It was a lucky accident that brought. ultivating. A happy accident gives rise to a notable career for one inspired calligrapher.

Transcription

1 roke C ultivating BY DEBORAH BASELalligraphy A happy accident gives rise to a notable career for one inspired calligrapher. It was a lucky accident that brought Harvest Crittenden to the world of calligraphy. While living in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1978, she decided to take a calligraphy course. It wouldn t require many supplies, she thought, and she missed being in an art class. It turned out to be a decision that would change her life. Her teacher was none other than Dick Beasley one of the country s top calligraphers. She studied broad pen lettering and was soon hooked on the craft. A passion for handwriting, however, was nothing new to Crittenden. She recalls being obsessed while learning Palmer Method cursive at age seven with obtaining the perfect slant, spacing and structure in her handwriting and throwing away countless sheets of crumpled paper in her quest for perfection. Since taking that first class in Arizona, Crittenden has traveled multiple times to Italy and Ireland to study medieval manuscripts directly at the source. She has since studied broad pen with such notables as Sheila Waters and Peter Thornton and continues to seek evaluation and

2 3 The calligrapher and examples of her decorative borders insight from her former teachers. Michael Sull, her mentor for pointed pen, led his already skilled and internationally renowned pupil through the process of becoming a master penman, and she was inducted at the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting (IAMPETH) annual convention in She is a past winner of the Marjorie Pavelich Calligraphy Grant and past president of the Michigan Association of Calligraphers. This year, she begins as the new director of the Spencerian Saga, replacing Sull, who first approached her about this several years ago. She and Sull are currently working on a comprehensive engrossing manual, tentatively scheduled for release in Even with these impressive credentials, Crittenden remains approachable. Her teaching style is organized and focused, yet her positivity is contagious and her praise and encouragement generous and constructive. Her current business, Acorn Arts, grew out of an earlier business, called the Gold Leaf. Crittenden had cultivated

3 a successful business making hand-gilded and hand-lettered wood nameplates for paintings, but after twenty years, the repetitive nature of the work gnawed at her spirit, and she yearned to do something more creative. So she sold the business and started Acorn Arts. The logo for the Gold Leaf had featured an oak leaf that turned into a quill. She decided to use an acorn to plant the seed for her new business, and Acorn Arts was born. From childhood, Crittenden has always been an intensely spiritual person. Her favorite type of work emulates the illuminated manuscripts of the medieval period, and she often holds classes at such venues as the Saint Michael Institute of Sacred Art on Connecticut s Enders Island. She prefers teaching week-long classes over weekend workshops, since that gives everyone a chance to step away from the frenetic activities of their daily lives and for peace, grace and beauty to step in, through classes with such alluring names as Lyrical Lombardics, Bodacious Borders and Voluptuous Vining. Crittenden believes in involving all of the senses in the learning experience. She talks of the smell of the ink, the feeling of the pen on the paper, hearing the scratching sound the nib makes, and she even provides tasty treats associating round candies with the roundness of uncial script or oval almonds with Spencerian script. One of her favorite classes to teach is her Gratitude Journal class. Over the course of a week, students explore the meaning of gratitude and learn different types of hand lettering along with techniques for creating decorative effects, such as an antique look. As the week comes to a close, they meditate for half a day, and then bind all of their pages together to create a book. Whenever she teaches at a destination like Enders Island, Connecticut, Crittenden often adds a day to her trip to give presentations at libraries and schools to expose people not only to calligraphy but also to the joy of cursive writing. She is intensely concerned about the present state of cursive instruction in the public schools and says, If people lose their writing skills, they lose more below An example of Crittenden s work opposite Her engrossing certificate

4 Engrossing Subject IAMPETH defines engrossing as an art form where a body of text, usually congratulatory or memorializing in content, is designed and ornamented with elaborate border treatments and decorative words and letters.

5 Nuts and Bolts Crittenden favors inexpensive Japanese fountain pens for personal correspondence and drawing, citing their quality and consistency and generally purchases readily-available Parker ink. She enjoys working on natural vellum whenever possible. Her favorite pointed dip pen nibs are the Nikko G and Zebra G, and she likes Brause and Speedball nibs for broad-edge work. She used to grind her own dip pen ink using Japanese stick inks, but now finds that Moon Palace Sumi ink provides a similar and consistent black for dip pen use. than just writing skills, they lose the ability to read letters. Writing provides important cognitive connections in the brain in childhood that help with future studies. If the skills are not passed on, then the children don t know how precious those things are. But she also believes that the pendulum has swung and that we re now seeing resurgence in demand for cursive writing skills from such unexpected quarters as graffiti and tattoo artists. Her interest in things sacred and medieval doesn t preclude capability with technology. Crittenden believes that technology can be used to honor the past and revive old skills. She leverages her impressive Internet skills to promote her business and make classes accessible and affordable for more students. She offers online correspondence classes in copperplate calligraphy and Photoshop for calligraphers. One of her recent online classes attracted students from nine different countries! Outside of lettering arts, Crittenden enjoys knitting. In the winter, I make big pots of soup, bake bread and knit, she says. For more information about Harvest Crittenden and her class schedules, visit acornarts.org. DEBORAH BASEL is a contributing editor for PW. She teaches calligraphy and enjoys journaling and letter writing. The author thanks Dr. Joe Vitolo for allowing references to his video interview on the IAMPETH website, iampeth.com.