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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The Artful Flourish (Download the pdf flyer)
Heather Held, instructor
Saturday, September 9, 2017 • 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Arlington Community Church • 52 Arlington Ave • Kensington
$90 FOC members only. Become a member of FOC
Offhand Flourishing is an ornate, non-lettering calligraphic art form based on 19th Century pen techniques. The technique is spontaneous and meditative and created with very little pre-planning. The designs are unique to each individual and the results are very rewarding as students see these ornate designs created on their papers. The method for constructing these designs is explored in depth and the student will learn how to expand their own flourish.
Heather Victoria Held is a Canadian freelance lettering artist who operates The Victorian Pen Studio. She has served as a faculty member of several calligraphy conferences. In 2013–2014 she served as President of IAMPETH. She conducts intensive workshops in Offhand Flourishing, Decorative Lettering & Ornamental Penmanship throughout North America. Her artwork is in private collections around the world and has been featured in Bound and Lettered, Calligrafia, Somerset Studio, Good Mail Day and the Speedball Textbook.
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The Enchanted Letter (Download the pdf flyer)
Heather Held, instructor
Sunday–Monday, September 10–11, 2017 • 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Fort Mason • Bldg C • Room 325
$180 FOC members only. Become a member of FOC
This workshop is an exploration in designing and decorating a contemporary illuminated letter. The letters are based on a rounded script alphabet and transformed into meandering ribbons or graceful leaves. The student will be guided through the pencil design stage of their own unique letter as well as the decorative foliate extension. The design can be embellished with a simple 23K gilding technique or gold gouache. Pointed pen flourishes are added to the design, which is further embellished with colour. The final design is evocative of the graceful capital letters found in Victorian illustrated books.
Knowledge of the pointed pen as well as any rounded script alphabet is very helpful in this class.
Heather Victoria Held is a Canadian freelance lettering artist who operates The Victorian Pen Studio. She has served as a faculty member of several calligraphy conferences. In 2013–2014 she served as President of IAMPETH. She conducts intensive workshops in Offhand Flourishing, Decorative Lettering & Ornamental Penmanship throughout North America. Her artwork is in private collections around the world and has been featured in Bound and Lettered, Calligrafia, Somerset Studio, Good Mail Day and the Speedball Textbook.
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Letters from the Sun (AKA Capturing Sunlight) (Download the pdf flyer)
Louise Grunewald, instructor
Saturday & Sunday October 14–15, 2017 • 10 am to 5 pm
San Francisco Center for the Book • 375 Rhode Island • San Francisco
$190 plus a materials fee. FOC members only. Become a member of FOC
Enrollment for this workshop via Paypal will be available Friday, September 1 at 8:00 am Pacific.
In this class, students will learn how to transfer their images to a UV-sensitive Solarplate using the power of the sun. We will begin by preparing an image for exposure onto a Solarplate. Techniques for exposing the plate, preparing paper for printing, inking the plate, and running small editions on an etching press will then be covered.
This versatile process is suitable for almost any kind of image, including words and text. While learning the exposure process, students will be free to experiment with creating a variety of images, from simple to more complex. Any written words or text can be transferred to a plate and then printed out in the correct (readable) orientation. Writing and imagery can be combined. Students can draw or paint or collage their work or use their photographs to print from. Blind embossings may also be created from relief plates. We will work with non-toxic, water-based inks to ensure safety for the environment and the participants.
The intent of this class is to teach the very accessible technical aspects of the process in an atmosphere of fun and guided experimentation. Students will end the weekend with hand-pulled prints of their images and an increased understanding of the world of printmaking.
This class is open to all levels. No printmaking experience is necessary.
Louise Grunewald teaches calligraphy and design workshops nationally and maintains her studio, Western Hands, in Durango, Colorado. Her artistic passions include lettering, drawing, solarplate printmaking, water media painting, and the book arts. Louise’s studio work is largely inspired by time spent outdoors, traveling to new environments, and often taken from her sketchbook impressions of the world around her. Her work can be seen in numerous private and public collections around the United States and internationally.
