Conception Abbey
Conception, Missouri

Tower Topics ~ Winter 2007

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Brother Michael: Monk Scribe

Calligraphy has been an interest of Br. Michael for some 37 years. In his freshman year of college at Conception Seminary he enrolled in a Saturday morning extra-curricular class in calligraphy taught by Fr. Jonathan Schneider, O.S.B. It was an instant attraction. He continued to do lettering throughout the years, however he didn't take a really serious interest until he was appointed to assist Fr. Norbert Schappler, O.S.B. in the art department of the Printery House in 1992. Corresponding with the Printery House calligraphers and having to critique their work rekindled his interest in this ancient monastic art. In the summer of 1994 he attended a four-week course in lettering in Gaithersburg, Maryland taught by British calligrapher Sheila Waters. Br. Michael taught a calligraphy course at Conception Seminary College the following winter. He spent another week studying with Sheila in the summer of 1995 and attended the international Lettering Arts Conference at St. Mary's City, Maryland.

Brother Michael at his desk in the Printery House. Calligraphy comes from Greek κάλλος kallos "beauty" + γραφή graphẽ "writing."

Attendance at the conference at St. Mary's College and subsequent conferences at Stonehill College, Easton, Massachussetts in 2001 and St. John's University in 2002 brought him under the tutelage of calligraphers Stan Knight, Michael Clark, Ewan Clayton, Myrna Rosen and Peter Thornton.

Br. Michael has continued to teach calligraphy in the seminary, fashioning a new course entitled "Bible Scripts" with an emphasis on the study of the hands, tools, and techniques used in the creation of bibles of the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance. Br. Michael is still furthering his studies through a correspondence course from Roehampton Institute in London under the watchful eye of his tutor-calligrapher and stonecutter John Nash.

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