On Sunday, November 1, crowds of pen and writing enthusiasts converged on the Toronto Reference Library today for Scriptus Toronto, a show dedicated to the art of writing. And, of course, we couldn’t go and not come home with a new pen and ink colour. Alongside pen and ink vendors at the show, the Calligraphic Arts Guild of Toronto put ink on paper and treated visitors to various styles of calligraphy.
Our Creative Director and illuminated manuscripts lover, Nancy, spent a Saturday in her element at the Calligraphic Arts Guild of Toronto’s workshop, Illuminated Medieval Artwork, with instructor Debbie Thompson Wilson.
Old Master techniques fascinate us and metal point drawing is no exception. With metal point, artists can produce beautifully rendered drawings with delicate lines, but the medium is also unforgiving of errors.
We recently travelled to Washington, DC to see Drawing in Silver and Gold, a “shimmering” exhibition dedicated to this medium. We brought home the exhibition catalogue, and it’s paired in this photo with the notebook featuring Leonardo da Vinci’s fantastic Warrior (a silverpoint drawing included in the exhibition) purchased on one of our first visits to The British Museum. The exhibition has completed its run in Washington and will be on view at The British Museum later this fall.
This garden-inspired exhibition was rich with examples of beautiful botanical art, but this exquisite book was a standout for us. By Alberto Sangorski, this presentation copy of Francis Bacon’s essay Of Gardens (1625) was created for Queen Alexandra. Dated 1904, the manuscript is vellum gold and bodycolour, and bound in vellum.
In May we travelled to London and visited the Natural History Museum’s exhibition, Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Seas. What a fantastic exhibition! In addition to appreciating the specimens on display for their intrinsic value, we took away a massive number of photos and inspiration for future art projects. For World Oceans Day, we are sharing a few of the exquisite coral forms and textures we spotted at the exhibition. #WorldOceansDay
For the third year in a row I joined 200+ other creative keeners in the ARTiculations Fill’er Up Sketchbook Challenge. We all took up the challenge of doing something–anything–creative in our sketchbooks each day for the month of March. The sketchbooks are now on display until April 26 at ARTiculations.
For me the challenge wasn’t so much about being creative because I work in the industry (kinda got to be); it posed a challenge because I had no rules or restrictions to follow, no client requests, no starting off point. I had free reign, and it was tough getting going. Sparked by my interest in all things aquatic and medieval decorative arts, I doodled chalices and sea creatives, and also combined them on a few occasions.
Here are a few pages from my sketchbook. I hope you enjoy them, and I encourage you to pop into ARTiculations located in Toronto’s Junction to check out the great collection of sketchbooks on display, especially by the grades 5/6 students.
Nancy Moniz, Mondegro Creative Director
The challenge: Get creative each day for a month. In it’s third year, the Fill’er Up challenge by Toronto art supply store, ARTiculations, asks participants to get creative in their sketchbooks by drawing, painting, writing, etc. The challenge runs for the month of March, with an exhibition of sketchbooks to follow in April at the shop. We’ve once again plunged back in and signed up.
Poet John Keats died on February 23, 1821. Following his death, his close friend Joseph Severn wrote, “I am broken down beyond my strength.” We had the opportunity to visit the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, which is now a museum dedicated to the English Romantic poets, and is also the place where Keats died, aged just 25.
Shades of grey and gold on these ‘erotically charged’ 19th c. boots that mimic a stockinged leg in a shoe. On display at the Bata Shoe Museum’s exhibition Fashion Victims: The Pleasures and Perils of Dress in the 19th Century.
Beautiful craftsmanship and a whole lot of sparkle made for a great night at the museum. Last night’s #ROMspeaks featured the documentary Masters of Dreams: The Italian Jewellers, and visitors had an opportunity to see the Royal Ontario Museum’s Earth’s Treasures Gallery at night.