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

Tinctures, Tints & Shades: Lettering on Black Paper (Download pdf flyer)
Sherrie Lovler, instructor
Saturday and Sunday • March 29–30, 2014 • 9:30 am–4:30 pm
Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
$150 for FOC members / $165 for non-members
There will be a small materials fee to be collected at the workshop.

Select one:

Black paper can be the background for pen·based lettering of brilliant, solid color, as well as the host for subtle and varied hues. The trick is the white paint—how much you add, and how much you water it down.

In this workshop we will move from using a controlled palette to a fluid approach where surprise and spontaneity are integral to the design. We will paint part of a color wheel on black paper, add white paint gradually to a color in a line of lettering, and change smoothly from one color to another. Working with the double primary palette we will mix clean colors and also revel in those dirty shades that come from playing off the grid.

Drawing lines and erasing them on black paper; trying different papers and white paints; making an initial letter really pop; and working with gold paint and pastels are included. My intention is to give you confidence in lettering on black paper; but I'll give you fair warning—this can be addictive.

Sherrie Lovler learned calligraphy in high school and continued studies with Hermann Zapf and Dick Beasley influenced her work. She holds a BA in Studio Art and has been teaching for over 30 years, including accredited courses at Northern Arizona University, International Calligraphy Conferences and Ghost Ranch. Her art has been published in The Art & Craft of Hand Lettering, Letter Arts Review annuals, and many other books and journals. Sherrie is part of the Sonoma County oen studios juried art tours. Her work can be seen at www.artandpoetry.com. She will be teaching at the Legacies II, the 33rd International Calligraphy Conference in Dallas this summer.

FORT MASON classes

The basic calligraphy classes at Fort Mason are open both to FOC members and to the public. The class size is limited to sixteen people. Classes may be paid online via PayPal using their secure online payment service. You do not need to have a PayPal account; simply click on the Pay Now button for the class of your choice. All major credit cards are accepted. If you wish to register by snail-mail, please download the Fort Mason brochure and send the registration portion of it with your payment. For more information on Fort Mason classes please contact Elizabeth Nisperos.

Please register for any class at least six weeks in advance of the first meeting. Class size is limited to 16. Payment of tuition is necessary to hold your place on a wait list, and will be refunded after class begins if no space opens.

Cancellations: A full refund will be issued up to 14 days before the class begins. After that, tuition is forfeited unless your place can be filled from the wait list.

Basic supplies and additional or different supplies specified by each instructor are listed at the end of each class description. The term “Basic Supplies” refers to: black ink (Higgins Eternal or Pelikan Fount India), all sizes Brause pen nibs, one or two pen holders, pencil & eraser, 18”– 24” metal ruler, notebook, cotton rag, a small water jar.

Calligraphy supplies, especially Brause and Mitchell pen nibs, can be difficult to find. Call or visit your local art supply stores, such as Arch, Dick Blick, Flax, Michaels, Pearl, Utrecht. If they don’t have what you need, contact the calligraphy mail order catalogs:
John Neal Bookseller, 1.800.369.9598, www.JohnNealBooks.com
Paper & Ink Arts, 1.800.736.7772, www.paperinkarts.com

The folowing classes are on the schedule for 2014
Download the Fort Mason brochure in pdf format.

Humanist Bookhand
Georgianna Greenwood, instructor
Seven Tuesday evenings • 6:30–9:00 PM
March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15
$140 FOC members / $150 non-members

Select one:

A small group of Italian Humanists developed this sweetly legible script for making books in the early 1400s. It was the model for the first roman typefaces used in printing 50 years later, and is a natural partner for italic. The design of the capitals was based on examining local stone-cut Roman capitals. Class projects will introduce basic principles of page layout and design.

All levels of lettering experience are welcome.

Georgianna Greenwood graduated from Reed College and the Portland Museum Art School in 1960, and has been teaching and practicing calligraphy in Berkeley since 1964. She has given lectures, demonstrations and workshops in the United States, England, and Germany. Her work can be found in the Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and Lettering at the San Francisco Public Library, and at Reed College.

Fraktur
Judy Detrick, instructor
Seven Saturday mornings • 10 AM–12:30 PM
April 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
$140 FOC members / $150 non-members

Select one:

Since its appearance in the early sixteenth century, this beautiful alphabet has been in continuous use for everything from manifestos to packaging to tattoos. Not as formal as traditional Blackletter, Fraktur is its more open and curvaceous relative. It is wonderfully capable of expressing many moods. This class will introduce the basic letterforms, including capitals, and special attention will be given to the spacing and arrangement unique to Fraktur’s distinctive appearance.

