Making a Manuscript

I'm going to be posting daily for a little while until I can really catch everyone up with where I'm at right now in detail.
There were posts related to what I was doing during that long stretch of silence that I didn't publish which will now have to wait until after I tell you what I've been doing recently. That makes the posting a little out of chronological order, but if I published those other posts first and waited to tell you about what I've been doing recently, it would all be old news. Right? Right. So here we go.

Cover of the Passio Sanctorum Martyrum Decem Milium.

Manuscripts and codexes were the first books to be made before more advanced methods of bookmaking and binding were developed. Printing presses had not yet been invented, so every page of every book made during these times was hand-lettered and all the illustrations were one-of-a-kind. The more decorative of these are often referred to as illuminated manuscripts. Illumination of the page wasn't limited to gold leaf embellishments. They include decorative borders, stylized "drop-cap" initials, which are the large letters that usually start the text or a portion of it, and individual scenes that sometimes but not always relate directly to the text, which are called miniatures.

(click on the pictures to view full-size) 

Pages from a Book of Hours, Les Enluminures (1490), and the Serat Jayalengkara Wulang (1803), a Javanese manuscript.

No matter what their background was, these different groups of people had a desire to transcribe their thoughts to pages to be passed around. From the very beginning, bookmaking has been about the transfer of knowledge and ideas. It really is a powerful thing.
A Book of Hours, as pictured above on the left, was a type of manuscript. They were prayer books for Christians containing different prayers to say throughout the hours of the day, hence the name.

Pages from The Book of Wonders of the Age (17ᵀᴴ/18ᵀᴴ century) and the Book of Kells (c. 800).

One of the projects I was working on while I wasn't writing posts was the making of multiple manuscript pages, each in a different style from a different time period. It was for my History of Graphic Design class. I still wasn't finished when I turned them in. The class ended, and even an extension went by without any of them being completely finished. What work I had done received a B that was much appreciated, but I wasn't about to leave them unfinished. They still need a little work, but not very much.

I had already planned on using them after the class. While staying true to the style of each culture, I wanted to make an original image that I could use later and meant something beyond conveying a likable picture. Some of the pages contain more meaning than others. The ones that do not are more direct, or just meant to convey the style. A lot of reference images were used as inspiration throughout the process, but the overall image and text are all me.

I figured watercolors would be the best choice of medium since it's relatively close in consistency to tempera paint which was traditionally used. They're also very forgiving. You can remove paint you've already laid down just by lifting it with some water and a paper towel.
I used bristol board to paint on, and that was not the best choice to pair with watercolors. I figured since it was a kind of card stock it would hold up better to water absorption. It ended up warping and bending immediately after I stained each page, but I had bought an entire pad of bristol board just for this project, and I already had the idea laid out, so I went through with it anyway. I figured I could mount each page to some kind of heavier board with some adhesive to keep them permanently flat.

Classical (Greek/Roman)

Celtic

Caroline Graphic Renewal

Spanish Pictorial Expressionism

Gothic

Judaic

Islamic

Late Medieval

Now that the class is over, I've decided the collection of pieces are going to be my next series as an artist. I say "next" because I've already started a different series you'll learn more about later, but I'm farther along in this one since it was a class assignment, so this will be technically be my first. There are not enough pages to make a book, and the continuous style and language change would make it a difficult read, but they would look nice framed.

As soon as each of the pages are finished, they're going to be mounted on and matted with board, then mounted again on reclaimed wood I picked up from downtown. I'll show you some of the boards and pictures from that trip tomorrow.

I'll be translating the Islamic and Judaic pages for you guys further down the line. There's also some distinct differences that set some of my pages apart from others made by the culture at that time that I'll also be explaining in the same post, so don't miss out!

Back to the Blog

To those of you who remember me from my previous blogging attempts, welcome back.

