Desiging my CoA

 
Snyder
 
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Snyder
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28 September 2012 22:31
 

I like the simple design as well, especially with the Or/Argent. Like the other said, traditionally it would clash at a distance, so having a bold and simple mark would, in my opinion, help balance things out.

Initially I have a thought that the book and torch should be used in the crest. What I envision is an open book with the skull on top surmounting a torch/flame.

 
Kenneth Mansfield
 
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Kenneth Mansfield
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28 September 2012 22:45
 

I do not buy the age-old argument that Argent and Or are indistinguishable from across a battlefield. Yes, of course, one can choose a bright yellow gold which will not stand out. Yes, of course, the two actual metals next to each other would be difficult to discern from any distance. But with the advent of paint and tinting, one can certainly achieve a great enough contrast between white and what anyone with a brain would call gold.


<div class=“bbcode_center” >
http://imageshack.us/a/img717/81/showellsmall.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img152/959/showellextrasmall.png
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Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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29 September 2012 01:39
 

"...anyone with a brain…" seems a bit harsh—maybe "anyone with good 20/20 color vision" would make the same point less abrasively—tho’ perhaps one or the other quality (color & visual acuity, not the brain part smile

 
Jeffrey Boyd Garrison
 
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Jeffrey Boyd Garrison
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29 September 2012 13:56
 

Fimbriating the bendy would require changing the "bendy Argent and Or" to become "Argent, two bends Or fimbriated Sable" (or perhaps three bends). I don’t like trying to fit ordinaries into small sections like chiefs or bases myself… especially bends, since if they aren’t done right, they might end having the shield look overall like a dimidiation rather than a party field and if done right, the bends end up having a really tight angle. Bendy, however, can be done with the regular 45 angle which looks normal… but this should precude fimbriation. Okay, I’m probably obsessing here haha.

While normally I don’t neccessarily prefer pushing it to the edge with bendy Argent and Or, I think we have a case here where the armiger’s very spirit is one which pushes the envelope (as he has intimated), and such a blazon would clearly and effectively capture that point without technically breaking any rules (except in Scandinavian heraldry). I stand by his desire to illustrate this. wink

 
Medugal
 
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Medugal
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29 September 2012 20:03
 

As promised, my (humble) sketches. I threw a fifth one in there of a few arms I’d noticed recently and wanted to take a stab at for fun.

I left them big to show detail.

 

http://i.imgur.com/IJsbc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bQx1E.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/f2Hvw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MaWzk.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xd7rU.jpg

 

I’m still on the fence about the simple versus the torch/book, though admittedly I’ve felt a resurgence for the single skull after I saw it more professionally done.

 
liongam
 
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liongam
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30 September 2012 01:26
 

Dear Matthew,

One thought has occurred to me.  As you stated that you have a forebear who was employed as a gravedigger in England at some stage in the past - the name of such an individual is a ‘sexton’ who was an officer charged with the care of a church and its belongings who also had duties bell-ringing and grave digging you might consider having canting or punning arms in that your name of ‘Showell’ may well derive from ‘Showl’ - being a metonymic for ‘shoveller’ or ‘Showler’ - which is a derivative of the Middle English ‘schovelyn’ meaning one who works with or makes shovels.  This, therefore, gives you the perfect opportunity to create a distinct coat of arms for yourself.  Based upon the above premise an idea for such arms could be blazoned as follows:

 

‘Per pale argent and sable two shovel blades and a skull sans mandible counterchanged’

 

The shovel blades would best be depicted as the blade of the traditional long handled spade that is used in the United States and is, I believe, a type of shovel/spade that was at one time used the the West Country of England (the Counties of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset).  The use of argent and sable alone would be quite dramatic, simple and has a certain impact.

