Medieval Arts & Crafts

Coming back at last!

2011-12-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

OK, so what in the heck happened to me? I haven't really posted since March! My decade-plus relationship went kablewy! in a rather dramatic and unfortunate fashion and it took months to get over it. Not just the emotional stuff but also the practical stuff of moving belongings, doing work on my house, establishing a new social life, etc. A bunch of stuff happened at work as well, making my life even more chaotic and stressful.

I am finally back in the place where I want to turn back to my stitching and this book is definitely inspirational. I had a post a while back about one of these types of roofs. Imagine my surprise when in an architectural salvage yard today (shopping for a kitchen cupboard) to discover a small alcove with books and to find this little treasure. There are numerous examples of these roofs along with some other interesting pictures and I plan to make a pattern or two based on the examples.

Glad to be back!!

Going to Germany

2011-03-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

I will be going with my BF to Germany in May. He is going for work, so we'll be in Erlangen for the week and I will be at my leisure during the weekdays while he is working. Any suggestions for things to see for the medievally-minded tourist?

Thinking about Spanish style furniture

2011-03-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

I have a house whose architectural style is called "Spanish Eclectic", and this house needs furniture that fits it. A while back in the library I found a pamphlet published by the New Mexico Department of Vocational Education in 1933 called "Spanish Colonial Furniture Bulletin", a book of line drawings of extant furniture from the Spanish Colonial era. In the brief text the pamphlet states that New Mexico was settled by colonists early in the period (end of 16th century) and had minimal contact with outside influences after colonization, due to the discovery of limited exploitable resources. Thus, much of the furniture design is influenced by Spanish medieval and Renaissance design.

Note the mortise and tenon joinery and the spline that joins the boards that make up the seat of the chair on the right.

This will be one of the sources for designs for the dining table and chairs I eventually plan to build and which are just in the earliest design phase.

Another example of something Spanish I like is this table from either the 16th or 17th century, I'm not sure and the book (Great Styles of Furniture) isn't very informative either.

New painting, moving forward in time to Raphael

2010-11-07T13:28:00.001-08:00

The third assignment for my art class is to recreate a painting from 1500 to 1700 in oil. Lots to choose from, right? I didn't want a painter who used a lot of impasto, I prefer layers of glazes. That eliminated a huge number of painters. I also wanted a portrait that looked reasonably anatomically correct and natural. That means most of the Mannerists are out. After much searching I selected "La Fornarina" by Raphael painted in 1518-19, not long before he died in 1520. The original is 63 x 87 cm (approx 28 x 34 inches) but my recreation will be 12 x 16 inches. The original is oil on wood panel, I will paint with oil on 1/4" hardboard.

I didn't have any large boards prepared with real gesso and I really didn't want to make up a new batch so I decided to experiment and try a product from Golden called "sandable gesso" which is an acrylic gesso that is supposed to be more like real gesso than standard modern acrylic gesso. Standard acrylic gesso isn't sandable and I was worried about getting too much texture with brush marks. Results: sandable gesso is better than acrylic gesso, but nowhere near as good as the real thing. It sands with difficulty because it still has some of that characteristic acrylic gumminess, but I was able to get some of the texture off my boards. Even when smooth it is nowhere near as soft as real gesso. However, I didn't have to spend two days preparing it; I merely opened the can. My boards have some unwelcome texture but at least it is better than using canvas so I won't be fighting texture as much as I would using canvas.

An additional experiment I am going to try is doing two copies of the painting. One will be my official school assignment in oil, the other will be a practice version executed in acrylic. Acrylic?! What the heck am I thinking?! Well, I am thinking that I will be able to work faster in acrylic than oil so I can get further in the painting process and discover mistakes before I make them in oil. As generally pleased as I am about how my Ghirlandaio copy turned out, there are a few things I would have done differently if I did it over. Plus it will be a challenge to see how much of an oil paint look I can get with acrylic. I will be using Golden's Open Acrylics, which stay wet a lot longer than regular acrylics. That will give me more working time and more blending ability. I am also using Glazing Liquid so I can apply glazes. Based on my first day's work I do like the open paints and glazing liquid better than trying to thin regular acrylics with water, but we'll see how things progress.

On the left is the original. I printed it out at desired size to use as a cartoon, rubbed the back with raw umber pigment, then traced the cartoon onto my board (middle picture). On the right is as far as I went today with raw umber underpainting. The glaze dries slowly so I have to wait an hour or so before I can rework areas without messing them up. At the point where I was starting to make it look worse not better by continuing, I stopped.

Ghirlandaio portrait progress, close to finished

2010-10-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here is the new progress! I worked a lot on the face, using a dozen or more colors and working the light tints into the midtones and the midtones into the shadows. I used a thin lead white to paint the translucent fabric on the bodice. I've mixed several different colors trying to find perfect mixtures for the hair but so far I am not satisfied so the hair is the most unfinished area. In a raking light the black background shows the areas where my sanding of the gesso was less than perfect and the effect is enhanced now because the paint is so matte. I think that once everything is finished it will have a soft sheen and scratches won't be noticeable.

What my painting setup looks like

2010-10-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture I took yesterday of my setup for painting. I put my painting on an old towel so I can wipe my brush on it, it is really very handy to do that. Also on the towel are brushes, glass rod for mixing paint in small palette wells, droppers for egg mixture and distilled water, container for brush rinsing water, old jelly jar with egg mixture, and (in a plastic baggie) the dish of shell gold paint. On the right are some of my pigments in jars, the porcelain palette with lots of tiny wells for mixing up many colors at once, yogurt cups for distilled water, and the drill I used to put some of the Halloween decorations together. In the background are bits and pieces of other projects: can of varnish for the chair I am refinishing, paper mache cat in progress, and a Halloween butterfly in progress sitting on top of jars of acrylic paint.

I am posting this picture because I think it is fun to see how people work at things. If I was interested in painting (or any new skill, really) but totally new to it I would not only be interested in seeing finished work and stages of progress, but also in seeing the setup for doing the craft as well as sources for tools and supplies.

I continue to make progress with my painting; yesterday I worked on the face mostly. I mixed various colors using white, raw sienna, raw umber, burnt umber, celadonite, red ochre, vermilliion, and yellow ochre. I could have made the skin look smoother but the original showed so many hatch lines and I wanted to keep close to the original style.

Ghirlandaio portrait copy progress

2010-10-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken indoor, at night, using a flash, so the painting looks a little different in person. I have a lot more work to do on the face and especially on the hair, but the bodice is mostly done. The last progress on the bodice shows it more cooly green, but I warmed it up with washes of lemon ochre and raw sienna. Now it is much closer to the original, at least as viewed on my monitor.

The clasps on the bodice are painted with homemade shell gold.

The skin and hair were painted with mixtures using raw sienna, lead white, raw umber, celadonite, with vermillion and hematite also on the face.

The painting is due next week so it'll be done by then!

Recreation of an Old Master in Tempera

2010-10-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

For my current art class assignment I had to choose a 15th century tempera painting and do my best to copy it. My choice is this portrait by Ghirlandaio from the late 15th century.

I printed a full size copy of the original, then used tracing paper to get a cartoon of the major lines. I colored on the back of the cartoon to make the cartoon function as transfer paper, then traced the lines of the cartoon onto my board. My board is tempered Masonite which I chose because I could not find untempered Masonite that was smooth on both sides. Everything I've read says untempered is better because tempered Masonite is tempered with oil but we'll see what happens.

I roughed up the Masonite with sandpaper then applied a coat of warm rabbit skin glue. After that dried I applied several coats of warm gesso made with chalk and rabbit skin glue. Once the gesso dried overnight I sanded the board smooth.

Once the drawing was on the gesso I used non-waterproof black ink to make a value drawing. I used non-waterproof so I could correct mistakes easily. I sealed the finished grisaille with a light coating of egg yolk and water mixture so the ink would not be lifted by succeeding coats of tempera.

Next I started working in color, using verona green earth for skin, and yellow ochre and umber for clothing and hair. In this picture I have started the skin and hair but not the clothing. The white chemise has undertones of other colors so I started with a darker color.

The clothing in the finished painting is green but has a definite yellow cast which is why I chose to start with ochre. This picture also shows that I started to color the necklace.

Here I have been focusing on the clothing. I decided to leave the face to last as working on the rest of the painting will give me practice handling the paint so I will be "warmed up" when I get to the face. I am still going to work on this some more because I am not completely happy with the green. On top of the yellow ochre and umber underpainting I used celadonite and lead white to render the green cloth. Then it wasn't yellow enough so I mixed another set of greens using celadonite, lead white and Naples yellow with almost pure white and yellow for the highlights. This is better, but still not quite what I was going for. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the different layers so I don't have the progress to show. This last picture shows where I am with the painting as of this evening. I reached a point where I was only making it worse by continuing to work on it so I decided to take a break until tomorrow.

Also note that in this picture the necklace and white chemise are more finished.

Spam, blech

2010-09-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

I find the word verification feature for commenting kind of annoying when I comment, so I removed the requirement from my blog. Less than 24 hours later I received 4 spam comments! So, I put it back, sorry. I hate spammers.

Painting with fresco

2010-09-19T01:38:00.000-07:00

I enrolled in this great class at a local college called "Aesthetics and Techniques of the Old Masters". It is an interesting hybrid of art history and art technique focusing on Europe (mostly Italy) from 1300 to 1600. The purpose of the class is to expose students to traditional painting methods and materials of fresco, tempera, and oil painting which includes making our own boards for painting and grinding our own paints. The idea of painting in fresco really intrigued me, as did the idea of learning techniques in tempera beyond those used for iconography.

The fresco painting experience was paired with learning about art of the 14th century. Each student had to choose something from a fresco of that century and attempt to reproduce in. Due to time constraints and some prior bad experiences with cracking that the instructor had using metal lath, our frescoes were painted on unglazed saltillo paving tiles.

