Friends of Calligraphy offers classes and workshops
that meet the needs of those beginning calligraphy as well as those who are ready for more advanced techniques. FOC workshops are open to current FOC members. Basic calligraphy classes at Fort Mason are open to the public. They are sponsored by FOC, and taught by FOC members. Also listed below are classes by FOC members who teach in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. They are not sponsored by FOC, but are listed here as a courtesy to our members. Please contact individual instructors for details.
FRIENDS OF CALLIGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
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Friends of Calligraphy is pleased to present
Nancy Hays Hills
in two in-person workshops
All Levels Welcome
Both workshops will take place at the Arlington Community Church,
52 Arlington Avenue, Kensington, CA
9:30 am — 4:30 pm PDT
Registration for these workshops opens Monday, August 10 at 8AM PDT.
We are accepting online payments only. Each workshop is limited to 18 FOC members. You may join Friends of Calligraphy, through the website for $40 annually. Workshop fees are refundable until August 24, 2026.
Download the PDF flyer here
Nancy Hays Hills is an artist and Episcopal deacon living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her working career was in the field of advertising and graphic design, from which she retired in 2020 to devote more time to her dual vocations of ministry and art. She shares a home with her husband Julian, and her trusty feline sidekick, Samantha. Nancy began drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon, and was lucky enough to have parents who encouraged their shy child to express herself on paper – especially her father, who would amuse her by drawing cartoons, sometimes in ballpoint pen on the bottoms of her feet! She took her first calligraphy course at age 17, and has incorporated lettering in her art ever since. She teaches art and drawn lettering classes online and in-person art retreats.In addition to individual pieces, she has been working in art journals for over 20 years, and her artwork from those journals has appeared in Alphabet, Bound & Lettered, Letter Arts Review, and in the 25th Edition of The Speedball Textbook.
Questions? Contact coordinator Nancy Noble at nrnoble@sfsu.edu.
Exploring Guided Originality
Thursday—Friday, September 24 & 25, 2026
Fee: $190.00, for FOC Members only
This is an in-person workshop
Making art takes time…and sometimes a little creative nudge to get something down on paper. One can learn a lot by temporarily abandoning the conventional for the quirky, and setting aside outcomes in favor of experimentation. Come prepared to explore your own unique creativity using simple tools and materials to make lively pages which ultimately will tell you something wonderful about yourself. We’ll turn lines and shapes into letters, blobs into beings, and words into rivers. We’ll draw and stretch letters to the brink of unreadability, and use the Kemper Fluid Writer, gel pens and other conventional nibs to create our own alphabets. And then we’ll put it all together to make art! Throughout each day there will be ample stretches of work time to play with what we’re learning. We’ll work hard, but at a gentle and relaxed pace.
Exploring Drawn Letters
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Fee: $95.00, for FOC Members only
This is an in-person workshop
The discipline of learning traditional calligraphic hands is something of great value, and I highly recommend it. But there’s also a parallel track of equal value, and that is learning to create unique letters and alphabets from scratch, and learning how to make them work with each other on the page. In this one-day workshop we’ll use the Kemper Fluid Writer, Gel Pens and Speedball B nibs to make exciting and perhaps delightfully unusual letters, which can be used as accents to illuminate a page, or as text for an entire block of text.
FRIENDS OF CALLIGRAPHY FOC Classes
Open to the public, these classes are meant for beginners and for scribes who wish to continue improving their skills.
Basic Supplies: Non-waterproof black ink (i.e., Pelikan 4001, Higgins Eternal, or Dr Ph Martin’s Hydrus Carbon Black), all sizes Brause pen nibs, one or two pen holders, pencil and eraser, 18 or 24 inch metal ruler, notebook, cotton rag, a small water jar.
If other pens, nibs or holders are specified for a class, then it is not necessary to buy the Brause pen nibs on the Basic Supplies list.
There may be additional supplies specified by each instructor that are listed after each class description in the FOC Classes brochure. (Download pdf brochure for 2026)
Calligraphy supplies, especially Brause pen nibs, can be difficult to find. Call or visit your local art supply stores, such as Arch, Dick Blick and Flax. If they don’t have what you need, contact the calligraphy mail order vendors:
John Neal Bookseller, 1-800-369-9598 • www.johnnealbooks.com/
or
Paper & Ink Arts, 1-800-736-7772 • www.paperinkarts.com
Please register for any class at least six weeks in advance. Class size is limited to 16. You will be notified by the Fort Mason Class Registrar if you have a place in the class or are on the wait list. Payment of tuition is necessary to hold your place on a wait list. If you need to withdraw, a full refund will be issued 14 days before the class begins. Otherwise the tuition fee is forfeited unless a wait-listed student can take your place.
