almost clear liquid.

Greek Manuscript Photo Captions: Making Paints

Surrounded by Pigments: Making paints surrounded by the tools of the trade. Most of the pigments I used unmixed. My colors: English ochre, Venetian red, English raw sienna, Caput mortuum, Bone black, Azurite, Lapis lazuli, Cadmium red #1, Cadmium yellow #4, Malachite, Burnt umber, Genuine green earth, Titanium white, Phthalo blue (heliogen blue), Alizarin crimson.

Whipped Whites and Glair: I whipped several egg whites with a mixer until they formed stiff peaks, making sure that the mixing blades and bowl were grease-free. Then I let the foam sit overnight. In the morning, a sticky residue was left of the foam, and the yellowish watery liquid called glair. The same effect was once achieved by squeezing egg whites through a sponge over and over until they were foamy, and letting them sit the same way.

Putting Pigment in Palette: The first step is to put the pigment in the palette. I am using a palette with 13 wells and separate lids for each, making the paint keep longer. That tiny bottle of lapis lazuli, or genuine ultramarine, pigment (10 g) cost $110.00, and it was not even the most expensive kind available. For comparison, the large hexagonal pigment jars, each containing 100 g, cost between $4.50 and $14.10 each.

Adding Glair to Pigment: I add glair a drop at a time to the pigment, stirring and testing until the proper balance has been achieved between pigment and binder. If needed, I also sometimes add a bit of gum arabic water or honey, the latter adding flexibility to the paint so that it does not crack or flake off the vellum.

Testing Paint: The final step is to test the paint on a piece of paper. If it can be smudged, there is not enough binder. If it cracks or flakes off the paper, there is too much. Overbinding can also cause the paint to look shiny when dry, but this seems to have been common practice with medieval scribes and a drop of honey compensates. The paint is then ready to use.

Greek Manuscript Photo Captions: Illumination

Illumination Workroom: I used the workroom in the art building over the summer only when making paint and doing illuminations, because many dry pigments are toxic, and have a tendency to float through the air and settle in fine layers on everything. My small apartment has no rooms that are not considered daily living quarters, and the art department, through Professor James Thompson, was kind enough to reserve a room on campus for me.

Early Stages of Illumination: I began by filling in large blocks of color, adding details in layers on top and finishing with pale highlights. Glair paint tends to dry at about the same rate as acrylic paints, so there is not a lot of time for blending. I did much of mine with an almost dry brush.

Roof, Step #1: I began by laying a flat block of color with azurite paint. Azurite is another fairly expensive pigment (though nowhere near lapis) and is made from the semi-precious stone. If ground too finely, it loses much of its color—as does its cousin malachite—so my paint ended up looking rather coarse and did not want to spread evenly. Lovely color, though.

Roof, Step #2: Next I made a dark blue paint, simulating indigo, of heliogen blue and burnt umber. The heliogen (or phthalo) blue is such a fine pigment that it got everywhere and did not want to blend into the binder. The dark blue formed a tile pattern on the roofs.

Roof, Step #3: I made a very pale blue using the previously described dark blue mixed with titanium white. This made highlights on the tiles. The pattern ends up looking somewhat abstract, and was gleaned directly from a facsimile in The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai: the Illuminated Greek Manuscripts by Kurt Weitzmann and George Galavaris.

Comparing with Architecture in Greek Manuscript: Here is my manuscript next to the original Greek illumination, an author portrait, meaning that it depicts someone in the act of writing. The scribes in my own author portrait are drawn from the Canterbury Psalter—Eadwine of Canterbury's author portrait, which can be seen in Janice Anderson's Illuminated Manuscripts.

Detail, Sleeping Ferret: What would a manuscript be without any drolleries in the details? This tiny ferret, which measures in at about 0.5'' long, is inspired by my own beloved pets. Notice the paintbrushes it has dragged off to its stash. My ferrets have made themselves extremely useful in this project. Loki regularly jumped up on my desk to inspect my progress; with Pandora's help, she very generously spread a bag of sand for quills all over the carpet; and my new boy Ragnarok was good enough to eat part of a kneaded eraser and steal a pink one, knowing I had bought a new one that was better. :) The photo on the right is Pandora sleeping.