My choice was the face of an angel from "The Last Judgement", painted in 1300 by the Roman artist Pietro Cavallini. Fresco has its own unique challenges: you can only work in small sections, and you can only work on the painting once because once the plaster starts to dry it will no longer bond with the paint. Also, because of the alkaline lime in the plaster, many colors are not compatible so you mostly have to use earth colors. The technique is more like painting watercolor: work from light to dark, leave unpainted areas for white. I've never been a watercolor painter but I tried and it was fun. Next week I get to see if my plaster dried without cracking. All in all, it was a fun experience but I think I'll stick with tempera. At least it gives me an appreciation of why frescoes look the way they do and what limitations artists worked with which affected their choices in executing frescoes.

A 14th century purse in fresco

2010-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

As if I needed any more evidence that I need to learn Turk's head knots, here is an image of a purse trimmed with them from the fresco Allegories of the Virtues and Vices painted by Giotto in 1303-5. This detail depicts Invidia (envy). For further information about this fresco please see the book mentioned in my last post.

Image of a plane in the 14th century

2010-08-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

I came across this today while searching for something else. It's a painting of a hand plane from the 14th century. That is the earliest depiction of a hand plane I have seen; I'm not sure how long hand planes have been in use but I'd guess much earlier than this. However it is always good to have evidence.

Admittedly, my knowledge of tools in history is pretty limited, as is my knowledge of the ancient Roman philosophy that influences the subject matter in this painting. This image, a detail of the fresco Allegories of Good and Bad Government painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338-9, shows a woman holding a hand plane. If I find any earlier images I'll have to take note. For more details about this subject and lots of images of this and other frescoes, please see the marvelous book: Italian Frescoes, the age of Giotto, 1280-1400 by Joachim Poeschke ISBN-13: 978-0-7892-0863-7.

How to make gold paint

2010-07-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

There are lots of imitations out there, and some come close, but nothing beats the look of real gold paint. It adds a level of richness to any painting. It shines beautifully. It can be burnished for more shine.

It is possible to buy ready made gold paint from art suppliers. I've never used it, but those who have used store-bought and home made gold paint say there is no comparison. It is not hard to make, either. Just tedious!

This little photo essay explains the basics of making gold paint. Sorry about the bad photography, it is not one of my talents. The how-to is a compressed .JPG file, I do have a larger file on my hard drive.

Making egg tempera

2010-06-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

When I first became interested in learning to paint with egg tempera I was a bit intimidated by the actual process of making the paint. Here is a simple way to make the tempera that is mixed with powder pigments to make paint:

Mix two parts dry white wine (less sugar) with one part egg yolk. That's it!

This mixture will last several days, keeping in the fridge when not in use. Egg yolk should be pierced with a knife and drained from the yolk sac; don't just mix the whole yolk into the mixture. Optionally run the finished mixture through a strainer to get out any stray yolk sac bits that will result in clumps in your paint.

Here's a simple visual:

There are other recipes for making tempera, but this is what I learned from the Prosopon school of Iconography. Other examples of recipes are just to use egg and water, egg and water with clove oil, or egg and water and vinegar. You decide.

Continuing the Icon: 2nd highlights

2010-06-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Now the second highlights are painted on Mary's robes using hematite, carmine and lead white. Jesus's robes will be highlighted with shell gold so they will not have any other highlights:

Faces are floated with a translucent gold ochre, carmine and Venetian red mixture, Mary's robes are floated with carmine red and indanthrone blue(a nice Bing cherry color) which really toned down the second highlights. Second highlights were repeated with a lilac color made from carmine, indanthrone blue and lead white. Flesh highlights were supposed to be lead tin yellow but I didn't have this so I used Naples yellow light mixed with lead white:

A brief word about toxic colors

2010-06-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

Some of the colors I use in my painting are very bad for you. Lead white, Naples yellow, lead tin yellow, and minium are all made from lead. Chromium green oxide is toxic, as is the copper carbonate in azurite, and there are many other examples. Further, all dry pigments can basically be a lung irritant if inhaled. If you are going to use dry pigments, especially the more toxic/poisonous ones, follow some basic precautions:

1) Prepare paints in a breeze-free area. The last thing you want is a gust of wind swirling up and dispersing your lead white just when you have the jar open.

2) Wash hands after painting, and change clothes or wear a smock.

3) No food, drink, or putting anything in your mouth while working.

4) Clean up work area when finished.

5) Store pigments carefully, out of reach of children, pets, and the curiously unwary (these can be adults).

There are lots of web resources for information about working with hazardous materials, as well as additional safety gear such as appropriate masks, etc.

There are also work arounds that may may not not yield as beautiful or traditionally authentic results but are safer. One example is to mix Titanium white and Zinc white in place of lead white. Titanium white by itself is a too opaque and zinc white too transparent, but mixing them is a nice compromise.

Next step in the icon - highlighting with dark color

2010-06-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here are flesh areas only with first highlight color (indigo):

Here is first highlight painted on Mary's robes (Venetian red) as well as second highlight started on the flesh areas (Venetian red, carmine, lead white):

The workshop I attended focused on development of more advanced painting techniques and varies from what is taught to beginners. Beginners are taught a specific, easy to follow order of painting: roshkrish, 1st highlights, 1st float, 2nd highlights, 2nd float, 3rd highlights, etc. This week we learned to mix up the order a bit. First and second highlights were painted and then floated, then second and third highlights painted followed by another float. The order was determined by the needs of the painting, using a more intuitive approach rather than a rigid formula. This was both challenging and frustrating because I was so looking forward to the first float (because it mellows out the harsh colors of roshkrish and first highlight) but I had to wait!

Another difference in the more advanced technique was the use of dark colors for the first highlights (more like "darklights", I think). This method seperates dark areas from light and builds volume. I used Venetian red for Mary's robe and indigo blue for the flesh.

Continuing the Icon: Roshkrish (base color)

2010-06-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

In icon painting, paint is laid down from dark to light, from coarse grain to fine. Here is the base color, roshkrish, over the entire icon. The flesh is painted with a mixture called sankir which is a greenish brown. Mary's garments are robes in vermillion and carmine and sleeve/head covering in indigo and indian yellow, and Jesus's robes are minium.

The lines of the drawing were painted with black before the colors were painted and you can see that they still show through. This layer, like pretty much every layer of paint in this technique, is painted transparently. In fact, my colors are almost too opaque. Better to paint too transparently and have to repeat the layer than to paint a single thick layer. In the end this will result in colors that are deeper and more nuanced than solid layers of color.

Icon Step 1a - Incising the lines

2010-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Next, the lines of the drawing are incised into the gesso. This will provide a guide for general shapes and details. The incised lines will still be visible after the base color is painted, while the colored lines will not. This photo shows the icon board in a raking light so it is possible to see where the lines are incised. Use the smaller side of double-sided stylus or something similarly small, round and metal. Gesso is hard, it takes significant pressure to make the lines. The lines should be pressed into the gesso, not cutting through it (that's why you shouldn't use a sharp blade instead of a stylus).

Gilding after beginner's luck; saved by vodka

2010-06-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

The first time I gilded on clay bole it turned out absolutely fantastic, unfortunately this gave me a false sense of ability. Now I am learning the hard way what can go wrong with gilding. What should have taken me about 6 - 8 hours ended up taking twenty and it isn't as pretty as I hoped it would be but it is done.

The first time I gilded an icon with clay bole I used bole my instructor made herself. I tried to use her recipe to make my own bole but it turned out horribly every time and I'm still not sure what I did wrong.

To prepare my icon I decided to take no chances and use professionally prepared bole instead of my own concoction. With the prepared bole you have to add a bit of honey so the gold will stick. I added too much honey and ended up with a gooey mess that wouldn't dry. I ended up having to scrape it off with a razor blade, making my gesso surface uneven. Then I was so traumatized that I did the bole for the background with no honey added. It dried like it was supposed to, and the gold seemed to go on, but the slightest touch would rub the gold away. Yikes!

Then I seemed to get the proportion about right and laid the bole for the halos but kept accidentally getting a finger or arm stuck in it. Also I accidentally dropped a loose gold leaf on it before it was dry - what a mess. After hours of sanding and angry thoughts too incoherent to form swear words I finally ended up with halos that would accept gold and a background that would not. What to do?

To solve the problem of the background I turned to water gilding, a technique I learned years ago but hadn't practiced since. Instead of laying down the leaf on the bole with just the moisture of a breath to make it stick, with water gilding you moisten the surface to be gilded with a solution of alcohol and water. The website I was referencing recommended using water with alcohol added, but I remembered what I learned from Russian icon painters and used what they do: cheap vodka. Vodka already has water and alcohol mixed together, and it worked perfectly. My background area is supposed to be matte so I did not have to worry about not being able to burnish the area. The only difficulty with water gilding is that the gold will stick to everything, unlike regular bole gilding where the gold only sticks to the clay.

In this photo you can see where I just started water gilding. The solid gold areas were laid down with vodka, the patchy areas were where the gold rubbed off because it wouldn't stick to the clay by itself.

Starting a new icon, Step 1

2010-06-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

I will be spending all of next week at an icon workshop, painting a Prosopon style icon. For those who have been reading my blog for a while you may remember the icon of St. John the Forerunner I painted at the workshop last year. That was my second icon, but the first in the Prosopon style; it was a beginner level composition. This year's subject is an intermediate level composition with lots of gold (you'll see!). With such a large area of gold it will be EXTREMELY important how well I lay down the bole. I am a little nervous about that. All the gold is supposed to be finished by the time I get to the workshop on Sunday so I'll post pictures up to that point. I won't have internet access during the workshop (and I don't really want it - it will be nice to get away) but I will take lots of pictures and post a step-by-step photo essay when I return.

The 13 by 17 inch icon board is purchased; I just didn't have time to teach myself to make a solid wood board with braces before the class. Eventually I plan to do that; I've only made it as far as cutting wood so far.

The drawing was made by the instructor, Dmitri Andrejev, following rules of composition about which I am largely ignorant. I wouldn't want to try drawing my own composition - if I were trying to authentically follow the style - without greater knowledge. There are specific ways hands, faces, etc are drawn that have specific meaning.

