Christmas ornament

Well, Hello!!

It's been so long since I've done anything "medieval" that I haven't had anything to post to the blog. That doesn't mean I've not been reading all of your blogs and staying interested. Also I am still making stuff.

This year we decided to get a really little Christmas tree, only 3 feet tall. It is small enough that I was able to decorate it entirely with handmade (not all by me) ornaments. It's a little more sparsely decorated than I would like, though, so...

Here's a little trinket I made the other day, partially inspired by my desire to work some tiny brick stitch on 40 count linen (because it looks great, or because I am a masochist?). It is a single motif, using 2 strands of Eterna silk on 40 count linen, appliqued to a piece of white wool. The wool is lightly quilted. The edges of the motif are finished with couching. The edges of the ornament are finished with a 4 ply kumi himo braid woven with 4 strands of Eterna thread per ply. There is also a faceted crystal bead just above the tassel.

I bought the Eterna years ago but never used it for some reason; maybe because many of the colors looked like modern dyes? I had forgotten it was filament silk so I was pleased with the sheen. I was not pleased with the way the thread kept catching on my work roughened hands. Using a magnifier lamp made using the fine linen pretty easy, although the magnifier did also magnify previously unnoticed flaws in my manicure. That was rather distressing!

This was a fun little project, and great to have a finished object produced in under 24 hours.

First side of brick stitch purse finished

In a natural setting in all its glory, here is the finished side of a new purse. As usual (since I am still using up a large back stock) it is 3 strands of Soie d'Alger silk thread over 32 count linen. The size of the purse was dictated by the size of linen fabric I had handy in my stash, and I am going to make the other side in a completely different pattern. The colors will be the same and the source of the pattern will also be a Burgundian medieval tile roof. My reason for deciding to do a different pattern on the other side is that I wanted to be able to make an example of another pattern without having to wait until I finished an entire project. I am really not as patient as people sometimes think I am. : )

I'm so glad it is getting to be springlike! These flowers were really cheap at Trader Joe's and I couldn't resist buying them.

Progress on the new pattern

I have been working industriously on the new pattern. As those of you with busy, demanding lives know, finding time for embroidery isn't always easy. I peck away at this a little bit at a time and I am getting much done although not as fast as I would like. I decided to finish the designs first without the background in order to post this photograph. It allows me, and hopefully those of you viewing it, to imagine different color combinations other than the yellow I chose for the background.

I am excited and looking forward to seeing this complete; it motivates me to continue. I am also trying to think ahead and decide how I am going to finish the edges.

Materials: Three strands of Soie d' Alger silk thread on 28 count linen. I'm still trying to use up my backstock of silk thread so I can change manufacturers, although I do like this thread. I just have something else in mind and wish I hadn't purchased so much of it back when I had more disposable income.

Pattern #21

Here it is, the preliminary version of Pattern #21. Although larger than many other designs, it is a repeat. Once the first repeat is stitched, it is fairly easy to continue stitching the pattern.
The inspiration for this pattern is the tiled roof of the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune, France (part of Burgundy). The building was built as a charitable almshouse in 1443 by Nicholas Rolin, chancellor to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. The current tiles were recreated from 1902-7 in the original style.



While not actually German, the pattern and colors are very similar to those of German origin. I tried to stay close to the original colors in my recreation, but it would look beautiful in a variety of color combinations.

New! Pattern #21 in progress

Has it really been two years since I last published a pattern? I guess so! Well, here it is: Pattern #21 in brick stitch. The pattern is based on a medieval tile roof from Burgundy as shown in the book I featured in my last post. It is technically not document-ably German in origin, but it is in the same style and it is a beautiful pattern. I tried to replicate the original colors, but I think it would look beautiful in a number of color combinations.

I am using three strands of Au Ver au Soie silk on 30 count (?I think) linen even weave. My plan is to make a purse that will have one side with this pattern and the other side with a different pattern (the planned Pattern #22), both from the same book of Burgundian roofs. There are extant examples of purses with different patterns on the two sides, although not to my knowledge are there purses with two geometric patterns; the examples I know of are pictorial. However, since the pattern based on roof tiles is purely speculative I don't believe it is too much of a stretch to make a purse with two different patterns. Plausibly it could be a purse made of two older embroideries cut down/repurposed as is demonstrated in other examples.

In this photo I show the embroidery completed in stages: the blue outline that defines the shapes, the patterns within the blue borders, and the completely finished areas of embroidery. I purposely did the embroidery this way in order to photograph it to show you the progress of my work process. Also hopefully it will stimulate your imagination for other suitable color combinations.

Look for the charted pattern at a later time when I have finished more of the embroidery. Thanks to all of you who follow my blog; I realize I have been remiss in publishing for some time and hope to be more active in the future.

Coming back at last!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: