Six 2-Hour Sessions
FRIDAYS, APRIL 18 - MAY 23, 2025
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time US & Canada
Live online and recorded sessions.
See description below.
Medieval Manuscript Arts Courses
Grotesques In Your Scriptorium
The Medieval society wasn't all about prayers and plagues.
The painstaking task of copying medieval manuscripts, hand-written line after line, was performed by scribes who spiced up the task! 12th century Europe illuminated manuscripts are teeming with chimerical monsters,
-also known as “drolleries” (whimsical things). This vibrantly colorful and decorative art style combines humans, animals and foliage that seem to appear from unknown worlds.
Participants receive 6-weekly selections of Grotesques from various medieval manuscripts. Choose one or several Grotesques each week to replicate and/or alter to meet your whimsy.
Demos plus tips and tricks are discussed during the Friday Show & Share sessions.
Learn how to accurately reproduce any image, practice verbally sharing your work, give and receive class feedback.
Instructor provides written critiques and the option of free private Zoom meetings, in addition to the class demonstrations, tips and tricks during the Friday session Show & Share.
AIl these components add up to an expressive, fun and creative way to improve and fine-tune your seeing, drawing and painting skills!
All classes are online and recorded. Recording access does not expire.
Download Flyer & Supply List
Welcome to Grotesques with Risa Gettler!
The link to join the LIVE session on Fridays, will arrive via an email for the first session.
The link is also available in a pdf on this platform.
The classroom opens 9:50 am PACIFIC STANDARD TIME
[Check your time zone here]
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IMAGES FOR REFERENCE
Each week, Risa provides images you may choose from to render, create and color.
The Grotesques Images are available in a compressed .ZIP file for download prior to each Friday lesson.
To download images, select the GrotesquesImagesWEEK.zip file. Follow the prompt of where you would like to navigate and store the images on your computer.
HINT: Create a 2025 Grotesques Folder
Inside the folder, create subfolders labeled Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6.
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FIRST WEEK BONUS IMAGES
A Bonus pattern for the first class is now available to work on for our next class.
The bonus pattern is provided or those who would like to start painting early and wish to have Show & Share during the first session.
One line-art pattern is provided for the first session only for those who have not yet learned how to prepare drawings and patterns.
Images for the following week are available on the classroom platform after the Friday class session.
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SUBMITTING HOMEWORK
Homework must be submitted by 12:00 Noon, the Thursday, before the Friday Show & Share session, (including bonus image submissions)
Please submit your homework in any stage, along with your questions and comments, even if you cannot be present at the Live session. Your homework is valued at any stage, as we all learn from each other and benefit by all levels of expertise.
Risa will send a critique for your homework submission(s).
Risa requires a specific method of labeling your files for submission and she will go over this in the first Live Online session:
All finished work should be returned with the same image title & folio number, your name , then the stage of completion (Original, Drawing, Pattern, Painting).
MS #, f. #/artists name/Original or Drawing or Pattern or Painting
Always include the Original as part of your submission.
Here is a homework submission example:
Email Subject line: BL Royal 15 E IV, f. 295v, Sarah Scribe
BL Royal 15 E IV, f. 295v, Sarah Scribe-Original
BL Royal 15 E IV, f. 295v, Sarah Scribe-Drawing
BL Royal 15 E IV, f. 295v, Sarah Scribe-Pattern
BL Royal 15 E IV, f. 295v, Sarah Scribe-Painting
HOMEWORK SUBMISSION BONUS:
Your name goes into a drawing for submitting homework each week for a chance to win nice a prize!
Participants earn one chance per session (regardless of the number of homework submissions for each session).
The winner will be drawn and announced at the end of the Grand Finale (last session) of class.
You do not need to attend the Live sessions to qualify for the drawing, but you must submit homework.
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RECORDING ACCESS
The recording for each session will be available on this platform within 24 hours.
This is the section where all images for the next session will show up on Friday.
This is the section where all images for the next session will show up on Friday.
This is the section where all images for the next session will show up on Friday.
This is the section where all images for the next session will show up on Friday.
This is the section where all images for the next session will show up after class. These are the final set of images for this course.
This is the Grand Finalé for the course.