Pure Structure
Runes, a base camp for writing, spacing, designing, painting.
Drawn To Runes
This post is timed to coincide with the beginning of my Norse Runes calligraphy class, last offered over a year ago. I thought today I would try to dispel some common preconceptions regarding runes, other than that they are 1) old and 2) not used anymore, and to show what can be done with them in visual art. To know them is to appreciate pure form and structure that is devoid of cultural nuance. Getting a bit more familiar with runic forms, like anything, requires curiosity, desire, time, and attention, and they might just fit well into your current creative exercise.
Building blocks
We learn by writing the runes within a template, just as you would do with the Roman majuscules, all letters relating to each other proportionally. Stems are easy, just a straight vertical, but angles and terminal points must relate to each other. We discuss each rune, its name, pronunciation, history, connotations, variations and how it fits into the grid. The result is envisioning the runes in a single footprint.
I designed the Norse Runes Template as a guide, similar to the circle/square grid used for learning a typeface or writing system, but divided into sixths horizontally, for flexibility of placement, and into fourths vertically. We write the runes into this grid.
Atmosphere and feeling
Studying the historic inscriptions and runestones with your inquiring eye can spur an idea for a drawing. It can start your line in a certain direction while the mood of the past joins in.
The tall, narrow runes in this recent discovery date from the 1st c. CE. They sparked my idea for incised, narrow lettering in the demo below. I turned the subtle runic text—the written word remains—upside down and added some writing. The two bird foot symbols are typically used in runic texts to denote the beginning and ending of a phrase or sentence in Elder Futhark. I repurposed them here.
In the experiment above, I used a small panorama watercolor block with a band of tall, narrow runes written with a precisely pointed ruling pen and Pebeo drawing gum. The marks became incised in places and the resist held nicely in other areas, suggesting overall a shadowy presence when overlaid with watercolor and gold metallic pigment.
In the image below, the runes were written edge to edge on a small square watercolor block, with the intention of creating a structure and tonal suggestions for spatial effect. A small accent block was added for balance and potential use as location for an initial or other mark. Basically, this forms a first layer or background into which you can write or draw, adding elements gradually over time, as ideas occur.
The long and short of it is we have guided time to test new areas and discover the beauty of subtlety thanks to these pure, strong forms.
Runes can be used with resist and watercolor, or applied in your own way of producing marks and atmosphere with paint or otherwise. The method is the magic.
Explore working with new forms, tools, and media. It’s about the doing of it, the discovery, and the satisfaction of transformation. We’re blooming. We’re not blooming idiots!
Thank you all for reading and enjoying my posts. It’s great to be here with you.
Registration is open for Art 53 - Calligraphy Design and Norse Runes, beginning next Wednesday, January 29, 2025. More on my website. I hope you can set aside some time for pulling in some new skills!
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