The drawing is then transferred to the board. First, draw a center line down the middle of the board, just like in the drawing. This will ensure the drawing is not transferred out of alignment. I used transfer paper and a ball point pen to transfer the drawing. Note that there is a little "x" on the face of each figure. This is to mark where to place the compass that is used for drawing the halo.

Slow work takes time

2010-04-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

I realized that I haven't posted in a month! Still no workshop access, so not much going on in the woodworking department. Still raining off and on here, so no reliable working outside, alas. Meanwhile I keep plugging away on this cushion. It is slow going, and slow work takes time. The picture shows about 2/3 of it, I'm doing the pattern now and will fill it all in when that is done.

A medieval waxed tablet

2010-03-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

With much gratitude to the waxed tablet links on Larsdatter.com I conducted some research into making a waxed tablet. There are variations in the number of leaves in the tablets; I chose to use the fewest number, two, because the end result would be less bulky and also easier to construct.

I chose quarter sawn white oak as it is the most similar to European oak commonly used in the period, has pretty grain, and because it is quarter sawn is more stable and less likely to warp.

Different colors were used to mix with the beeswax in extant tablets including black, red, and yellow. I decided on red because I had a large amount of the pigment, thought it would look good, and work well enough when written upon.

The linseed oil and wax finish is a period appropriate finish and looks very good. This was my first time using linseed oil and I was extremely pleased with the result. The oil really brought out the beauty of the wood grain. I am now completely sold on using it in a finish and looking forward to trying it under shellac. Here's what it looks like in full sunlight:

Here is a little photo essay showing my process and progress to date:

Brick Stitch Pattern #20

2010-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I made a new pattern! This pattern is my 20th, bringing me 40% of the way to my goal of 50 patterns for the A&S 50 Challenge.

Once again, the source of the pattern is a German religious wall hanging. This one is dated to both 1290/1300 and the mid 14th century. Here is the detail I used:

Since the photo is black and white and I have never seen the original I have to invent the colors. I played with using a different number of colors. Maybe you can get an idea of a way to put them together with other patterns (the way the three colored motifs are stitched together below is a hint)?

Brick stitch cushion

2010-03-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Stymied by my long wait for the yellow thread I ordered to finish my embroidered box project, I decided to start something else. I am getting quite a collection of brick stitched articles, but they are all purses, needle books or needle rolls. They are also all silk and must be cared for carefully. Therefore I am going in a different direction and making something designed for harder use, which is why I chose wool for my thread. It is a cushion designed to be placed on my new bench.

For the pattern I am not copying one specific extant piece, rather I am using elements from various pieces.

Oak bench finished (well, just about)

2010-03-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here is my new bench in all its glory. It is patterned after numerous 16th century examples of benches. It is made from flatsawn white oak (because I couldn't find quartersawn of sufficient width where I live), fumed with ammonia, shellacked with 3 coats blonde and 3 coats orange shellac. I may put a final coat of varnish, or just wax it, I haven't decided.

The color isn't what my original goal was, but I like it well enough. I didn't think to use linseed oil before shellac, but tried it after on another project and it really made a difference. I think all future projects will have linseed oil before shellac. The shellac went on so smoothly and beautifully, it hardly needed any smoothing when I was done. I enjoyed using the shellac and the easy cleanup, I can see myself using this almost exclusively in the future.

The use of shellac is not period so it is not a true medieval finish, but I will be using this piece in my house and I wanted something that didn't have much upkeep. Also I am a novice woodworker and finisher and every project I plan is to build up my skill set so I can make furniture for my home.

Needle roll from Pattern #8

2010-03-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

I'd like to teach another brick stitch class, and to that end am planning on stitching more of the patterns I made. Eventually I would like to have examples of all of them. This little pattern was easy to stitch and the needle roll is small and quick to make.

The finished size is 3 inches long and 2 1/4 inches high. The embroidery took between 5 and 6 hours, with another 2 or 3 hours to weave the cord and sew everything together. Materials were 28 count linen, and single strand Aurora Silk in undyed (white), indigo, and cochineal (purple) dyed by my friend Renee of Solar Colors and a green of a similar silk thread from the store.

As much as I liked making this, I can only have so many needle rolls. Some of the other patterns will be made into purses and other things.

The Treasury of Basel Cathedral

2010-02-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

When I go to the used bookstore I try to browse through the art books section just in case they (rarely) have something for me. This book, from an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), contains mostly examples of the amazing metalwork like the object pictured on the cover. There are a few examples of illumination and four fabric covered boxes, shown below. These boxes must have been fairly common in churches, although few survive (to my knowledge).

I love the painting inside the lid, it is tempera on silk. Note also the multicolored fringe on the edge of the lid and the cord that restricts the opening of the box. The box sides are very thin, but the inside support is wood according to the accompanying text. I wish the balls in the lower picture had a close up picture, they are very pretty.

Two tiny boxes to hold the Eucharist. These remind me of another small round box. They also on a wood support, turned wood is my guess. Love the sequins on the box on the left!

Embroidery on pause

2010-02-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't stopped embroidering, I have experienced a delay. I was working on the back panel (Pattern #7) for my embroidered box when I ran out of yellow thread. It is on order but will take weeks to arrive. I was hesitant to start another embroidery project in the meantime since I have so many other things going. Embroidery is still on my mind.

Oak bench, one coat shellac

2010-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

It was with great anticipation that I started my first shellac finish with the first coat, shown here. I applied as much as possible with a rubber, which I really enjoyed as it laid down a nice smooth thin coat. For the areas not accessible with the rubber I used a soft flat paintbrush. The brushed areas were not as smooth and will require light sanding after the first coat, unlike the areas where I used the rubber. The wood already has a lovely soft sheen after the first coat.t

Some articles I read advised putting a small amount of boiled linseed oil as a first coating before the shellac to bring out the figure of the wood, but I forgot about it until too late. That'll be added to the list of things to try next time.

My shellac mixture was 4 oz denatured alcohol with 2 oz dewaxed blonde shellac flakes. I put them in an old glass jelly jar (I have started saving all empty glass jars, they come in handy for so many things) and gave it about three days to mix, agitating daily. Three days was not a calculated choice, it just worked out to be how long it took for me to have enough free time on a non-rainy day to apply the shellac.

I made the rubber out of cheesecloth (for the inside) and a piece of cotton (for the outside). I keep the rubber in another glass jar to keep it from drying out and getting hard so I can reuse it. I cleaned the brush in denatured alcohol although it is still stiff with residual shellac. However one of the articles I read assures me that once I wet it with shellac again it will be usable (another article suggested using household ammonia to clean shellac out of brushes, but I only have 28% ammonia at home - perhaps I will buy some 5% {household} ammonia and try it). Fortunately I chose a brush for which I had no other use planned.

The shellaced wood is a nice mellow aged color, although not yet as deep as I would like. My plan is to put a few more coats of shellac, experimenting with orange as well as blonde (as soon as the orange shellac I ordered arrives). To compare my results to what I started with, here is a picture I took showing the three stages of wood thus far:

Lessons Learned

1. Mix shellac flakes with denatured (ethyl) alcohol, not 91% isopropyl alcohol. Shellac + isopropyl = goop, even 9% water is apparently too much.

2. Cheesecloth is much better for the inside of the rubber than plain cotton. It holds the right amount of shellac and makes a nice and firm, unwrinkled rubber surface. I tried plain cotton first and was much better satisfied with the cheesecloth. I also read about using flannel or an old athletic sock, but I didn't try those methods.

3. Next time I would like to try putting on the finish before assembly. This piece has a lot of inside corners that were challenging to get an even coat of shellac. It would have been easier to tape the joints and shellac before assembly (I think). Next time I'll try that to compare.

4. Use shellac in a well-ventilated area. I don't have a shop to work in, so when it became too dark to work outside but I was almost finished, I took my work into the kitchen. I neglected to open the windows and ended up setting off the carbon monoxide detector. Now I make sure I can do all the work outside, then bring the piece inside and place it next to an open window.

I have never seen shellac applied in person or spoken about it to anyone. All my research came from the internet. Fine Woodworking.com had a couple really good, helpful articles. I went to their website and searched for "shellac". I also read a nice article by finishing expert Jeff Jewitt. Or read his book, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Finishing.

The following are available on the Fine Woodworking website, but I don't know if you may view them unless you are a member:

"Padding on Shellac" from FW #112
"Versatile Shellac" from FW #166
"Sealing and Coloring with Shellac", FW video (online)

New blog for my non-medieval stuff

2010-01-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

I'd really like to keep this blog about the things I do/make that are based on things medieval. Yet I do other stuff and I'd like to post it (and have here a few times in the past). So I decided to make another blog where I will be posting non-medieval arty crafty stuff. I just did a post about an Edwardian inspired costume I finished a few days ago. Thank you to everyone who reads this blog, especially to those who comment!

EDIT: Oops! I forgot to post the link to the new blog! It is Too Many Irons In the Fire.

Ammonia fuming progress

2010-01-17T13:45:00.000-08:00

So far my ammonia fuming experiment seems to be a success. I placed my bench in a cardboard box with a glass pie plate that had a few ounces of aqueous ammonia (28% concentration - household ammonia is about 5%) and left it overnight. Now the bench is sitting outside (under shelter, because it is raining) to let off any ammonia fumes.

In the photograph with the bench is a piece of wood leftover from building the bench; it is the same color as the bench was originally. The color of the fumed wood is more gray and duller. It is definitely different from how it looked yesterday.

Next will be a little bit of sanding and then the shellac. This will be my first time making my own shellac. I saw it done once, years ago, and now I am going to try it. I have to wait until it stops raining because I work outside in my backyard (I don't have anyplace indoors to work). Unfortunately it is supposed to rain for the next week so my next update on this project may be a while.

Not a New Year's Resolution

2010-01-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

I don't do the whole New Year's resolution thing, but I do like the idea of taking stock and setting goals. Since this will be my first post of the year it will be easy for me to find later when I wonder what my goals were. Here are my current plans and goals for the year ahead:

A&S 50
I have the A&S 50 Challenge to provide some structure and that is a good start. My goal was to chart 50 extant brick stitch patterns. I have 19 completed, almost halfway there. This year I'd like to make more charts and get my new web site up and running.

