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Dancing in the Night: The Romance of Writing on Dark Paper with Barry Morentz

Writing on black, dark brown, and navy blue paper can be intimidating, but once you are comfortable with the mediums it is lush and visually exciting. We shall write with various white and pastel and metallic colors, while considering the opacity of gouache and the transparency of inks. Beginning with solid colors, we will move on to color blending, wet-on-wet techniques, the use of salt, alcohol and gold powders to create dazzling backgrounds for writing text. We will learn to control our palettes by the incremental addition of white to dark colors. Practical tips for effortless writing on black envelopes will be demonstrated.

Date: Saturday, December 7, 2019
Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Price: $85 members/$105 non-members
Level: Intermediate
Location: SVA Annex, 214 E. 21st Street (between 2nd/3rd Aves), Room 703A

 
 
 
 
 

MATERIALS LIST

  • favorite dip pens, including a few large and small nibs

  • several tubes of gouache: including white, gold, silver and however many colors you wish to bring

  • several colors of transparent inks (such as Dr. Martin’s)

  • a few cheap mixing brushes

  • palette

  • few small sheets black paper (such as Canson, Arches, Cranford)

  • ruler

  • HB pencil

  • Micron Pigma pen size 01

  • brief quote

Calligraphy mail order suppliers have everything and are reliable and fast: Paper & Ink Arts or John Neal Books. Basic supplies can be found locally at Dick Blick and Da Vinci.

INSTRUCTOR

Barry Morentz owns and operates his Manhattan studio where he creates calligraphic works and hand-made books, boxes, and portfolios. He holds an MA in Medieval History, but abandoned pursuit of a doctorate in favor of an even less likely career in calligraphy. Initially self-taught, he began his formal calligraphic studies, primarily with Sheila Waters, in 1977, and eventually with almost every internationally recognized master. A seminal experience was participation in the Hermann Zapf Master Class at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1985, and subsequent paleographic studies in Rome and the Vatican Library. He has taught numerous workshops throughout the US, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and at five international Calligraphy Conferences.

In his midtown studio he ministers to the needs of The New York Public Library, Estee Lauder Companies, Cartier, Columbia University, and The Museum of Modern Art, where he has been The Living Anachronism since 1986. His day-to-day work includes Illuminated Resolutions and Awards Design, Publications Headings, Book and Portfolio Design, and the application of fine lettering in a range of areas. A life-long love for Shakespeare informs and inspires his personal work, which can be seen in numerous publications. In 2002 he realized a long-time goal of studying classical mosaics in Ravenna, Italy, where he learned to execute letters in an ancient format.

After more than 34 years, he remains inspired by the visual and emotional power of letterforms to communicate on a deeply-felt level and to challenge the viewer to discover and interpret the layers of meaning within a text.