Building A Cathedral,Part 1

                                                     John 3:16 cathedral calligraphy piece



   Greetings and salutations! I thought for this installment that we would explore an older piece that I am asked about from time to time, the John 3:16 piece whose capital and borders are done as the principal forms of a cathedral. The idea for this came to me about 5 years ago during the early stages of my "time to get serious about art" phase. I had been practising writing and painting for a short time and began wondering if it were possible to combine calligraphy with portrait painting and sculpting. From there,the seeds were planted to begin the experiment. Of course,I had absolutely no idea of what materials to use or even what to do,though I did know that the piece would be centered around the John 3:16 verse. Basically,the style that was settled upon was drawn from my adoration of Gothic architecture,particularly the Rheims and St. Chapelle cathedrals in France. After choosing a motif,the final conundrum was to figure out what material to use for the sculpting. Around that time,a friend had given me a barely used jug of Gesso from a deceased family member who had done mostly oil painted landscapes. After some research and finding out that modern Gesso is basically a type of acrylic plaster,I figured it had to work! Finally,all of the materials were worked out and the next step was to begin the project. To be clear about it,when beginning this piece,I always kept in mind that it was purely an experiment and that it would probably end up in the trash pile....luckily,it didn't!
    Before we get into the details,the most asked question I get about it is,"How do you get the acrylic Gesso to shape up like you want it to"? Anyone who has messed with gesso knows that in its regular form,it is pretty thin and runs almost like water when applied with a pen. There is no magic formula or special process involved. Simply pour an amount of the gesso into an open container and let it set for 2 or 3,or more days. It will begin to set up in the open air and will need to be stirred once in a while. The initial drying process has the effect of thickening the gesso and after a couple days or so,it will be to the point that it can be applied with a dip pen and will be malleable enough to manipulate into the shapes that you want.If it becomes too thick,you can add a few drops of water and stir it until the consistency you want is reached. Once you begin working with it and get the "feel",it will become much easier to keep the gesso balanced to the mix that you desire. Without further adieu,we will get in to the materials and the mechanics of the piece!
   For a paper foundation,I decided to use a pre-primed canvas paper measuring 20"X 24". I chose the canvas paper because it was thick and tough enough to handle the weight of the large amounts of gesso necessary to complete it. As with any piece, the layout is always most important as it determines the foundation of what goes where and the aesthetics of how it will look when finished. For this, the first part that was laid out was the capital details and the lettering.The lettering was done with gouache water paint thinned enough to be applied with a steel nib dip pen. See Fig.1 for the lettering and the initial penciled layout of the capital. I will apologise here for the poor quality of the photos as I did not have a high quality camera!

                              Fig.1 - pencil layout for the capital and the lettering of the verse.


   Hopefully from Fig.1,you can see the layout well enough to get the idea for what was being attempted. For the capital design, the main portal of Rheims Cathedral was used for inspiration. The text was my attempt at doing a kind of flourished German fraktur lettering. The capital letter "F" is a type of extremely complex and ornate 17th century German calligraphy form called "Kunestrichtigesch". You may note here that initially the capital letter was flat and red rather than the final version which is raised and copper leafed. Remember,this piece was purely experimental and always subject to change at the drop of a hat. Now that we have seen the lettering and the rough capital layout,we will get a closer look at the application of the gesso.

                                                         Fig.2 - Gesso applied for first statue.


   Fig.2 shows a close up the statuary section located at the bottom of the capital letter section. Here we see the gesso applied for the column structures and the first statue......I am left handed,therefore everything is done in the reverse(right to left) of what you may be used to. You can also see here a much better view of the layout as well and how the gesso is pretty much kept within the bounds of the lines. The gesso on this entire piece was applied and shaped with a straight steel pointed dip pen. It was done slowly and carefully in layers,so patience and perseverance is the key here! The details of the statue was done by laying down a thick layer and working it in as it began drying. Gesso,when put on thickly,dries from the outside inward and the outer skin layer begins to take on a "rubbery" effect. You can use the dip pen to VERY carefully move and shift the outer layer around to achieve shapes such as the wrinkles on clothing. I say VERY carefully because if you puncture the outer layer,the gesso will actually deflate! Another important thing to remember is that when it is completely dried,it ALWAYS goes through the dreaded shrinkage.....that is just the nature of the beast! So,if you do puncture it and of course,go through shrinkage after working hard to get a nice beautiful statue,don't get distraught or discouraged. Simply apply more layers and carefully work them in until you get the effect you are after.
   Another question I am frequently asked is,"How do you get the delicate traceries to remain suspended above the paper with no support of any kind?" Unfortunately,that is a trade secret and I would be banished to the gulag if I were to divulge it! Well,not really....and I will divulge it to you! The secret to doing nice suspended traceries is nothing more than the use of paper. Even in its thickened state,gesso would be almost impossible to cantilever out under its own weight. The best paper I have found so far to use is the thick backing board paper that is commonly used by comic book collectors to provide support for their plastic bags. All you need is an X-Acto knife,or similar to cut out the designs....and always use a good magnifying light or lens in a well lit area. After cutting out the design,simply brush a couple coats of gesso on it. The gesso penetrates the fibers of the paper and when dried,becomes very stiff and still retains malleability to allow shaping. You can then "glue" it onto the piece with drops of gesso and build it up thicker and more ornate. You can achieve mindblowing results with even the smallest parts and pieces this way!

                                                   Fig.3 - At the half way point of the statuary.

                                                        Fig.4 - The completed statuary.


   In fig.3,we see the progression of the statuary through the halfway point and the finished section with all the details added in Fig.4. As you can see,the statues and columns are only half figures that emerge from the paper. In retrospect,if I had to do it over,I would have done full columns and full bodied statues independent of the paper.....but again,I was just beginning to learn the process of it at that time. In pieces such as this,you can leave it completely white as many sculptures often were in the cathedrals,or you can paint them to achieve a fuller depth and more ornate appearance.

                                                          Fig.5 - Painted and detailed section.


   In Fig.5,the fully painted statuary is presented. The paints used on the statues are all oil paints,and the backgrounds painted black. The structural parts were done with mica powders mixed with transparent gesso. The powders used are Antique Bronze,Copperplate Gold and a mixture of antique bronze with a couple drops of black ink. This is used to give it more depth and a somewhat weathered look You may be asking about the dimensions of this section. The height overall is 3 inches and the distance from center of column to center of column is 1 inch. The statues are app. 1 3/4 inch tall by 5/8 inch wide. The overall width of the statuary is 13 inches.
   That is about it for this turgid episode. Tune in next time and we'll continue this series by explaining the outer framework and doorway statues around the capital letter. Hopefully,this will help give you some ideas for your own works, Good luck!