Wood Working
I am focusing more on woodworking lately as it is finally time to replace the mismatched furniture in my house with furniture made by me. To help me get started in the new year I got rid of a bunch of my furniture, so my house will look empty until I fill it again. Some of the things I'd like to make are inspired by medieval and Renaissance pieces, others are more Arts and Crafts styled. I will start building the second piece next week so we'll see. In conjunction with doing more woodwork I'd like to learn to use more hand tools. I don't know anyone who uses cabinet scrapers, hand saws, or cuts mortises by hand and I'd like to learn those things.

Carving
To further develop my woodworking skill I plan to learn wood carving this year. I feel like I need to take some formal instruction with this because I feel very intimidated, not only by carving but especially by sharpening. I start a class next month and I'll post some of my efforts.

Silkscreen
I plan to try and teach myself silkscreening this year but will probably not post those efforts on this blog since that skill is not medieval at all.

Paper Mache
Yes, there will be more paper mache this year. The Halloween display needs to be more elaborate this year, and I really want to do some sculpture. Actually, I may have to start another blog for all the non-medieval stuff.

Icon Painting
I've not kept up with my iconography but I really miss it and plan to continue with it this year.

And inbetween I plan to tile my front porch and walkway, finish the front landscaping and start tearing out the back yard in preparation for a major renovation. All while working full time and making time to read plenty of books.

How about you? What are you planning for this year?

oak bench put together but unfinished

2009-12-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Finally! On my very last shop day of the year I managed to finish building my white oak bench. All that is left to do is finish it. I doesn't look much different from the first picture I posted, does it? I assure you that in person there is a great difference!!

My goal in making furniture is to make stuff that can take abuse, where dings and scratches are "character" instead of damage. The way we live in my house, furniture needs to be that way. That means I don't want to put a dark finish on it that will show bare wood if it gets a deep scratch. I am considering fuming it with ammonia in the way that some original Arts and Crafts furniture was made. The original Arts and Crafts era crafters fumed with ammonia to create the aged look they so admired in ancient furniture. If it makes the wood dark enough I won't have to stain it at all. First I am going to experiment with some of the scrap pieces left over from making this bench. If I like the results I'll use the process on the bench. If fuming doesn't turn out well then I'll use a more conventional stain, just not too dark. Either way I hope to have the results posted here next month.

I'll be starting on another piece of furniture next month, something for my living room. I've been planning all along to build all new furniture for my living room but only now am I getting started. This month I am giving away virtually all the wood furniture in my living room; I think it will motivate me to work on my long-delayed furniture projects.

LESSONS LEARNED from this project: Make every cut, every step of a project as perfectly as possible. It saves so much time/effort/frustration as you progress. I made many mistakes with the first bench I made that I spent a lot of time fixing towards the end of the process; I didn't do as much of that this time and it was so much better that way!!!

New project with brick stitch

2009-12-03T22:54:00.000-08:00

I am trying brick stitch in a different way than my usual - this is wool yarn (2 strands of Paternayan) on 14 count canvas. The color choices are modern, but then so is the project - my boyfriend's Christmas stocking. The stocking will have a variety of stitches, this is the only brick stitch (so far). Since I have a Christmas deadline expect to see the finished product by then. I like this wool embroidery so much I may do a cushion as my next project.

Natural Pigments on sale!!

2009-11-24T20:51:00.000-08:00

Right now Natural Pigments is having a sale. Buy one item and get the second item 50% off. Good for stocking up on things used a lot, such as gold leaf. Or get together with a friend and buy items you both want. Enter code b50X2nd. Sale ends on 29 November at midnight Eastern Standard Time.

Pattern #7 and some comment responses

2009-11-23T20:30:00.001-08:00

There were some interesting comments on my last post. Here are the comments and my responses:

From Laura Kathleen:
"This pattern definitely caught my eye, as I charted the same motif while charting Russian patterns from towel ends. I wrote about it on my blog here.

I wish I knew enough about the history of the two styles to connect them, though it may just be a coincidence from working with geometric patterns."

Laura Kathleen - yes, your Russian pattern #7 and my German pattern #7 are identical, except for the stitches used. Coincidences abound...

From Elina (and I really enjoy your blog):
"What a lovely pattern, that no 7. I tried looking for the instructions on the blog, but for some odd reason couldn't find it, altough I found patterns #6 and #8. Could you please point me in the right direction?"

Elina - sorry, I haven't posted #7 yet. I'm about to correct that.

From Krista:
"That is interesting - it's like the one in Wymarc, only smaller. Very cute! Doing these in one color is fun, but be prepared for 1) getting sick of the color and 2) having people not notice the embroidery."

Krista - both true statements. As for the pattern being like Wymarc #4, it is true that they are very similar. If you look at lots and lots of these embroideries you'll see the same or similar patterns over and over again. What I like about that is that I feel like I can vary the colors or I could vary the pattern and it would still be plausible for the period. I feel like it gives me some freedom if I should ever wish to make a period plausible pattern instead of trying for reproductions. It also allows some freedom in color choices.

I was holding back on publishing Pattern #7 but I think I might as well post it. It was the most challenging to create so far; it is more complicated than many of the other patterns and the source photo was a challenge as well. I am using this pattern for the front and back panels of my reliquary box (one is shown almost finished in the photo above).

Embroidered reliquary box, fourth panel started

2009-11-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

This is the motif from Pattern #7, with only the main color filled in. The fill colors are white and yellow. There are a total of four side panels; the sides are Pattern #2 (seen here and here), the front and back are Pattern #7. Actually, I think it looks interesting as it is and I'd love to see it as a white-on-white embroidery. Someday...

One last picture...

2009-11-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

My cartoneria skeletons at night. They looked really good. I'll have to do more for next year...

Almost ready for Halloween

2009-10-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

A picture of most of the front:

A detail picture with skeletons in the window in the background:

As shown in these pictures, much of the Halloween decor is in place. I still have the front porch to decorate a bit and lights to put up, but that's it. I think the paper mache is really attractive but doesn't make as much of an impact as I would like considering how much work it was. Oh well, making the crosses last year was also some work. Next year I'll have the fruit of three years of work. It will also look more cool with the lights and fog, with spooky sound for atmosphere. I hope you like it and I'll be back to medieval topics again next week.

Oak bench at rough cut stage

2009-10-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

In my last session at the woodworking shop I made this progress. All the pieces for the bench are now roughly cut except for the stabilizing brace not started yet. I love the bandsaw!!

Next up will be making the brace, making the mortise and tenon joints to hold the brace, routing the top, and fine-tuning the fit and shaping the edges of the apron and legs. But most of that will have to wait until woodworking class resumes next month.

cartoneria crown of lillies

2009-10-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

In the previous post you can see this crown in the wet newspaper stage. I made it to perch on my head but after I finished it I realized that since it doesn't sit around my head I need a way to hold it in place on my head so it doesn't fall off. It is very firm, not flexible at all, although I could drill into it if needed. Ideas, anyone?

P.S. The pumpkin is approximately head sized so that's how it looks sitting on my head. Cool, as long as I don't move much.

Cartoneria factory

2009-10-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

OK, Aelia, here you go - pictures of cartoneria! The complete process is not documented (maybe later) but here is enough to get an idea of the process. It's a pretty cheap project: old newspaper, grocery bags, bailing wire, flour and water cost practically nothing. The only supplies that cost any money were the acrylic paints and gesso.

First, make desired shapes out of crumpled newspaper and masking tape. If items will be strung together or have wire in them for support put them in at this stage. Trying to do it later is very difficult.

Next, make the paste. Here I put 3 tablespoons of flour into 2 cups water and stirred thoroughly, getting out all the lumps. Then I put the pot on high heat and cooked, stirring constantly, until the mixture began to bubble gently. I then poured it into a bowl and waited for it to cool off enough to handle with my fingers. The glue is most pleasant to work with when it is still warm, so it's best to make it right before use.

Wet torn newspaper, glued in four layers, is torn into smaller bits and applied to the newspaper and tape base. Here is a crown of lilies in progress:

and a pile of bones and a dragonfly:

After the newspaper dries, apply a layer of brown paper (grocery bags or cement bags work well). These are two stylized skulls and a rose:

After the brown paper dries a layer of gesso is applied. Then the items are painted. The gesso and acrylic paint I used was cheap stuff because I am making a lot of items. The low quality paint really makes a difference but that much good quality paint would be very expensive! I used an off-white color for the bones because plain white just didn't look right. The items in this picture are skeleton parts mostly and they're not all quite finished with painting.

New woodworking project

2009-10-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

In my last post I showed the lumber I bought for a couple of projects. Here is the first project started. It will be a little bench, similar to the one I made before. It was always my plan, if the first bench turned out well, to make a second one out of better (and more expensive) lumber.

This wood is 5/4 (five quarter, meaning that it is 1 1/4 inches thick) flat sawn white oak about 10 inches wide. I purchased 11 board feet milled S2S 1E (surfaced on two sides, with one edge) for about $50. (length x thickness x width = board feet) This is definitely more expensive than the 3/4 inch poplar I used for the first bench.

The board had a knot in it which I did not want to use but I knew I could get the lengths I needed while working around the knot. As is generally the case, I cut a few inches off the end of the board where it was split a bit. Always take this sort of thing into account when planning how much lumber to buy for a project or you'll buy too little and have to get more. I wanted the entire project to be made from one board. The color of the wood will match exactly, the grain is the same, and it seems like a more period approach.

I chose flat sawn oak instead of quarter sawn because I wanted the finished width of the wood to be 9 inches without piecing, which it just isn't possible to get from modern lumber yards (if someone knows of such a place please tell me!). White oak is less easy to find where I live than red oak, but I like the color better and it is closer to the European oak used in period. It is still not the exact same species but it is as close as I can get.