 

With every good wish

 

John

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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30 September 2012 01:35
 

1) Of the many variations shown (you’ve been busy - and I suspect having fun!) the one that I’m drawn to is the one you’ve labeled "Medium Red."  (Could be Medium Blue or Green or Black etc., so long as it follows the same pattern.  Burgundy isn’t a recognized heraldic color, since depending on the die lot or who mixes the paint, it will likely be viewed heraldically as either just a deep red or a reddish shade of purple.

2) I think that design would likely work equally well, if not better, with the single skull in base—arguably less symbolically rich, but clearly simpler, and because the one skull alone would be bigger and therefore easier to quickly recognize in small scale or at a distance.

 

I could say the same about dropping the skulls & just using the torch & book combination, or any other fairly simple and familiar charge; but the tone of the discussion so far seems to favor the skull & view the torch & book as somewhat trite and therefore less distinctively "you")

 

3) I’m not particularly drawn to the bendy engrailed.  It’s not unattractive—looks nice actually—but that level of detail would, in small scale or at a distance, likely be visually lost & might just make it look a bit fuzzy.

 

Also, on a purely practical craft level, sewing (or even painting) a flag with fussy partition lines will likely inspire a richer level of defamatory expletives.  Ditto carving in wood, engraving, etc.  Not that it can’t be done—and sometimes may be necessary because the design is inherited that way, or is key to the symbolism (e.g. in Father Guy’s most excellent arms), or if necessary to avoid infringement on existing arms; but otherwise, with a new design, why borrow trouble?

 

As always, even if I sometimes forget to say it, these are my views; other readers’ views may—as they already have!—differ…  In the end, it’s you & yours that will have to choose & ideally "bond" (or live smile ) with the final-final design.

 

That why the one point we most always agree on, however much we may differ on other points, is to take it slow and not "lock in" on today’s or tomorrow’s favorite—post the contenders somewhere convenient & frequently seen (the "refrigerator test" though any often-seen location in your daily lives will suffice) and see, over time, which if any gradually and subconsciously becomes "yours" without having to consciously think about it.

 

Love at first sight is heady, but how will the object of your current fascination look the next morning?—and the next, and next week/month/year/generation?

 
Robert Blackard
 
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Robert Blackard
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30 September 2012 01:55
 

David Pope;95873 wrote:

I’d personally avoid the book/torch = education motif.  I think this smacks of lucky charms heraldry, and let’s face it…many "heraldry geeks" are either highly educated or have careers in education.

Well, there goes those ideas that I had for my Shield. lol But what wouldn’t be a "lucky charm" look for education? I was thinking a basic opened book.

 

 
Jeffrey Boyd Garrison
 
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Jeffrey Boyd Garrison
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30 September 2012 05:11
 

I noticed one of your hatched drawings has what appears to be a bordure Or.

Myself, I recommend people to avoid using an uncharged bordure on newly assumed arms as it intimates the possibility of differencing from another coat without such a bordure. IMO, better to assume a coat without a bordure, and then allow future generations which choose to difference the option of adding a bordure later.

 

A charged bordure on the other hand would be fine IMO.

 

EDIT: Also, while as mentioned above, "Burgundy" isn’t really a recognized tincture, "Murrey" IS a recognized stain which pretty much has the same effect. Treat it as a color of course.

 
Medugal
 
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Medugal
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30 September 2012 07:20
 

Yes, I should have put "Mulberry" or" Murrey" instead of Burgundy, but at the time I didn’t think I thought these wouldn’t be seen by anyone else. I started off thinking that they were one in the same, but a bit of research suggests that the color is more purple-pink than dark red.

Re: engrailed bends, I put those in as an experiment to create visual interest in the top half, since the solid bends naturally attract the viewers eyes down to the chief where the contrast in colors already gives the eye something to focus on. I"m fond of them myself, however I think I may need to fridge-test it to see if it’s something I can live/die with. As Michael said, on a small scale it may become messy.