All levels of lettering experience are welcome.

Judy Detrick has taught calligraphy and graphic design at College of the Redwoods on the Mendocino coast for more than 25 years, and developed the Graphic Arts Certificate Program there. She was editor of Alphabet, the Journal of the Friends of Calligraphy, 2007–2010. Her work can be found in the Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and Lettering at the San Francisco Public Library.

Beginning Italic
Susie Taylor, instructor
Seven Tuesday evenings • 6:30–9:00 PM
September 9, 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21
$140 FOC members / $150 non-members

This class is full with a waiting list. Payment of tuition is necessary to hold your place on the wait list, and will be refunded after class begins if no space opens.

Select one:

Evolving from the Humanist cursive writing which originated in the Italian Renaissance, the italic hand is one of the most versatile and expressive styles in the contemporary calligrapher’s repertoire. This class will focus on the fundamentals of its minuscule and majuscule alphabets, including letter form, proportion and spacing. We will also touch on simple page design.

All levels of lettering experience are welcome.

Susie Taylor studied calligraphy with Byron Macdonald, Arne Wolf and Hermann Zapf. Examples of her work have been published in Contemporary Calligraphy, Calligraphy Today and Artist & Alphabet. She served for many years as the curator of the Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and Lettering at the San Francisco Public Library.

Italic Handwriting
Patricia Coltrin, instructor
Four Tuesday evenings • 6:30–9:00 PM
October 28, November 4, 11, 18
$80 FOC members / $85 non-members

Select one:

The italic hand was used as both a formal and a cursive script during the Renaissance. Its clear, elegant forms provide a wonderful model for modern handwriting. Using pencils and fountain pens, students will study the construction and proportion of the letters and methods for joining them into a cursive script. The class will start with a slower, semi-formal cursive, and work toward a more freely written version through exercises for developing rhythm and speed. Many historical and modern examples will be shown.

All levels of lettering experience are welcome.

Patricia Coltrin has been inspired by letters since 1985 when a friend loaned her a Pelikan pen. Initially studying with John Prestianni and Thomas Ingmire, she began a freelance calligraphy business in 1992 and has done both commercial and private commissions. Her work can be found in Belle Lettere (1997).

Friends of Calligraphy Lecture

There are no lectures scheduled at this time.

MEMBERS WHO TEACH

San Francisco:

Thomas Ingmire • Call 415.673.4938.
International Calligraphy Correspondence Program. Classes at all levels.
CPA-HO, 1040A Filbert Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

East Bay:

Patricia Coltrin • Call 510 524-5208

Georgianna Greenwood • 510.841.6924

Antonia (Nini) Smith • Call 510 526-7249
Year-round classes at Piedmont Adult School

Erma Takeda • Call 925.284.7368

Carla Tenret • Call 510.526.1214
Year round classes at Albany Adult School

Holly Ynostroza • 510.655.7591
Private classes; Adult Program, Orinda Community Center

Sonoma County:

Christine Renden Haggarty
Ongoing classes in Asian calligraphy for beginners and intermediates.

Sherrie Lovler • Call 707.528.1723.
Calligraphic Book Hand for Book Artists.

Melissa Titone • Call 707. 573.3810
Ongoing classes and private lessons in Santa Rosa.

Marin County:

JoAnn Burchfiel Brand • Call 415.924.2625

Patti Cooke • Call 415.888.3299

Mendocino:

Judy Detrick • Call 707.964.9276
Ongoing classes at all levels.

Sacramento and Placer counties:

Phawnda Moore • Call 916.630.0505
Ongoing classes in lettering styles, correspondence, journaling, and the creative process at beginner to intermediate levels

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.

Marian Gault • Call 408.395.8026
Calligraphy classes at South Side Community Center

Ann Thompson • Call 408.378.6965

Monterey/Carmel:

Debra Ferreboeuf • Call 831 655-4311

Kern County:

Chris Paschke • 661.821.2188
Ongoing classes at all levels in Tehachapi

Reno/Tahoe:

Carol Pallesen • 775.329.6983
Ongoing classes in calligraphy and book arts

New Mexico:

Bill Kemp • 505.235.4983
Teaching and tutoring in Albuquerque

Online:

Ann Miller • 650.558.8270
Calligraphy and Letterform. Advanced Calligraphy. Two accredited Online courses through San Francisco Academy of Art University

Harvest Crittenden • 517.545.3031
Online classes in Spencerian, Flourishing, Copperplate and Photoshop for Calligraphers.