The photo above shows the apron of the bench roughly cut out with a band saw. I'll further shape and refine with hand tools. I am basing my design on several medieval era examples as shown below (larsdatter.com was the starting off point for my research). I drew a template for the apron on brown craft paper, then taped that to my wood and traced around it on both apron pieces. Then I cut them out.

Next I will repeat the process for the sides of the bench but that will have to wait until next week. I won't be back in woodshop class until then.

mmmmm.... lumber

2009-10-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

At some point, perhaps before Christmas or maybe not until next year, I'll post a picture of some of this beautiful white oak marvelously changed into a piece of furniture. One piece of it will be a medieval seat, most of it will be part of an Arts and Crafts bookcase. It is filling my car with a wonderful sweet smell, I love it!

Crafty Challenge #1 received

2009-10-11T22:10:00.001-07:00

This is my first finished Crafty Challenge project. I was just waiting for Eleanor Deyeson to let me know she received her gift before I posted pictures (didn't want to ruin the surprise!). Here it is, a needlebook embroidered with naturally dyed silk and wool pages and lining, plus a little pocket on the inside. The pattern is my Brick Stitch Pattern #13, which I charted months ago but have been waiting to post until I actually used it to make something. It is one of my favorites! I'd love to see this in orange and green as well, maybe another time.

The ground fabric is 32 count linen embroidered with a single strand of silk.

On a side note, I think I will post some pictures of the non-medieval crafting I've been doing lately. That's where my efforts have been lately, and I feel badly about letting so much time go by in between posts.

Crafty Challenge gift on the way

2009-10-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

My first Crafty Challenge gift is in the mail. I will post pictures as soon as I hear that the recipient received it.

I am working on my own website

2009-09-13T20:18:00.001-07:00

I am working intermittently on making my own website, www.medievalartcraft.com. As someone who has almost no html/website experience (other than this blog), it is a very steep learning curve. I have never used Dreamweaver before so I am starting from scratch. Eventually I plan to have a site with a page with all my patterns and a gallery of both my work and the work of others who do brick stitch. So, if you have photos of anything that fits and you'd like to see it on the future website, let me know and I'll put your photos in my "Gallery" file to be added as I figure out how.

Brick stitch pattern #19

2009-09-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Since it's been a while since I posted a new pattern, here one is. The source is a hanging from Isenhagen, dated to the 14th century (Kroos, item #66). The full size of the hanging is 120 cm high by 315 cm wide. I don't know the original colors, but it appears that white stitches were on a natural linen colored background, and some of the linen was left unstitched. In the pattern on the left, I indicated the unstitched areas with a beige color. In the pattern on the right I used colors that are period appropriate but not known to have ever been used together in this pattern; I just thought it looked pretty and wanted to provide an alternative to the white. This pattern was used in the original embroidery to fill the halo of a winged bull.

Reliquary box, third panel finished

2009-09-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

I will have to make a total of six panels for the embroidery covered box I am making, and here is number three. It is for one of the sides, and the two sides are identical. Did I really last post about it nearly a month ago? It almost felt like I just started it.

Now I think I will take a little break and make something fun. Meanwhile, in addition to my medieval-focused arts and crafts, I continue to work on my cartoneria and that is what is sucking up much of my time. That has to be my main focus since I have a deadline.

New skill - turning wood

2009-08-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took a class on wood turning and made this bowl and mallet in class. I've long admired turned objects and thought that some turned wood items would help with my medieval kit. Of course, the use of modern lathes powered by electricity and modern tools made of high speed steel is not very medieval but I prefer them to their period counterparts. I will hopefully have access to a lathe next month so I can try out some more turning. It was easier than I thought, although the inside of the bowl was difficult, and it was also fun.

The wood I used was black acacia that was gathered by the class instructor a couple of weeks ago when the city cut down a tree across from the shop (how fortuitous!). There is nice variation of color between the heart wood and the sap wood that looks very striking.

Another needle roll by Aelia of Sinister Stitches

2009-08-26T15:48:00.002-07:00

Aelia chose pattern #16 to make a needle roll because she liked the first needle roll so much. I really like the colors she chose, very close to the original. She used Splendor silk (spun silk) on 32 (?) count even weave linen. She did the embroidery and wove the cord for the ties, and I stitched everything together for her. I'm so glad I got to see this in person because it is really beautiful and it makes me want one for myself. Too bad she is giving it up for a gift basket. The lucky recipient is sure to be thrilled!

What I'm working on now

2009-08-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Much of my spare crafting time these days is occupied by cartoneria, or Mexican paper sculpture (paper mache). I am taking a class to learn to make sculptures and working in my free time on what will be (I hope) an elaborate Halloween display. The only hope I have of success in this endeavor, given how elaborate I would like it to be, is to start now and work on it constantly.

This means I have less time for needlework. However, I continue to plug away on a long term brick stitch project: an embroidery covered reliquary box. I haven't posted about it before because I don't want to show too much until it is further along, but I wouldn't want anyone to think I am not working on anything. Last month I entered my unfinished box in my very first A&S competition in the category of relics and reliquaries. I couldn't stay for the whole A&S so I missed the awards announcements and since I never heard anything I figured I didn't win, but last night I found out that I won! Hooray!!

I am using my brick stitch pattern #14 for the sides of the box. I have finished one side panel, the front panel, and have started the top and second side panels. This is a picture of the second side panel in progress.

If you are intrigued by cartoneria then check out the website of my instructor, Ruben Guzman, at www. cartoneria.com. He has some very nice sculptures.

Brick stitch pattern #18

2009-08-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

The information I have about the embroidery in this photo is "German embroidery 1300" so other than that I have no information (that I know of) about the original hanging. It looks like it once had some color but it is badly faded. I chose this pattern because I like interlocking patterns and it is yet another variation on basket weave. The original looks as if the area where this pattern was used was all the same color, probably white, but I show it in a variety of colors to provide alternatives.

Brick stitch pattern #17

2009-07-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

With this, my 17th pattern, I am now one third of the way towards my goal of 50 patterns. This pattern is taken from a hanging circa 1290 - mid 1300s showing scenes from the legend of St. Margaret of Antioch. Unfortunately I only have the black and white picture so colors are speculative. The light color is probably white. I had a lot of fun playing with the colors for this pattern, and since so many patterns in embroidery of this period were repeated using different color schemes you could change the colors up a bit and still have a plausibly period color scheme.

One of the disadvantages of making all these patterns is that I do not have time to make examples of all of them, although I hope to someday. This one is definitely in my top five of favorites so far so I'm sure I'll get to it eventually.

Below are some of the ways I played with color for this pattern:

One cuff finished

2009-07-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

I promised myself that I would not do any more brick stitch until I finished one of the pair of klosterstich cuffs I am making. Here is the first one, I think it is charming and I hope it looks good when it becomes a cuff. Not sure how to attach to sleeves that button up.

Brick stitch pattern #16

2009-07-25T02:01:00.000-07:00

This is one of the bigger patterns, and I've always liked it. When I first started embroidering I liked it but didn't think I could ever do it. I haven't yet, but now that I made the pattern I know I could do it.

Photographs of the original can be found here. It is listed as late 13th century Spanish in origin, with woven straps terminating in turk's head knots (as often as turk's head knots show up in these types of purses I really should learn how to make them). The colors look to be light yellow, a deeper gold color, and dark blue or maybe purple? Taschen did a beautiful reproduction of the embroidery which can be seen here, it is really enviable and drool-worthy. He also published a really nice pattern. I made my own using the photograph both for the sake of completeness with my own patterns and as a technical challenge. My pattern is very slightly different, almost unnoticeably so. I'm not completely happy with it but I am tired of looking at it. Check out his pattern to compare.

In the picture I set the pattern on a tiled backround of the same pattern. The original isn't made quite this way, but imperfect photograph and wear obscure the rest of the pattern. I may attempt it another time.

Someone used my pattern to make a needle roll

2009-07-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

How wonderful, someone used one of my patterns! It is so nice to have proof that I didn't post all those patterns just to amuse myself. This is Pattern #6 executed in Splendor silk on linen by Aelia Appolonia of Sinister Stitches. Her embroidery turned out really beautiful, didn't it? I love the colors!!

Aelia likes to embroider but feels her finishing skills are lacking so she asked me to make the embroidery into a needle roll with kumihimo cord. I did as she asked but set her up with a second maru dai and made her learn how to make a simple four bobbin cord. She agreed that it really is easy! Hopefully I have sold her on the idea of doing more kumihimo.

If anyone out there makes something from one of my patterns I would love to see a picture and (with permission) post it on my blog.

Klosterstich cuffs progress

2009-07-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Irregular and slow, progress nonetheless...

I like this better as I get more of it done; I think it will look great when it is finished.

Painting progress

2009-07-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

The last time I posted about this painting it looked like this. I'm not done yet, but obviously I made a lot of progress. Successively lighter washes of colors and layers of highlights brought me to this point. Then I was dissatisfied and put the painting aside for a few days. Seeing it on the computer screen helped me identify some of the problems. When I work on it again, hopefully within the next week, I'll try to fix the problems as well as continue forward. We are our own harshest critics, aren't we?

The approximate size of the painting is 7 by 9 inches. If you click on the picture for a larger image you can see the gritty texture of the paint.

Klosterstich cuffs

2009-07-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here is the beginning of my progress on a pair of embroidered cuffs. I've been wanting to make something embroidered in klosterstich for a while now. I used elements from some German klosterstich tapestries to come up with two designs, shown below:

I then transfered my chosen design to linen and inked the designs:

And here is my current progress. It is going fine so far but I think as I practice more I will get better. I am using Medici wool thread with two strands on the needle. I have a small supply of it I would like to be rid of so I am trying to use it up. The Medici is very nice but I think it is too fine for my purposes and I would rather use naturally dyed colors if possible.

A simple chemise

2009-07-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's not very exciting, but it is finished. This is a basic linen chemise. I actually did not have a chemise appropriate for my medieval period dress and I've been wearing it without one (!). It is entirely hand sewn using linen thread with French seams.

Egg tempera painting on panel, the painting of an icon

2009-06-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This is an image intensive post!

I spent the last week at an intensive icon painting workshop and painted this icon of St. John the Forerunner (aka John the Baptist, "Forerunner" is how he is often referred to in Orthodox Christianity). The workshop was presented by the Prosopon School of Iconography, a school founded in modern times but based on the techniques of 15th century Russian icon painters, including the famous Andrei Rublev. Techniques learned in the workshop included gilding over clay bole and various techniques in working with egg tempera paint. I also experimented with texturing gold after my gilding did not turn out as smooth as I wanted (make sure the bole is totally dry before gilding!). I am looking forward to doing more painting!

Here is the step by step process (I forgot to take pictures of the bole application, gilding, and etching):

Base coat of all colors (roskrish)

Dark lines painted in

First highlight

First float (look what this does to the face!)

Second highlight

Second float (still a bit damp when the picture was taken)

Reemphasis of dark lines, border painted, inscription painted (although this should more correctly be within the inner frame, not at the top)

Final highlights, white border on halo, highlights for eyes, all finished painting!

To finish, the painting will be sealed with a linseed oil mix called olifa. But I must wait a few weeks until the egg is thoroughly dry to do this.

Cardweaving set up with household items

2009-06-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

The complete setup, ready to start. I would have liked smaller clamps but those were the smallest I could find in the garage.

My setup is a bit crude as I just went into the garage and scrounged around. I attached the clamps to a board so it would be portable (note to self - try to find a piece of lumber that isn't so rough and splintery for next time).

Part of the first finished weaving as well as the start of the weave. My beater is a knife from the kitchen drawer (using the blunt side, of course)

I have a little arrow drawn on a piece of paper. I use that to remind myself which direction to turn the cards if I have to leave the weaving for a while.

Gradually, I am acquiring items to make a complete medieval outfit. Now that I have shoes I need hose and garters.

I learned a bit about cardweaving last year, made a few experiments and then dropped it and moved on to other things. Last time I did the weaving using an inkle loom I made in woodshop. This time I decided to try the method of using C-clamps.

MATERIALS: Spun silk 2-ply from Aurorasilk in undyed and dyed with Brazilwood by Renee of Solar Colors. I used 12 cards with about 4 meters per card, totaling 48 meters of silk for the warp plus the undyed thread I used for the weft which was not more than a couple of meters. The finished length of the weaving is about 55cm (21.5 inches).

It's barely long enough to make a garter, something to remember if I do this again. Overall I am pleased with the evenness of the weaving and very happy to have another item for my outfit (as soon as I get buckles).

Lessons learned: Remember that there will be a lot of waste silk on either end. I should have made the warp longer. Also I needed a longer board.

Now it's finished

2009-06-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here are the finished pictures of the little needle roll I made. They are posed in the corn we are growing in the front garden.

A small piece of embroidery

2009-06-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

I think it is about time I posted about actually making something. This is what I've been working on for the last week. It is my brick stitch pattern #12 executed as a small piece of embroidery which later today will become a roll up style needle holder. Eventually I want to make examples of every pattern I draft so I will mostly be making small items, otherwise I will be stitching these forever.

Materials: 32 count Zweigart linen stitched with a single strand of Solar Colors spun silk thread dyed with weld (yellow), indigo (blue) and indigo over weld (green) with undyed thread for the white. Lining will be an off-white wool and ties and seam finishing cord will be 4 bobbin kumihimo cord. The pastel colors look very nice, I think, and something different from the deep bold colors I usually favor. Thank you to Renee of Solar Colors for suggesting I try pastels.

Solar Colors - naturally dyed silk

2009-06-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

My friend Renee has been dyeing silk thread for the past couple years using natural dyes. You can see the results in some of my work, here, here, here, and here. Somehow the natural colors just look prettier than modern dyes and I really like working with them. It is also easier to use a single strand of thread on 32 count linen or two strands on 24 or 28 count linen than it is to use up to seven strands of Soie d'Alger. It is my favorite spun silk. I have used it for embroidery, kumihimo, and card weaving; Renee uses it for fingerloop braids.

Now anyone who wants to use this thread can get it because Renee just started a website, Solar Colors, and an etsy shop. She has a limited range of colors to start with but plans to gradually add more. The thread comes with magnet clasps tied on the ends so you can wear the skein as a bracelet. I had a lot of fun wearing thread bracelets while I contemplated colors for my latest project!

Brick stitch pattern #15

2009-06-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is another pattern from the embroidered hanging at the Cloisters. The original is yellow and white like my pattern but where I used green the original has an unknown color that faded to a nasty brownish color.

I want to keep knocking out patterns as the mood strikes me. At 15 patterns I am now almost 1/3 of the way towards my goal of 50 patterns. When I decided to do 50 patterns I felt like I was making an insane commitment but now it feels more manageable.

Every once in a while I make incremental progress on learning the program that will allow me to make patterns with grid lines. Until then I am doing them this way. Sometime in the future all these patterns will be lovely handouts with background information and gridlines and organized on one website. I will also have a sample item worked in every pattern.

I am stitching away on the next example but feel the need to take a break and do another technique for a while. Klosterstitch seems to be calling my name...

Brick stitch pattern #14

2009-05-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted but I have been busy. Here is one thing I've been doing, working on patterns. There are a couple of patterns, #12 and #13, that I haven't posted yet but I did make them. They'll be published later. On this handout I list my website, www.medievalartcraft.com, but it doesn't exist yet except as a domain name. That's coming up as well.

Want to learn to paint with egg tempera?

2009-04-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Go to Prosopon School website and click on "The Icon, release of DVD on practice and theory, 2009" to find more information about this DVD and watch clips (which are very good).

I bought this DVD recently, anxiously awaited its arrival, and with great anticipation and excitement watched all four hours of it. It cost $98 but worth every penny! The artist, Vladislav Andrejev, is a master painter and it was a joy to watch him work. I learned several things I have already done incorrectly or would have done incorrectly if left to my own devices. It is really going to help me improve my painting. I'm sure I'll watch it many times, reviewing each section before I start that step. If you are a rank beginner, there are a few things that are not explained enough, such as making bole and shell gold paint. I highly recommend taking a workshop to run through everything at least once. Luckily I already know how to make shell gold paint. The use of wax paper as an aid in handling loose gold leaf was a revelation and makes using it a snap. No expensive gilder's tips, pads or knives necessary; just cheap scissors and wax paper from your kitchen, plus a dedicated gold brush (doesn't have to be an expensive one) and a plastic container for the gold scraps to use for making shell gold paint later.

BTW, I am still working on an embroidery project but don't want to post pictures until it is further along. I also ran out of yellow thread and had to order more. That is taking up the precious little free time I have what with this being spring (gardening season) and working more hours at work and finishing woodshop class for the semester. Too many irons in the fire!

Brick stitch pattern #11

2009-04-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

One of the difficulties of making patterns from low resolution pictures, especially black & white pictures, is that some of the patterning is guesswork. The colors are a rough guess as well as some of the stitches. I would love to be able to see better images of most of the known brick stitch embroideries, but I do what I can.

The image above is a comparison of two guesses as to what the pattern is in the B&W photo. I think the one on the right is correct but I am not positive. Anyway, here it is, Pattern #11 (and variation #11a).

Icon and other painting links

2009-04-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

I added a new link list on the right that is a list of some of my favorite links regarding supplies and techniques in painting, especially icon painting using traditional methods. The great thing about modern icon painting is that it is little changed from icon painting of the medieval and Renaissance periods, so techniques practiced today easily translate to period techniques. Most of the sites linked to on these websites are in English and the classes are in the U.S. but Iconofile has links to classes all over the world, including this site in the Netherlands. If you are in Texas you are in luck because there are workshops in silver repousse, icon writing and illumination this year so check out Icon Arts.

Kalish Finest Brushes has really nice brushes, my personal favorite. The Series 8 liners (scroll to bottom of page) are awesome for illumination and much better than even the Kolinsky sable brushes from major manufacturers that are sold in art supply stores. Not only are they better, they are cheaper!!

Natural Pigments has the most amazing supply of traditional artist materials. They even carry such traditional and hard to find (not to mention hazardous) pigments as orpiment, cinnabar, lead white and real Naples yellow. They also do the Iconofile website and hold annual workshops in iconography (Yaroslavl 17th century style) and traditional fresco. I'd love to learn fresco but I have too many irons in the fire as it is, unfortunately. Pesky job eats up too much of my time!

I study with Betsy Porter, a wonderful lady who volunteers her time twice a month to teach an ongoing workshop in San Francisco. The cost is only ten dollars per 4 hour session and she shares her bole and pigments with students as well as some of her tools. This makes the cost of getting started very minimal. She studied with the Prosopon School, which holds workshops all across the U.S. at various times during the year. I will be attending the 6 day class in Santa Barbara this summer and I am really excited!

The Prosopon School also released a DVD this year which contains over four hours of instruction in the creation of an icon from preparing the gesso panel to applying gold to painting and finishing. Check out their website to watch clips from the DVD, it looks really good. I think I may have to order a copy!

When I was first interested in illumination and tempera painting I had a hard time finding good references and suppliers and was really at a loss about where to begin. If I had known about these websites and schools years ago I would have been jumping for joy. I plan to add to the links as I find more and have time to look through all my bookmarks. I hope this is helpful to anyone who has a similar interest and if you know of other great places please let me know.

Icon painting, step three

2009-03-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

I don't much like driving in the rain, especially on the freeway. Driving crowded freeways through San Francisco after dark is even worse. Lately it rained on a lot of Sundays which is when the icon workshops are held in San Francisco. Before daylight savings and the advancing season the class let out after dark, even worse. Hence my lack of progress. Yesterday I finally went back to the class and this is the result of my efforts.

The background colors are all filled in now. In egg tempera one works from dark to light so these are the darkest colors, the roskrish or base colors. The flesh and hair base color is called sankir. Can you believe that the pink robes of the angel will eventually be light blue? My dark blue came out too roughly textured so I sanded it just a bit. The sankir is supposed to be opaque but the other roskrish colors may have some translucence. I worked a bit thick on some of them. I added another layer of the brown sankir color to the flesh and hair because it was not opaque enough.

