Tuesday 23 April 2013

P is for ... 10,000 years of writing



Hello again everyone.  Thank you for all your lovely comments on last week’s calligraphy. My tags this week cover over ten thousand years of writing materials and forms of writing.
 Petroglyphs ( rock engravings) date from Prehistoric times.  They are images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, and carving. 

Pictograms are pictures that represent an object or concept.  They were the common form of written communication around 4000 BC. The larger tag has a chart showing the development from Pictograms to the Alphabet we use today. 

Papyrus is an early form of paper made from the papyrus plant. Papyrus was first manufactured in Egypt as far back as the third millennium BC.  
Parchment is a writing surface made from sheep or goatskin, which became popular in the first centuries BC and AD.  Nowadays the term Parchment is also used to refer to a kind of paper or vellum.
Pointed Pen lettering was standard practice from the 18th century. It developed from Copperplate engraving, with its flowing lines, elaborated letterforms and looped flourishes.  I wrote these samples with the new oblique pen that I told you about last week.  Yes, the pen does make copper plate writing easier but it’s still not a style that comes naturally to me!
More recent times has seen the development of a whole range of pens and pencils, 
I included pastel pencils and gel pens on my tag as well as half a coloured Pencil, Purple of course!
 Here is a picture of some Petroglyphs and also my own rock engraving on a tiny piece of slate! 

At the bottom is some of my Pointed Pen Writing as well as a Piece from a Printed Page (the dictionary definition of Paper).
That’s all for now,  looking forward to seeing all your pretty tags, have a wonderful creative week!
Love Jane xx

9 comments:

  1. Very cool and interesting!

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  2. Totally good, love all about it! Valerie

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  3. Great Post Jane. Love how the first tag combines so much history and still looks fab. P was a great letter in the history of the written word.

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  5. Two lovely tags Jane, with lots of interesting info too! I like the colour combinations and fab little piece of engraved slate!

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  6. Wonderfully informative and very interesting post Jane. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Your tags are fabulous. I actually thought of Papyrus too. I think it's a wonderful word,and beautifully written in the calligraphic style :0) Mo

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  7. Interesting Post Jane. Both tag are great. Really Love the little bit of slate you have added, with your own rock engraving! :)

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  8. Interesting and informative!

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  9. Lovely tag beautifully executed. X

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