Elegant Copperplate - Betty Locke & Marilyn Lundstrom From February 15 to March 22, 2021 twenty-six students met via Zoom to be instructed in the beguiling Copperplate hand. Marilyn Lundstrom very patiently and professionally taught her eager students the basic strokes for the first three sessions. Betty Locke worked her magic for the final three sessions, taking pen and ink work to the next level: turning a letter into a show piece, a word into an adventure, a pen stroke into a piece of art. But - don’t you dare forget the foundational basics! Yes, that is all it is, pen and ink work. But the amount of skill needed to create a letter, a word, a sentence, a paragraph, is overwhelming. We learned that the characteristics of the Copperplate hand, or Engrossers Script, are created by the basic form of an oval and a slant of 55°. The calligrapher uses a pointed pen to create letters of any size and weight and the pressure used is what makes the contrast of thick and thin strokes. Light pressure reduces the flow of ink through the nib producing a delicate thin stroke and heavier pressure opens the nib to let more ink through and to create a thicker line. Pressure is applied only on the downstrokes. There are many different pointed pen nibs, however our Guild has chosen to favour the Brause EF66 [EF standing for extra fine]. For beginners, the nib takes a bit of getting used to, especially when taking the stroke to the left. Without skill the nib catches and ink spatters. Most students used an oblique pen, and some struggled with fitting the nib into the popular Speedball oblique. It took a little nail filing before the nib could be inserted. The students took an opportunity to discuss what paper they were using and how easy or difficult it was for use with the Brause. Some of the recommendations were: Guild practice pad; Canson Pro Layout Marker Pad, Borden and Riley translucent paper; Hammermill 28 lb laser paper {from Staples}. Marilyn created a guideline sheet for circulation which was crucial to determining the size of each letter. With Copperplate there is a baseline, where the letter sits, a header, which is similar to and called ‘x height’, two 36
heights of ascenders and two lengths of descenders.
Marilyn couldn’t impress upon her students enough that Copperplate is a very, very, very slow hand, stopping and starting after each basic stroke. Without the stopping and lifting of the pen, the hand will quickly turn to everyday cursive handwriting. Not that that isn’t lovely in itself, but it’s not Copperplate. Her knowledge and experience of the letters inspired confidence that with practice there was the possibility of seeing progress. Following are Marilyn’s Commandments of Copperplate lettering.
All letters have entrance and exit strokes Letters are drawn at a 55° angle To aid with smooth lettering and proper slant, place paper with slant lines pointing into the middle of your belly Must stop and start with each stroke - Lift pen off paper Squared tops on down strokes No circles. Only ovals Universal line of beauty Terminal dot Work slowly
Betty made flourishing look easy, like an Olympic class ice skater in her gold medal performance. Following are Betty’s Commandments for Flourishing.
Be BOLD, not ‘puncey’ You want a GUFFAW, not a titter Flourishes are extensions of letter strokes Don’t choke a flourish Bring it back to mother OVAL not round Best place for flourishes, top and bottom of the line VARY the style of Flourish Don’t repeat Keep the viewer ALERT AVOID mannerisms Try not to flourish a capital Flourishes can be used to close space between words
Flourishes need to look like the word Light over light or dark but not dark over dark Be afraid and LOVE being afraid
The Zoom Experience was new for many of us and what a good experience. Once some of the bugs were dealt with and the stress dissipated for the instructors and IT folks, it was a relaxed and easy way to be in your own space and yet part of the group. Both presenters gave plenty of opportunity for questions, concerns and feedback. And the fact that the sessions can be recorded and sent out to the participants for future viewing is a major extra bonus. We are so fortunate in the Valley to have the talent and generosity of remarkable calligraphy instructors. Challenging for experienced members and inspiring for newer learners. There is much to be proud of. In closing, Judi Hopewell created the following poem regarding our workshop and has given permission for its publication here. Judi had a little nib, an EF 66 So she joined a penman’s class, To learn a few new tricks. One has to go quite slowly, With pressure very light, And one has to practice, Morning noon and night. The oval form is central, When learning Copperplate And lovely loops essential, That we must emulate. Swells and hairlines matter, So learn to do them well. And squaring off will make your work shine, More than you can tell. Consistent slope and spacing, We need on every line And using decent paper, Will add to your design. Beware of Titivillus, Fiendish little imp. Whose joy in our scriptoria, Is making us blob ink. If stars align and we work hard, Our work will turn out well But if that pesky elf is about, Our piece will look like _____!
- Catherine Coulis