To those of you who are new to the weirdness,

Allow Me to Introduce Myself 

     Some people know me as That Kid Who Draws Really Good, so for those of you who don't know, I'm Derek. My life has always centered around my creative work, and if there was ever a time my focus was shifted, I would always find a way to realign it as my axis. In my early childhood it was one thing I could hold onto during a time of unfavorable change and negativity that continued to worsen through my recent emergence into early adulthood. There's something of a good feeling knowing I controlled everything on the page or canvas and how well it turned out. It also made a good sounding board for expressing my emotions since I don't like complaining, and I was sick of hearing people who clearly didn't understand say that they do. Self-pity and negativity aren't the reasons I'm here though, so I digress.

     Currently I'm a student at Henry Ford College. I'm in the process of attaining a certification in illustration while working on prerequisite classes for the bachelor's I plan on getting subsequently after. I've been working towards the goal of becoming a freelance illustrator for some years, but with few connections, I've been figuring it out as I go along. I'm one of those stubborn people who believes persistence is the key. Much of my work has been in graphite, colored pencil, or pen, but I've used a variety of other mediums. I like the challenge of mastering new materials and methods, so I continue to learn what I can about the different artistic media and how better to use them.

     What is Visual Value? You could say it's an inside look at the work and mind of someone who is determined to make a living from their passion one way or another. It's going to be a long and difficult pursuit, but one that I am sure will be worth it in the end (I've seen the alternative - definitely not something for me). With that proud, stubborn determination, I seek to expand my creative knowledge, manifest as many ideas as I can, and venture around in the process. The sharing of ideas and thoughts is central to blogging, so in that spirit I'll be sharing some of the interesting bits of information I find on related creative or subject matter.
     The title Visual Value comes from part of what I hope to achieve in all this: showing others that there's more to this than a hobby or interest. It isn't just nice looking pictures that you can look over in a matter of seconds and know everything about it. The image below is some of my early work, so that's probably a poor example, but there's a whole lot of art out there. Art can convey perspectives, thoughts, ideas, emotions; even if we can't even put them into words. There is value in what we artists and artisans do. Also, everything I do comes back to the visual aspect - making it into art of some kind.

     Why care about the progress and thoughts of a scruffy downriver artist? Perhaps you're a fellow artist, designer, illustrator, or someone who works in a creative field. Maybe you're considering expanding your horizons and trying out some creative ideas. It could be as simple as you like the subject matter and want to learn more about it. I also like discussing various creative topics with anyone that shares an interest, so if something crosses your mind that you'd like to ask or add as input, don't hesitate.
     This could also be of some benefit to those of you who maybe didn't think that a job was possible in a purely artistic field. I can't guarantee anything, but it looks like others have achieved it, so it's definitely possible. Or you might be like me in a sense that you greatly feel the need to break away from the negativity in your life. This will be discussed and encountered as well. If you don't happen to fall into any of those groups, I suppose at the very least you can get a glimpse of the art scene here in southeast Michigan as I make an effort to become part of it. 

     Once or twice a week I'll be sharing, as mentioned, something new in the progression of a project, my travels, recent studies, or the news. At the same time I'll be working on overcoming what I jokingly refer to as my "creative attention disorder."I have a pretty bad habit of starting projects and moving onto new ones before I finish the ones I started. It started some years ago when I started coming up with ideas faster than I could get them on paper. For a time I had to settle for writing them down and making thumbnail sketches so I wouldn't forget them all. Now it's time to check more of those projects off the list. It's true that being stuck in your ways makes it harder to change, but it isn't impossible. The way I see it, if you change what you do on a regular basis, then things will change as a result of that. Basically the same as putting in what you expect to get out. As above, so below.  

     There's still going to be plenty of pictures, so don't worry, but this will primarily be the reading site of the social media forums I plan to use. For solely photos, there's my Instagram (@d.sohoza), where you can catch my day-to-day wanderings and workings. Other sites will follow and be announced as they're ready.

Hopefully this will be enlightening and interesting to us both.
Now to have some fun with it.