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Reviving an ancient art

By BETSEY BRUNER
Community Editor
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Pen, nib, brush, paint, ink and paper: In the hands of a skilled calligrapher, these tools become fluid instruments to convey emotion through forms, especially letters.

From the earliest renderings on cave walls, to Assyrian etchings on beeswax and Egyptian hieroglyphics on papyrus, calligraphy (from Greek kallos, "beauty," plus graph, "writing") has gone beyond plain penmanship, as scribes explored the creative possibilities of lettering. For more than 50 years, Jan Petrucci, a Flagstaff resident since 1988, has been learning the fine art of calligraphy and expounding its virtues to the public.

"I welcome the chance to speak for the calligraphic arts," Petrucci said. "I love to show the difference between hand-lettering and computer enhanced. It's about passion and feeling flowing from the end of a tool!"

A FADING FORM

Petrucci said the warmth of hand-lettering is not as popular as it once was.

"There used to be more market for this until the computer," she said. "It's just a little more on the back burner. People want things to go faster. It's the art of convenience and the culture we're in right now. Computers have a little stiffer feeling than what comes out of the calligrapher's hand."

There is still a modest demand for calligraphy on wedding and party invitations, fancy labels, posters, fliers and certificates.

Petrucci also maintains a calligraphic correspondence with other practitioners of the art and saves them in her "buddy folder."

Petrucci, 71, has been married to Joe Petrucci, a retired fireman, for 35 years and is the mother of Nick, 34, and Ben, 32.

In her well-organized studio behind their house near The Arboretum, she teaches private students how to use the demanding tools of calligraphy.

"It's always a fight between you and the tools," said Petrucci, who has taught calligraphy since the 1970s. "When you first study, you're so tight, because you're trying to make everything more perfect. It's more like drawing, because you're concerned about positive and negative shapes."

BONE STRUCTURE OF LETTERS

Adding to the fluidity of calligraphic forms is the use of watercolor paper with a high rag content, either hot press (smooth surface), or cold press, with more texture.

When teaching a new student, Petrucci often starts with Roman forms and uncial letters, which are based on the circle.

Petrucci uses a hanging chart to show the historic progression of lettering.

"We need to understand the bone structure of a letter before we put the meat on it with tools," she explained. "I think italic is my favorite; you can compress them or stretch them out."

Beginning students often use a dip pen with a C-2 nib or point (3 mm).

"It seems to be one of the most flexible ones," she said. "There are all different kinds of pens and points. The tools change how you write. You can write large with a small tool, or small with a large tool. It's all about line and texture and color and composition."

If a student has a heavy touch, she recommends the German Brause pens. If they have a lighter touch, she advises them to use Mitchell pens.

"Teaching is my first love -- to see the 'Aha' happening when a student makes a form they're finally happy with!" Petrucci exclaimed.

Petrucci has also taught locally at Coconino Community College and NAU.

AN ART FOR THE SPIRIT

Petrucci's voice was prominent during the Arizona promotion of the new illuminated Saint John's Bible, selections of which are on display at the Phoenix Art Museum through March 9.

"The Saint John's Bible has helped in this revival of calligraphy," she said. "It is the first hand-calligraphed and illuminated Bible of the 21st century."

As a former member of a religious community for 18 years, the School Sisters of Saint Francis in Wisconsin, Petrucci is no stranger to religious art. With a degree in art, she taught kindergarten through 12th-grade students from her early adult years.

Ultimately, she chose the secular life.

"It was the School Sisters that gave me the love of art and the tools to create it during my lifetime," Petrucci said.

Two colorful examples of her own spiritually-inspired calligraphy are hanging inside The Journey, a Christian church on South University Heights Drive.

"We need to bring the arts back into the church that we seem to have lost since Medieval times," Petrucci said. "I really enjoy doing spiritual arts. Calligraphers are always doing something uplifting or something that makes you think."

LEARNING FROM 'BEAS'

A member of the Calligraphic Society of Arizona for many years, Petrucci is always eager to learn new calligraphic techniques and try new tools.

She has taken more than 40 workshops with different people through the years, including studying under Dick Beasley, the renowned calligrapher and multimedia artist who taught at NAU for 25 years until his death in 1992.

A campus gallery and an art scholarship are named after him.

Like many students and friends, she called him "Beas."

"He was such a colorist," she said. "It was Beas who introduced us to a process of putting various inks on watercolor paper and bringing it to the sink to make interesting color flow and forms on which to add our calligraph."

For more information about calligraphy events and instruction, e-mail Jan Petrucci at janshand@yahoo.com.

Betsey Bruner can be reached at 556-2255 or by e-mail at bbruner@azdailysun.com.

Sidebar:

Some general terms for the calligraphic arts

Ascender: The part of a lowercase letter that rises above its body (b,d,h).

Blackletter: A general term for Medieval alphabet styles, so called due to their heavy, black appearance.

Cursive: A script inclining toward handwriting or continuous writing.

Descender: The part of a lowercase letter that extends below the baseline (g,y,p).

Ductus: From Latin, meaning "conducting." Information showing the number, order and direction of strokes that go into making a character.

Flourish: From the Latin meaning "to flower." An unnecessary stroke pulled out or added for the purpose of ornamentation.

Half-uncial: More cursive in character than uncial. Used in "Book of Kells" and popular in British Isles from 6th to 8th century.

Hand: General term for a given style of writing or lettering done by hand.

Hairline: The thinnest possible stroke a pen can make.

Illumination: Decorated letters adorning pages of Medieval manuscripts. Often have gold leaf on them.

Ink: A fluid used for writing. From the Latin encaustum, meaning "burnt in." Water and gum are added to soot for make carbon-based India ink. Italic: A forward sloping Humanist letter. Originated in Italy in early 16th century.

Minuscule: Lowercase. A small letter

Majuscule: Capitals, uppercase. A large letter, originally derived from the letters of ancient Rome.

Papyrus: A portable Egyptian writing surface made from strips of a tall aquatic plant, Cyperus papyrus.

Parchment: A prepared skin used for the purpose of writing or drawing, usually calf, sheep or goat.

Pencil: Latin pencillus, meaning "little tail." A small brush used by Roman and Medieval scribes for detail work.

Quill pen: A pen cut from one of the primary feathers of a large bird, such as a goose or turkey.

Rag: Rag refers to the cotton or linen content of paper.

Reed pen: A pen fashioned from a reed. Probably the oldest form of pen. The Egyptians began using a cut reed about 600 B.C.

Romans: A general term used to describe the category of letterforms that are based on the classical inscriptional capitals of the Romans.

Rustic: Very early style of writing using steep pen angle and a narrow form. Space saver.

Serifs: Finishing marks found on the ends of the strokes of a character.

Stem: The main part of a letter, usually the vertical or diagonal strokes.

Stress: The direction of the thickening of a curved stroke.

Uncial: An early Christian and Roman book hand.

Versal: A single letter used at the beginning of a chapter, verse or paragraph. Usually highly decorated.

-- Sources: "The Art & Craft of Hand Lettering," Annie Cicale, 2004, Lark Books; "Calligraphy," Don Marsh, 1996, North Light Books; and "The Calligrapher's Bible," David Harris, 2003, Barron's.

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