Classes will be held at:
- Online via Zoom
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Fort Mason, Building C
2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123
Free parking outside the gate and metered parking within. -
Albany Senior Center
846 Masonic Ave., Albany, CA 94706
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Versals Old & New
Rick Paulus, instructor
4 Sat. mornings • 10:00 AM–12:00 PM • Online
August 1, 15, 22, 29
$100 non-members / $90 FOC members
Class Description
Versals, those beautiful capital letters which traditionally indicate the beginning of bodies of text, have drawn our eyes to the page for centuries. Versals are typically colorful, often decorated, and always full of life and spirit, no matter how simply drawn.
Beginning with a simple analysis of the Roman alphabet, we will embark on a journey through the ages with Versals as our guide.
Participants in this workshop will be gently guided through the process of developing their very own constructed, or drawn, Versal letters with the benefit of historical reference to draw from.
Supplies: Basic Supplies*, plus both pointed & broad-edge nibs, tracing paper, mixed media paper, gouache, watercolor, pointed detail brush, mixing brush, paint palette, artist tape, recommended: X-acto knife, t-square, triangle, slant board (minimum 18 x 20”)
This class is full and a waiting list has begun. You must register to be put on the waiting list. If no space becomes available, you will receive a refund.
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Brush Script
Katie Leavens, instructor
4 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person, Fort Mason
September 8, 15, 22, 29
$125 non-members / $115 FOC members
Class Description
Whether you are new to lettering or an experienced calligrapher, brush script is a fun and expressive style. It will bring ease and flexibility to your writing. In this class, we’ll explore a connected, casual script inspired by the italic hand—perfect for envelope names, cards, and bullet journal titles. Using a brush pen, you will learn to create lively, rhythmic letters that feel both natural and intentional.
Supplies: Tombow Dual Brush Pen (dark color), pencil, translucent marker paper (9 x 12”)
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Beginning Calligraphy
Judy Detrick, instructor
4 Sat. mornings • 10 AM–Noon • Online
Oct 3, 10, 17, 24
$100 non-members / $90 FOC members
Class Description
In this calligraphy class for beginners, you will be learning a foundational hand, which is likely familiar to you, but when written with a broad-edge pen it takes on an elegant and exotic quality that both the reader and writer can appreciate. You will learn about the best tools, materials, and techniques to get top results right from the start, and the things you learn in this class will carry over to many other calligraphic styles of writing. Come experience the magic that lies at the tip of your pen!
Supplies: Basic Supplies*, plus a layout bond paper pad (14 x 17"), and a t-square.
Friends of Calligraphy Memorial Scholarship
The Friends of Calligraphy has a scholarship fund honoring beloved members.
To apply, click here.
Friends of Calligraphy Lecture
FOC has scheduled several lectures. They will be posted as soon as more information is available.
MEMBERS WHO TEACH
San Francisco:
- Katie Leavens
Calligraphy & Illumination classesEast Bay:
- Patricia Coltrin • Call 510 524-5208
- Meredith Klein • Call 510.205.1119
- Raoul Martinez
Copperplate and blackletter classes for beginning, intermediate and advanced students.
South Bay:
- Melissa Dinwiddie • Call 650.938.3939
Calligraphy, book arts, and illumination- Sara Loesch Frank • Call 408.446.3397
Ongoing calligraphy classes for beginners and intermediates.- Ann Thompson • Call 408.378.6965
Mendocino:
- Judy Detrick • Call 707.964.9276
Ongoing classes at all levels.Sonoma County:
- Christine Renden Haggarty
Ongoing classes in Asian calligraphy for beginners and intermediates.- Sherrie Lovler • Call 707.528.1723.
Calligraphic Abstract Painting.Yolo County:
- Sumner Stone
Type design workshops in Rumsey, CASanta Cruz/Monterey/Carmel:
- Ruth Korch
Art and calligraphy classes in the Santa Cruz areaKern County:
- Chris Paschke • Call 661 821-2188
Ongoing classes at all levels in TehachapiRiverside County:
- Risa Gettler • Call 951-520-3010
Reno/Tahoe:
- Carol Pallesen • Call 775 329-6983
Ongoing classes in calligraphy and book artsNew Mexico:
- Bill Kemp • Call 505 235-4983
Teaching and tutoring in AlbuquerqueOnline:
- Nancy Hills
Email Nancy for information about current classes.- Ann Miller • Email, or call 650 558-8270
Art 50 and Art 53: Two zoom courses at Stanford Continuing Studies
- Kestrel Montes
Pointed Pen Calligraphy and Engraving- Rick Paulus • Call 774.323.0050
- Sally Penley
Email Sally for a list of current Zoom classes