“Bless, O Lord, This House…”: Calligraphy of Our Familiar Prayer

When the need for an updated, three-panel artistic rendering of the Nashotah House prayer came to our attention recently, one of our staff was reminded of a local artist/calligrapher, Lorraine Ortner-Blake, whom her children had commissioned for a calligraphy piece a few years ago. Happily, when we contacted Lorraine, she was available and interested. A few weeks later, the triptych is complete and will soon become available to our Nashotah House community in a variety of downloadable and printed formats. We couldn’t be happier with how this project turned out, nor more grateful to Lorraine for her lovely handiwork. What follows is an interview with Lorraine on the behind-the-scenes of a commissioned project such as this.

Will you tell us something about why you are a calligrapher? Did you grow up doing calligraphy, or did you learn it later as an adult?

The connection of prayer and beautiful lettering is something I was brought up with. My German-American grandparents admired the compressed blackletter alphabets of their heritage, and, as a child, I traced those letters with a ballpoint pen. When I was introduced to the traditional wedge-tipped calligrapher’s pen, my world changed. 

Not surprisingly, my first calligraphy project was for the church. St. Joachim’s, a Catholic church in Wisconsin, two miles from my farm. The church was built in the 1930s, and when the time came for a new building, my dad led the committee to make it happen. My part was to create a book listing the names of church construction donors. In a time when couples were called by “Mr. & Mrs.” I made more capital “M”s than were in a bag of M&M candies!. 

You recently completed a project in calligraphy reflecting Nashotah House’s prayer that alumni and students say almost daily. 

Creating this prayer for Nashotah House was a prayer answered. In late June 2020, Dawn Anderson sent me a note, asking if I could work with Nashotah House on a calligraphy project. I had not mentioned to her, or anyone at Nashotah, but I had had a medical procedure on my right arm in May. Afterward, doctors advised me to let my hand rest—advice that wasn’t necessary. I was physically unable even to button a shirt. My left hand did everything. My right could not even grasp a pen.

By late June I had gained some strength in my fingers – I was able to use a pencil, but I had not attempted calligraphy. Dawn’s note was a push to face my fear, to find out if I had the strength and coordination to pull a wide-edged nib across a page. I prepared my pen, calmed my breathing, and watched letters flow. I found a part of myself return.

Art in progress: above are the digital layouts. They helped in communicating and in setting up the size and spacing of letters.

Will you describe the process for us?

The Prayer for Nashotah House artwork took shape over time. Many people brought insight to the design. Dawn Anderson, Labin Duke, Jim Watkins, and I connected through online meetings and email; each conversation gave this project more clarity.  Three of the strong design elements that evolved were:

1. Work, Study, Prayer

The decision to represent the Nashotah House values of work, study, and prayer was seminal. We symbolized these concepts in the illustrations on the panels: the library for “study,” the refectory for “work,” and the bell tower for “prayer.” These daily scenes allowed us to present the values in a tangible way. 

2. Flowing together

The flowing watercolor behind the words brings the panels together. It mimics the flowing lettering style, and adds energy and warmth. The two complementing alphabets were chosen for their historical connection. First, Uncials, a letter style similar to that used in the Book of Kells, commonly used from the fourth through eighth centuries by Latin and Greek scribes. Second, a flowing contemporary italic – a letter style appealing to today’s sensibilities. 

The craftsmanship of showing the watercolor background. These are two of the three sheets of 22x30-inch watercolor paper with the drying wash.

I started the project at the computer; I made a digital layout. This helped me get the scale and spacing right. With it, I could easily share design ideas with Labin and Jim. When the concepts were finalized, I transitioned from computer to drawing board. 

This work is done with cotton watercolor paper, a steel-nibbed calligrapher’s pen (Mitchell, Brause, and Speedball nibs) and paint—not ink. (You were expecting me to say “ink,” weren’t you?) Ink is often more fugitive than paint. It can also be less opaque. Plus many types of ink are a bit slimy to work with.

The first step was the background washes. I knew where the illustrations would fall and I painted the backgrounds with that in mind: soft sienna watercolor behind the library scene, a pale blue spiral behind the bell tower to evoke the sound of ringing.

As the watercolor sheets dried, I got out some of my favorite Uncial exemplars—I almost always refer to great alphabets as I warm up to keep my lettering strong and avoid little lazy habits. I mixed gouache (opaque watercolor) for the lettering and did a dozen or so small sheets of practice. (One needs foresight for those ascenders and descenders, so practice is essential!)

Practice makes perfect. Lorraine shows here how she wrote “Bless” many times before lettering on the watercolor sheet.

The calligraphy was done in parts, allowing me rest between sections. I’ve heard that when old manuscripts are studied closely, one can sometimes see--in the letters--the vibration--of the beat--of the heart--of the scribe. As I letter, I set up my work for balanced posture. My breath slows. I focus. My husband knows to not come near. When I’m in mid-text, distraction can disrupt the flow – or worse, cause misspelling. To tell you the truth, I did the first panel’s lettering twice.

The illustrations are based on beautiful photographs taken at Nashotah House; they’re done with watercolor.

Lettering done is finished on the three panels. Or is it? Compare the word “Bless” on this panel with the finished art. Lorraine said, “Yep, I redid this panel. That long “L” in ‘Bless’ was in the way of the illustration.”

The history of calligraphy reflects the history of humanity. I’m joyful that I can continue to join with letterers of old: I am honored to have been able to create the calligraphic work for Nashotah House. 

Lorraine Ortner-Blake started calligraphy in her “tween” years. She was soon teaching it to friends and in art classes in high school. She studied painting at University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with a bachelor of science in Art Education. She also has a degree in graphic design. Her calligraphic work can be found in many places. She thinks of her father every time she sees the church he helped to build.