March 2019 – Malagentia Scribal Backlog Day

I decided that since I had been going to scribal class for a few months (since October 2018 actually) and really wanted to dive into the world of illumination and calligraphy I wanted to apply what I had been learning and try to help the Kingdom with scroll backlogs. I was an absolute nervous wreck because I had no idea what would be expected of me or what I was even going to create. Up to this point I had learned a number of illumination and calligraphy techniques but had not actually executed anything tangible.

I was placed at a small table in the center of the room with a piece of bristol and started leafing through books for images I though I would be able to complete in the allotted time. Eventually I was joined by Mistress Bryn de la Luna and she took me under her wing to teach me the ways of the squashed bugs!

Small tangent: I absolutely love the squashes bug and late period Flemish realism. It is definitely my “go-to” when making a scroll.

After chatting for about 30 minutes and watching her techniques, I set to work to create my very first scroll… ever. Oh boy was I a sweaty shaking wreck! My final product took about 10 hours (from start to finish, including sketch time) and was given as a back-log scroll for the Kingdom. I used gouache on bristol.

Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lantern) with Odenata and Diptera

dites Grandes Heures d’Anne de Bretagne by Boudichon (1457-1521) published 1505-15-10.

The backlog scroll was awarded at GNEW XXXIII.

With this being such a foreign concept to me, that is, I had never assembled such a work before, of course there were stumbling blocks. That very day I think I had upward of three people tell me to walk away as I waited for the paint to dry so I could start the next phase of painting. I was so eager to keep painting that I forgot one of the most important things about gouache: let it dry. I still think back to this day and chuckle!

More importantly, what I learned that day was that it was OK to ask for help. Had Mistress Bryn not offered some advise I think I would have been too scared to even start! And more importantly, knowing that everyone starts as a beginner is something I truly remind myself all of the time. “Beginnger”can mean something different for everyone, but whatever your idea of “beginner”, the universal understanding is that everyone begins; everyone has a starting point regardless of their skill level going into it, and it is from that point that we develop our skills, acquire our knowledge and eventually pass all of that on to others who are willing to learn. I am so thankful for this day, not just to have produced a scroll, but because I learned more about myself in those 8 hours than I had in a very long time.