A book for Giles and EzaBella

 

 

 

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

As a scribe just getting started one of the things people tell you to do is practice... a lot. I'm not big on drills and neither was  Maeva so one day we came up with a plan. I thought it would be cool to combine the art of scrolly stuff with book making ( another passion) and suggested that together we make a present for the Royalty at the time, Giles and EzaBella, in the form of a small book of medieval miscellany.

I sized ( roughly 5"x7") and divided paper between us, Fabriano rag paper for print making, and off we went. We discussed our pages so we didn't double up on anything and pretty well combined a bunch of styles, with poetry and images from manuscripts we thought were appropriate. It was a little competitive which was great ( because who doesn't like a little bit of a push) and it was also a wonderful friendship piece. Once all the pages were done I bound them with linen book binder's thread into a heavy suede leather cover ( massive hide piece I had found on a flea market) using ketten and long stitch, something I had learned in book arts class. Then, at Two Seas Galore, ( I think)  together we timidly approached the Royal couple, because at this time we were still in awe of Royalty, and gave them the gift. It was big moment and I still remember it fondly.

It's also a fabulous showing of our two styles. As you can see from the images above, we complimented each other but were also very different. The last 8 pictures are of my half of the book so you can see how it looked before it was bound.

As a new scribe finding projects that will help to better a skill, especially really fun projects like gifts etc..., is just so much more interesting than letter drills. I have done my fair share of these but I find the practicality of actually writing something tangible and flowing lets me get a better handle on how it all looks and where I make my mistakes. Everyone finds their own way, this is one of mine.