Kells Inspiration For Calligraphy Course
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday November 19, 1991
THE Book of Kells is a tapestry of vibrant, fantastic and intricate art and the four illuminated gospels, 1,300 years old, sing with energy.
The decorations on every page show a high level of artistry: amazing creatures - winged beasts and coiling, snapping snakes - and intricate spirals are at once beautiful, very vigorous and colourful.
The four gospels, designed and executed on parchment by monks at a monastery in Kells, Ireland, are a monumental work that took many years to complete.
The four books, housed now under glass and guarded vigilantly at Dublin's Trinity College (there are facsimiles in the NSW State Library) have "carpet pages" full of wondrous decorations that suggest the magic of the Celts blended with influence from the Orient and Coptic Egypt.
The depictions of human figures were influenced by the notion that it was a crime to copy the actual appearance of a living person. So arms, legs, body, hair and beard were all interlaced with one another.
The gospels, retrieved after being stolen and buried in the ground for two months in the year 1006, are one of the most exciting and challenging examples of sacred art and calligraphy in the world.
They have fascinated Elaine Witton, one of only 10 guild members of the Australian Society of Calligraphy, for years - and her weekend workshop in calligraphy based on The Book of Kells will introduce beginners to the magic of the monks' art.
For Ms Witton calligraphy is both a passion and a profession - she teaches it - and she hopes to not only give students a basic grounding in the art and the intricacy of The Book of Kells, but to inspire them to further study.
She will show them other illuminated books of the period, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and use these for ideas about constructing knots, decorations and spirals.
Students will also be taught how to use the broad-edged nib so they can understand how calligraphic shapes are formed.
"I will help them discover the characteristics of the script - such as letter height, pen angle, relationship between width and height, interline spacing and so on," Ms Witton says.
"There is so much to discover and students will find The Book of Kells a treasury of riches," she says.
* Course details, page 3
© 1991 Sydney Morning Herald