The objective is to make a scroll that is appreciated and gets hung up in the home. It should also be a work of art that lasts. There are many pathways to this goal. This is one that will serve the beginning and journeyman scribe.

Start with the 100lb weight bristol board, vellum finish, acid free paper, 11 X 14 size. You want to use a standard size so that the recipient can frame his scroll with an off-the-shelf, ready-made frame from the drug store without having to pay out $90 for a frame job.

Draw a border around the outside edge. Come in 1-1/2 inches from the top and sides and 2 inches up from the bottom. Draw it lightly in pencil. Keep all art work and lettering inside these marks. When framed, the scroll will require a mat board to keep the surface of the scroll off of the glass. The mat board will get cut to the boarder marks you put on the bristol board when you started.

For art work, use water-based gouache pigments. For inking use only black india ink, waterproof and permanent. We do not use colored inks, ever, ever, ever. No respectable calligrapher uses colored inks. These are used only for advertising copy that gets reproduced in another medium and the life of the original is totally unimportant. If you want the appearance of colored inks mix up gouache paint until it is thin, lay it into a lettering nib with a small brush and then letter. This is in fact lettering with paint and the result is not only beautiful but permanent. It is also easy. Try it.

When laying out your work within the border remember to leave room for the signatures of their Majesties and a 2.5X2.5 blank space for the kingdom seal.

If you think this isn't enough room then make the scroll larger. Just remember to go up in increments of standard frame sizes that can be gotten at discount stores, craft stores, etc.

Since our scrolls are made under the pressure of a short time frame, we tend do our work in the opposite order from non-SCA calligraphers. They letter and put the art work down second. We usually put the art work down first and letter second. In fact, the art work and lettering are frequently done by different people who may not even know each other. So here is a tip for the artist who starts this work and passes it on to a calligrapher who may have an hour or less to actually finish the job (usually in less than ideal conditions at an outdoor event). Leave enough room for the lettering. Don't put art work down the middle of the page, thus dividing the lettering area. Don't put artwork along the bottom, this is where the signatures and seals go, and this area is adjustable to account for the size of whatever text their Majesties may request. Don't put in lettering lines. These can't be determined until the text is written out and sized for lettering. If you are using an example border as inpiration from a period source, you may have chosen one that was cropped over the years and artwork such as leaves or lines may have been cut out or in half by a previous conservator. Please give your best effort to recreate the missing portions of the artwork. It is not necessary to copy the original errors or mistakes of history. The objective is to recreate the way it should have looked if you were the scribe who had worked on it 700 years ago.

Good luck to all scribes. E-mail me with any questions or comments. I love talking to people.

E-Mail Guido canale@mchsi.com