All pigments are traditional egg tempera: powdered period pigments mixed with egg yolk (and a bit of wine in the egg yolk mixture in the Russian tradition).

Brick stitch pattern #2, different colors

2009-03-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

The figure illustrated in the image is from the border of this hanging. I loved how the variation in color gives a striped effect and makes a simple pattern look more complicated.

I put together this picture as a starting point for developing a handout. I would like to teach brick stitch at an event and need something to give to students.

Brick stitch pattern #10, reversed

2009-03-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

I flipped pattern #10 to make an "S" instead of a "Z" since both exist among extant embroideries. You could just use the original pattern and flip it in your head, but I find it easier when I have something to look at. I am still busy working on Pattern #7 so I haven't done much else lately.

Pattern #10 as a needle book

2009-03-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

I keep coming back to the needle book because it is a way to make a small example of a pattern into something that can actually be used. My goal is to make a small stitched example of most of the patterns, but they can't all be needle books so I have to come up with some more small items to make.

The finished size is approximately 2.5 by 3 inches when closed. Materials are 32 count even weave Zweigart linen ground stitched with a single strand of silk floss from Aurora Silk dyed with Indigo for blue, Brazilwood for burgundy/red, and undyed for white. Natural dyeing of silk floss was courtesy of Renee. The cord used for trim and ties was made using kumi himo technique with four bobbins and two strands of silk on each bobbin to get the required thickness. The lining is burgundy wool scrap from my wool scrap stash.

Brick stitch pattern #10

2009-03-08T03:06:00.000-07:00

Pattern #10 comes to us from various sources, including this hanging currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. The embroidered hanging dates to the late 14th century, in Germany. In this hanging the symbol looks like a letter "S". The photograph I used to make the pattern was of the above reliquary box. According to the info on the photo the box dates to the 13th century and is (questionably) from Köln. In this pattern the "S" is backwards, more of a "Z". I liked the variation of the character laying on its side.

My pattern making has slowed down considerably as I now work on stitching examples of some of the patterns. I am also still working on Pattern #7 but I think I am going to stitch it before I post the pattern.

Brick stitch pattern #9

2009-02-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the pattern from the outfit one of the angels is wearing from the same embroidery as Pattern #8. When I did not have such a good image of this I tried to recreate it as can be seen with the scissors case here. As you can see I was close but not perfect when I made the scissors case. As is also with pattern #8, this pattern's stitches are all of equal length, over 4 threads or 3 holes depending on how you count on the fabric.

Brick stitch pattern #8

2009-02-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

Here is pattern #8 as per a request from Taschen. (If you use it I'd love to see a picture!) It is from one of the columns flanking an angel from the embroidery pictured in this post. The entire pattern is stitches of the same length (over 4 strands of linen or three holes, however you count it) so it was pretty easy to chart. The original embroidery is German and dates to 1400 and is held in Hannover, at Kestner-Museum Inv. Nr. WM XXII, 10.

Where is Pattern #7, you ask? It is not ready so I skipped it. It is going to be a HUGE pattern. I am over 800 layers in the charting so far and not finished yet. I am working on it 2-4 hours a day so hopefully I'll post it sometime next week.

How I make brick stitch patterns

2009-02-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

A few people asked me what program I used to make my patterns and I started to answer those questions individually but then decided that it would be a good idea make a post about my method. (The full color version of the above pattern is shown in a previous post and a photo of the object from which the pattern was charted is here)

I started out by e-mailing Master Richard Wymarc because I thought the way he made his patterns looked really beautiful (and for me it must be beautiful as well as functional). He was kind enough to send me a sample file. As it turned out he had used Adobe Photoshop, one of the few programs besides Word that I can actually use. Hooray!

I started out by studying his template and the recreating something very similar. I finally (after a very long time) developed a basic template that is working well for both simple and complex patterns. I start with the basic shapes for various stitch lengths, then do a lot of copy and paste to get the larger building blocks. In Photoshop this creates a large number of layers. Once I have a basic building block I merge the layers, then copy and paste the various block shapes and assemble the basic pattern. I save a copy of both the basic building block and template file and a separate file with the complete pattern. I then make a third file and use the paintbucket to color in the pattern. I end up with both a colored and an uncolored version of each pattern. This gives me maximum flexibility with the pattern.

Photoshop is a bitmap program and as my boyfriend in all his computer-y wisdom says, a vector based program (such as Illustrator) is a much better choice for doing this type of work. Helene and I have discussed this and she is in agreement with my BF. Helene pointed out that Illustrator allows you to put the stitches against a grid which makes the pattern more closely resemble stitches on fabric. The grid makes the pattern easier for beginners especially to follow. I reluctantly concur. It did take a little trial and error to get the hang of the different stitch lengths but for me that was so many thousand stitches ago that I don't remember having much difficulty.

I will most likely (OK, definitely) transition to a vector based program for patterns but will still use Photoshop also. I like the clean look of the patterns without grid lines, plus I think it looks prettier on the page. That's just a personal preference.

The image above is a brief visual description of my patterning process. It makes the work of many hours look pretty simple. My goal is to provide patterns that allow those who are not interested in patterning to make these beautiful embroideries. As an additional note, I do take requests and your request will be coming up, Taschen, as soon as I have enough spare time to do it.

Brick stitch pattern #6

2009-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

This next pattern comes from the embroidery which can be seen in this post. Thanks also to Helene for putting me in touch with Elies who sent me a detail photo of a section of this hanging. Elies took this photo on a trip to the Kestner Museum in Hanover. That's what allowed me to chart this with greater confidence of accuracy. Also of course thank you to Elies for sending me the photo!

I have seen this pattern in other embroideries of the period (14th C Germany); it is pretty basic. It makes a nice simple filler, I think. The blue and yellow colors in the original embroidery still look good, but whatever was in the centers has suffered over time so I just colored it purple.

Brick stitch pattern #5

2009-02-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is another brick stitch pattern, this time I do not remember what the source is, I didn't record it prominently so I could find it easily later, sorry. But it medieval and German and it does exist. It is nearly identical to the pattern I used for this purse that I made last year. That was copied from a purse on the Diu Minnezît website. I believe they had a source for theirs from an embroidery in the Halberstadt treasure but my German is nearly non-existent and I couldn't read much about it. I love strapwork and basketweave patterns and I feel happy every time I look at my purse so I had to make the pattern.

Brick stitch pattern #4

2009-02-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the next pattern from this late 14th century German embroidered hanging at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. This is a very simple pattern and is also available in a nearly identical version on Master Richard Wymarc's site here but his version does not have color. I like color to get a better idea of the final product.

This one is so simple it does not really require a pattern but I am trying to be thorough.

A completed item using Master Wymarc's version of the pattern is here, a little needle case I made last year. The zigzag is very bold and strong colors such as the red and white in the original hanging really stand out. For all of its simplicity it is one of my favorites.

Brick stitch pattern #1

2009-02-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the next pattern from this late 14th century German embroidered hanging at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It is actually the first one I finished so it is a little out of order. Actually, I patterned this one from an embroidered reliquary box that I mentioned in this post but the same motif is also in the Metropolitan hanging. Many motif were used repeatedly in different embroideries in Germany and some of those same patterns can also be found in other places such as weaving, Opus Teutonicum, and more.

Brick stitch pattern #3

2009-02-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the next pattern from this late 14th century German embroidered hanging at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In the photo of the original it looks like they used blue where I have green but I had already finished the coloring when I realized this.

Brick stitch pattern #2

2009-02-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

Now that I have a functional template for building patterns I am making much better progress than my previous one pattern per year. I think I will actually be able to accomplish my A&S 50 Challenge goal of 50 charted patterns.

I started working on patterns from this late 14th century German embroidered hanging at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It has so many different motifs, there is lots for me to pattern. And it is a color photo so I can try to stay true to the original color scheme when I color the patterns. My colors are not exact but they are pretty close and convey the general idea. I love the way these colored brick stitch embroideries use color so boldly and sometimes inexplicably.

Eventually I plan to make nice PDF handouts like my German counted stitch hero, Master Richard Wymarc. It is thanks to his assistance that I was able to start developing my template in the first place.

I hope you like the pattern and if you use it to make something I would love to see a photo.

Brick stitch patterns are coming!

2009-02-20T00:20:00.000-08:00

I have five completed patterns and have already scheduled them to post, one each day. Tune in for more patterns!

Yummy berry colored silk

2009-02-19T22:13:00.001-08:00

Look what my roommate tripped over on her way into the house today! Some little thread fairy dropped these off on my doorstep without a note or anything. Looks like my friend Renee has fired up the dyebath again. I just love the berry colors, good enough to eat. The tags say cochineal and indigo. One of the colors is a bit grayer than the others, did she mordant with iron instead of alum? I don't know, I am no dyer so I'll have to ask Renee. These are so pretty they deserve to be used in a project. Soon...

New brickstitch pattern

2009-02-18T00:17:00.000-08:00

I was playing with the pattern from the reliquary box as seen in this previous post and I came up with the pattern pictured here. It seems a reasonable extrapolation from the original, especially since many patterns or parts of patterns show up in German embroideries through the centuries (13th-16th in particular). This may even be a pattern used in an embroidery that I haven't seen or don't remember seeing.

Since I do not have documentation for this specific pattern I consider it period plausible, not period.

I used the basic template to create three color schemes because color will strongly influence the finished look. Each of these color patterns is a combination used in an extant embroidery (ie. alternating colors for diagonal rows). I think it is both fun and useful to look at different arrangements without having to make an example of each.

Finally, I think I may have a basic pattern template that I like. It worked out for a simple pattern and if it works out for more complicated patterns then I will finally start working on patterning some of the motifs from various embroideries.

