Pen World Magazine Article

troke
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Calligraphy
ultivating
BY DEBORAH BASEL
A happy accident gives rise to a notable
career for one inspired calligrapher.
I
t 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
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 2010.
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 2014. 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
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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
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.”
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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.