GEMMA BLACK : ARTIST / CALLIGRAPHER

The Seven Virtues I have this love hate relationship with colour. My work will either be brilliantly colourful or subtly soft. Often I’ll revel in the pure crispness of black and white where my calligraphic soul lies naked for all to see. At the moment I am going through a “seven” phase in my life’s body of work. This rendition of The Seven Virtues just cried out for colour. How can you have “Hope” without colour, I asked myself. Here I have used gouache as my medium not because I wanted the background opaque but because the pigment is more vibrant and stronger. The colours were simply laid on a water wash on 300gsm Arches hotpress paper taped to the table with 1” masking tape, brushed on with a chiselled edge and mixed where I wanted the colour to flow and meld. While the work was wet I gently tooled a calligraphic moving mark into the wetness with a metal stylus. Working steadily, still while the work was wet, I spread layers of aluminium foil across the surface. With my fingers ...

Ampersands & other Ligatures - a two day workshop Jill's experiments - all participants created pages and pages of examples. The following are highly decorative ampersands from the Book of Kells. After much study of, and then research in pairs of both ampersand forms, the origins of the ampersand's nomenclature and it's variety of forms including Tironian Notes this was a relaxing way to wind down the workshop. On the afternoon of the second day we each took a different decorative ampersand from the Book of Kells and worked it in whatever fashion we wanted. The participants could use gouache, coloured pencils, watercolour or pen and ink and only had about two hours to play with these exquisite historic forms. Some participants had illumination experience and others didn't but everyone enjoyed their results. Sorry this one is a little blurred but I wanted to be inclusive rather than not. My demonstration roll - nothing beats the glistening of wet ink flowing off ...

www.ampersandampersand.tumblr.com Hello Canberra here I come with Ampersands & other Ligatures Sit back relax and enjoy the ride!

Looking forward to two days of uninterrupted creativitiy in the studio - woo hoo!

Oboe reed nibbed to a square edge Opening Page A simple four hole limp Japanese bind

Herewith a new small piece I did today. Acrylics, bleedproof with, pens, rollers, brushes on unstretched canvas.

Our magnificent magnolia ... stunning in real life!

Just a taster. Go to ALaW blogspot for all the latest. Enjoy! x gb

These images are better for viewing. A very standard type of family tree.

A couple of images from the James & the Baker Family Trees.

Am working on two family trees. Will send pics when completed ... watch this space!

Here are a few bookmark keepsakes for my Sturt winter school students. They are worked in bleedproof white on ready-made artist's tradiung cards with twine & toggles made by me. The script is a pointed uncial after Mike Kecseg style which was one of three scripts the class was learning.

A side on view of the Churchill Honour Roll (just completed) ... you can just see the raised and embossed letters in the back ground. I though this a really cool pic.