Calligraphy for Beginners and Improvers

About

Only a little more than five hundred years ago all books were written by hand. Medieval scribes would be astonished to learn that today there are machines which can not only read but also write. The act of writing was for the old scribe, as well as for the modern calligrapher, a personal experience of producing marks with simple tools (pen, ink and paper) to express thoughts and feelings through words.

On this short course, you will learn how to hold the pen at the correct angle to draw letterforms of a given script, to space letters and words correctly and to arrange the lines of text in attractive ways. Depending on your experience, and your speed at learning, you will practice different alphabets and numerals and explore variations of forms based on learned scripts.

We’ll initially focus on the Foundational hand, and throughout the week we’ll explore other scripts such as the Roman Capitals alphabet and perhaps the Italic Miniscules and Capitals.  Some may venture a go at Versals letterforms. We’ll bring all we’ve learnt together, using a variety of letterforms and exploring layout ideas including contrast of scale and size. To understand how the tools we use impact our work and offer a variety of effects and styles, we’ll have a play with different writing tools including the brush and pointed nibs.

By the end of the week, you should have created examples of alphabets and short quotations, and have developed a strong basis from which to continue developing your calligraphic skills.

Suitable for beginners or improvers.

Led by expert tutor and calligrapher Rosa Garavaglia

Find out more and book your place