Macclesfield Alphabet Book

2009-01-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen this one before. The link says "newly discovered" but not how new. I wish I could see pics of every page! It looks like the nicest modelbook I have seen. Here is the link:

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/a-designers-portfolio-16th-century-style/

Brick Stitch Scissors Case Completed

2009-01-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

Whew! Here it is, finished at last and just in time. This is a small case for scissors I made as a donation for the Estrella gift basket. The inspiration for the pattern can be found in the color picture from this post. Look at the outfit on the angel on the right. I used two strands of the 2-ply silk from Aurorasilk that my friend dyed; the ground is once again my favorite 24 count linen congress cloth. I couldn't figure out how I wanted it to close so I just made a loop that goes around the bottom of the case as shown to hold it closed. I kind of like it.

Now that I have this finished I have only one more project in progress and I am a bit stumped about what to do next. I want to do something in brick stitch but I'm not sure what. Not another purse, I have three now. Not another needle book either, I have too many of those!

Cleaning out my stuff

2009-01-19T23:38:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, I had a bad problem with shopping and delusions of free time. I bought lots and lots of stuff, I wanted to take home everything pretty. All that stuff sat around my house unused because a girl can focus on only so many interests at once. Since then I have done quite a bit of purging but there is still more left. I still probably have too many hobbies but I have let several go.

If you have an interest in Asian knotwork or lace I have some stuff for you. I will post pictures tomorrow or Wednesday and if you want it then it's yours for the price of postage. I am offering it because I couldn't bear to put it in the Goodwill bag with my unwanted clothes and household items.

Crafty Challenge from Racaire

2009-01-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

Racaire just posted this, I think it will be fun!

A Crafty Challenge
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year.
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well. We all can make stuff!

So far.....
1) Racaire
2) wortschmiedin
3)stolte/Cristina
4) Eleanor-deyeson (for whom I do not have contact info)
5)

My first gesso wooden panel

2009-01-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

In pursuit of making as many things for painting myself, here is my first effort at a wooden panel. It is baltic birch plywood coated with rabbit skin glue, then with a piece of linen applied with rabbit skin glue, followed by six coats of gesso which are sanded with sandpaper up to 1000 grit.

I was very intimidated by the idea of making and applying my own gesso. As a shortcut I used the "Easy Gesso" from Natural Pigments which is mixture of chalk, marble dust and rabbit skin glue; add water and allow to set for a few hours, then use. It really was easy, and now that I feel less intimidated I feel up to the task of making my own gesso from scratch.

A really good wooden panel will have up to 20 coats of gesso, but fewer coats can be OK. I would have used more coats but I made five boards at the same time and did not mix up enough of the gesso. Next time I'll make more gesso and apply more coats. The linen I used was handkerchief weight leftovers from making a chemise, nothing special. I couldn't find any information about what type of linen to use but I figured lighter weight was better.

The orange in the picture is the first one picked off the tree outside my bedroom. I've been watching them grow and ripen for months now and they are finally ripe!

Icon painting, step two

2009-01-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is what the icon looks like after the second time I worked on it. The first layer of paint was applied to most of the image. The dark color will be the shadows of the finished painting. Each successive layer of paint will be lighter. Some grittiness in this layer is normal and visible in the photo. All the paint I am using is tempera, which is egg yolk, wine, water, and ground pigments.

The bole that made up the halo has now been gilded with two layers of gold leaf. Glass gold (gold leaf stacked between sheets of rouge paper) is used rather than patent gold (gold leaf adhered to a sheet of paper). I learned an easy way to transfer the gold leaf, which is generally unruly to work with. Simply place a piece of ordinary wax paper over the leaf, rub it, and the leaf will adhere to the paper. Then cut the paper into more manageable small pieces, making sure that every piece includes a section of the wax paper without gold (this makes the small pieces easy to handle). Voila! Now the gold leaf is easy to transfer!

I also applied another coat of bole to the sides of the piece. In order for the gold to look smooth and shiny the bole must be as smooth as possible. The bole is sanded with successively fine grit sandpaper, finishing at 1000 grit, then burnished. When I started sanding the bole on the sides I discovered I had applied it too thinly and I was sanding down to the gesso. Next time I will have the bole ready for gilding.

My embroidery thread box

2008-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Taschen asked on his blog about what type of thread to use to achieve a period look (He is working on medieval German reproductions). There is some information out there about using spun silk vs filament silk, but I wanted to see a side by side comparison. So here is a little sampler of the threads currently in my embroidery box on 28 count linen. I included cotton and wool threads for comparison purposes and because I had them. I really want to try the Devere silk and now that they have a decent website I plan to order some.

What are your favorites and how do they compare?

Soie Ovale untwisted filament silk, I bought this to try it so I only have the one color. It is nice and flat, even with the two strands I had to use to get good coverage on the linen.

Soie Alger is spun and plied silk with 7 2-ply strands twisted together. Even when the strands are separated the twist is evident. It has a nice sheen and comes in lots of colors and is easier to find than Soie Ovale. I used the same color of Soie Alger and Soie Ovale but there is a distinct difference in the look and sheen. This is one of my favorites because the multiple strands are easy to serarate for different counts of linen, it works nicely, and is available at my local store. A single strand is good for blackwork.

Aurorasilk is 20/2 spun silk with a loose twist. This is my current favorite embroidery thread. It is available dyed with natural dyes or in cones of undyed thread. A friend of mine dyes this silk and gave me a bunch so I have limited amounts and colors. To me it looks similar to some period embroideries. It is nice to work with and because it is thicker I only have to use one or two strands which makes it easier to keep the thread flat. Naturally dyed colors give a wonderful period feel.

Trebizond is a tightly twisted spun silk that I included in the sampler because I have it although I would never embroider with it. It is very difficult to keep the twist even; it untwists or twists more tightly while working which is noticeable in the finished work. It has a lovely sheen, comes in a nice range of colors and works well for kumihimo (that's what I use it for).

Splendor is spun silk popular with embroiderers but I personally hate it. I've had problems with fraying, my blackwork looked fuzzy, and the 12 strands are a pain to separate. I used most of mine in kumihimo experiments just to get rid of it. Soie Alger is similar but much easier to work with. Maybe someone else can give a less biased opinion.

DMC #5 Cotton Perle is included for comparison purposes.

Medici wool is a very fine wool by DMC that was discontinued this year. It is finer than crewel wook and good for fine embroidery but even on 28 count linen I had to use two strands.

Paternayan tapestry wool is thicker than crewel wool. Comes in many colors but many of them do not look like naturally dyed colors.

Angel Icon, step one

2008-12-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

This photo is of my newest project, icon painting. In this beginning step the drawing for the icon has been transfered to the gessoed wood panel with carbon paper, then the primary lines (outline, facial features, major clothing folds) have been scribed into the gesso with a pointed tool. Next the halo and edges of the panel have been painted with red bole. What I will do next is sand and burnish the bole so it is ready for gilding. In the photo you can see the reddish smear in the angel's hair. That is where I accidentally dropped a glob of bole. I will be painting over this area later and the bole will not be noticeable.

There is a church in San Francisco that hosts icon painting classes twice a month and a very nice lady, Betsy Porter, teaches them. They are drop-in, so you can go as often as you want. Each student is given assistance and guidance on an individual basis. The cost per session is $10 - what an amazing bargain! The instructor gives each new student an information packet (cost $10) and has a selection of professionally prepared gessoed boards ready for starting an icon, available at cost. There are also supplies available for students to use, including pigments, bole, tools, etc. For further information, including step-by-step instructions for writing an icon, please look at Betsey's web site www.betsyporter.com.

I have long been fascinated by icon painting and think that it dovetails nicely with my medieval interests. Many current icon painters follow traditions that are centuries old and based on Byzantine painting tradition. Traditional methods are followed as well, including painting on wood panels, using tempura paints made from egg and powdered pigments, and gilding. I am very excited about this new project and hope the skills I learn will enable me to paint more icons on my own as well as enhancing my neglected illumination work.

Next up - scissors case

2008-12-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny how working on something enjoyable is much easier than something that is less enjoyable? My last project seemed to take forever and I had to force myself to work on it. If I hadn't made the rule about not starting a new project until an old one was finished I don't think I would have finished the purse. I like it now that it is finished but I am glad I don't have to work on it anymore.

This new project is much more fun. I really like the pattern, the colors and the project. It is a scissors case for the West Kingdom Needlework Guild service project for 2009. The instructions encourage the use of silver, but that is not really appropriate for German embroidery in my period of interest. I may put a silver bead on it, but no thread. It is due to be turned in by 12 Night 2009 so I can't let the project linger. So far it is working very fast.

In the spirit of the holidays I posed the picture of the completed front of the embroidery in the branches of my Christmas tree.

Whew! Another purse is done!

2008-11-30T23:03:00.000-08:00

About the purse:

The finished size of the purse is 4 1/4 inches wide by 4 3/4 inches high. The sides and handle are needlewoven, the drawstring is 8 strand round kumihimo cord and the lining is linen. I used aurorasilk fine 2-ply silk dyed by my friend Renee in three colors: fustic (yellow), fustic with brazilwood (orange) and brazilwood (red). The ground fabric is 24 count linen congress cloth. The pattern is one of the fill patterns from the Hildesheim cope charted by Master Richard Wymarc.

I am very happy to have finished this little purse. Now that it is done I can start working on the next item on my list. It will be a scissors case and it must be finished before 12th Night.

I finished some embroidery and learned that my cats like Cheerios

2008-11-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

I had a ziplock plastic bag of Cheerios cereal in my work bag for snacking on my breaks. Last night I came home from work and put my work bag down on the floor next to my bed. Today I discovered the bag of Cheerios lying in the hallway outside my room. The bag was chewed and torn and there were Cheerios all over the hall. Silly cats, I already knew to keep sourdough bread double bagged or in a cupboard, but cereal, too?

The determining factor in the size of my new purse was the amount of yellow thread on hand. The person who dyed the thread I am using is out of yellow so I used up what I had and made the embroidery as big as I could. I thought it looked really small but it is the same size as the first pouch I made. This time I decided to make the eyelets for the drawstring before stitching up the sides. It is much easier that way. Hopefully this holiday weekend I will find the time to finish the whole thing.