Celtic Book Riddle
A limited edition fine print
13" x 19" archival inkjet limited edition print 90lb watercolor paper with a matte finish.
A limited edition of 150 prints, each signed and numbered.
Margins have been cropped in the image above, in prints they are more ample, suited to framing.
Text extracts from medieval riddle songs about the making of manuscripts from ox-hide. A once-dumb ox now has words, as a parchment book. A quill pen is a bird’s once wind-stiff joy.
I used a hybrid script I derived from combining characteristics of Celtic half-uncial with a sympathetic form of italic. The illustrations feature an ox at left and the book that it becomes at right. The book displays a carpet page (a flying carpet is evoked). This is filled with repetitions of the ox face. There's a lot of detail in subtle colours relating to the natural tones of the vellum pages. The Celtic spiral patterns were constructed with compasses. These contrast with a multitude of freehand flourishes, many of which terminate small drawn animal heads.
LONG-LASTING ARCHIVAL MEDIA
Printed from an Epson SC P800 using Epson’s 9-color UltraChrome ink system at 2880 dpi on Epson acid-free watercolour paper, a combination to ensure long-lasting quality. Wilhelm Imaging Research (www.wilhelm-research.com) suggest prints using this combination of ink and media will last for over 90 years without appreciable fading, based on indoor display framed under glass. Dark Storage Stability Rating at 73°F/50%RH is indicated to last more than 200 years. Detail is super fine at this resolution, almost ten times better than commercial printing so that even under a magnifying glass, prints hold up to scrutiny.
