The Bottom Line
A good basic introduction to Celtic design, Aidan Meehan's book focuses on the design of traditional Celtic step and spiral patterns, and teaches Irish Half Uncial script along with the layout of manuscripts and letter decoration. The dot-grid technique used is a brilliant stepping-off point for your own creative designs. Don't expect to find much on knotwork though - there are a few good knot examples, but not many.
Pros
- starts from the very basics
- shows how to create designs from scratch
Cons
- not enough on creating knots and interwoven designs
- hand-lettered explanatory text a little hard to read quickly
Description
- ISBN 0-500-27629-3, Thames and Hudson, London
- Black and White, Paperback.
- A beginner's guide to Celtic stepwork, spirals, calligraphy and illumination
Guide Review - Celtic Design: A Beginner's Manual
When I first picked up this book, I was dissapointed not to find an in-depth demonstration of Celtic knotwork and plaitwork. However, once I became more familiar with Celtic design, I realised that these popular forms were only one aspect of Celtic design. The spiral and step designs covered in Aidan Meehan's book, 'Celtic Design: A Beginner's Manual' are those found in Celtic artifacts from ancient stonework, metalwork and pottery to illuminated manuscript and jewellery. These are essential to any artist seeking to use authentic Celtic styles. While the book tends to be very practical, with step-by-step examples of design development, some brief historical notes to different styles do give the interested reader helpful key words for researching these ancient patterns. Meehan devotes a great deal of the book to the formation and decoration of Irish Half Uncial script, a beautiful and comparatively simple script form. Overall a practical, useful and well presented book. Meehan has produced a companion volume, 'Celtic Design: Knotwork: The Secret Method of the Scribe' - Compare Prices