 

John, regarding name origins, I always did think that "Showell" could been miss-interpreted from "shovel/shovvell" somewhere along the line. I’m not aware of any connection to shovel makers, though my connection to grave digging is also sparse. I only know of it because before my grandfather passed he mentioned that he was told that our family dug graves in England, and my grandmother found a line in a poem that mentioned calling on the Showells to come bury somebody.

 

I sketched out your idea for arms, and while it’s probably more accurate, I’ve become accustomed to the current pattern (give or take a color or a charge!) so I think I’ll stick with it.

 

Re: borders, I had planned on an or border, but based on what I’ve read about Scottish differencing, if I do pursue it maybe I can charge it with billets

 

Anyway, I’m going to take a bit of time to make a line up of sketches to narrow down my ideas based on the feedback from this thread!

 
Richard G.
 
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Richard G.
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30 September 2012 09:55
 

I must confess I personally like John’s suggestions of a cant on your surname Matthew. A visual play on words by the use of heraldic charges. It has a venerable history what will persist as long as heraldry survives. It is however a personal choice. Have a look at these arms with spades and shovels. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Shovels_in_heraldry

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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30 September 2012 17:51
 

Granted, "murrey" has a history as an heraldic tincture, but IIRC (i.e. my undocumented recollection over the years, FWIW) more frequently as a livery color than as the field of, or an ordinary on, the arms themselves.

The concern I would have would be the likelihood of confusion with Gules or Purpure.  If your design is unique if rendered in either of those colors, fine; but not (IMO anyway) if the only significant difference between yours and other existing arms was Murrey vs Gules or Murrey vs Purpure.

 

I suspect that the skull in base would reduce the likelihood of running into otherwise-similar arms in red or purple; less confident with the book & torch, but I could be wrong.

 

As to the canting use of a shovel —some cants are based on the etymology of the name, e.g. hunting horns for Hunter; but historically others have been based on just a similar sound with no common meaning (tho’ I’m at a loss for an example—working from a hotel lobby computer on a brief vacation).

 

If we were starting from scratch, something based on or including a shovel might be one place to start.  At this point, however, personally (that "de gustibus" business) I don’t think a shovel would add anything to the arms as they now tentatively stand—- simpler generally being better—unless you were to substitute it for the skull in base.  Not recommending that, just noting the possibility.

 

On the other hand, you might work a shovel into the crest, if that’s not already fixed; or into a personal badge if you decide to create one.

 

As to adding a border—as noted, technically OK if charged, and maybe necessary to avoid infringement on some existing arms Ithough I doubt it); but will it really add anything significant to the clean simplicity of the current design?

 
Medugal
 
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Medugal
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30 September 2012 17:53
 

Brief update: I’ve experimented replacing the torch/book for a heraldic sprig of lavender with mixed results.

 
Claus K Berntsen
 
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Claus K Berntsen
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30 September 2012 18:06
 

Michael F. McCartney;95926 wrote:

As to the canting use of a shovel —some cants are based on the etymology of the name, e.g. hunting horns for Hunter; but historically others have been based on just a similar sound with no common meaning (tho’ I’m at a loss for an example—working from a hotel lobby computer on a brief vacation).

Let me help! My arms are canting based on the similar sound of the German word for bear - Bär. As far as I know there is no connection to Berntsen (but of course there might be)...

 
liongam
 
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liongam
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01 October 2012 02:55
 

Michael,

As mention of ‘murray’ has been made as a stain/tincture.  This might well assist you as ‘murray’ is often used in the arms of educational bodies as well as the arms of educationalists over here in Britain.  So the use of ‘murray’ might obviate the use of the fairly hackneyed book/open book/flaming torch.

 

How ‘murray’ became associated with education I am none to sure, although it is stated as such in one or two authorities which at present I cannot bring to mind.  I myself used it when I designed the armorial bearings of the University of the West of England, Bristol some years ago.  Each of the supporters to the arms as charged upon the shoulder with an heraldic fountain which blazoned ‘or and murray’ rather than ‘argent and azure’ in order to denote that the university is a fount of education.

 

With every good wish

 

John