FRIENDS OF CALLIGRAPHY Fort Mason Classes
Open to the public, these classes are meant for beginners and for scribes who wish to continue improving their skills. Basic supplies required by each student include: black ink such as Higgins Eternal, all sizes of Brause pen nibs, one or two pen holders, pencil and eraser, 18 or 24 inch metal ruler, notebook, cotton rag, a small water jar. There may be additional supplies specified by each instructor and are listed after each class description in the Fort Mason brochure. (Download pdf brochure for 2017)
Calligraphy supplies, especially Brause pen nibs, can be difficult to find. Call or visit your local art supply stores, such as Arch, Dick Blick, Castle in the Air, Flax. If they don’t have what you need, contact the calligraphy mail order vendors:
John Neal Bookseller, 1-800-369-9598 • www.johnnealbookseller.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 meet in Building C at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Free parking outside the gate and metered parking within.
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Italic
Loren Bondurant, instructor
Seven Saturday mornings • 10 am–12:30 pm
September 9, 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21
$150 FOC members / $170 non-members
Italic originated in 15th-century Renaissance Italy. Its letterforms derive from a slanted oval, and its letter strokes from natural hand movements. Italic’s clarity, elegance and versatility make it an essential script in every calligrapher’s repertoire, and a useful starting point for beginners. This class will introduce you to the italic alphabet, and to concepts of rhythm and spacing that make this hand distinctive. You will practice basic layout techniques and we will explore simple to complex uses of this elegant hand. The class will culminate in your own final finished project.
All levels of lettering experience are welcome. Supplies: Basic Supplies, plus a 14 x 17 inch pad of Strathmore Layout Bond paper; calligraphy easel, drawing board or slant board (20 x 26 preferred); 24-inch T-square; roll of drafting tape.
Loren Bondurant discovered calligraphy through a chance encounter as a boy with a large coffee table book about the craftsman William Morris. He joined the Friends of Calligraphy in 2011 and learned Italic from Patricia Coltrin and Susie Taylor. For the past two years he has taught drawing-related arts to Berkeley public school students. He is currently working on a comic book.
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Italic Handwriting
Patricia Coltrin, instructor
Four Wednesday evenings • 6:30–9:00 pm
October 25, November 1, 8, 15
$90 FOC members / $100 non-members
The italic hand originated in Renaissance Italy, where it was used as both a formal and a cursive script. Its elegant forms provide a wonderful model for modern handwriting. Using fountain pens with calligraphy nibs, students will study the construction and proportion of the letters and methods for joining them into a cursive script. We will start with a slower, semi-formal cursive and work toward a more freely written version using exercises for developing rhythm and speed. Historical and modern examples will be shown.
All levels of lettering experience are welcome.
Supplies: 9 x 12 Strathmore Layout Bond Pad, 400 series, 8 1/4 x 11 3/4 Blank Rhodia Pad, 8 1/4 x 11 3/4 Rhodia Graph Pad, 4B Drawing Pencil, Fountain Pen(s) with fine (1.1mm), medium (1.5mm) and broad (1.9mm) calligraphy nibs, ruler, pencil and eraser. No need for other Basic Supplies
Patricia Coltrin has been inspired by letters since 1985, when a friend loaned her a Pelikan pen. Initially studying with John Prestiani and Thomas Ingmire, she began a freelance calligraphy business in 1992, doing both private and commercial commissions. She enjoys teaching both privately and in the classroom. Her work can be found in Belle Lettere (1997).
Friends of Calligraphy Lecture
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Print, Prose and Pages
Louise Grunewald, presenter
Friday, October 13, 2017 • 6 to 8 pm
Flax, Fort Mason, San Francisco
San Francisco:
- Ann Miller • Call 650 558-8270
Calligraphy and Letterform. Advanced Calligraphy.
- 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 • Call 510.841.6924
- Kaori Ogawa
- 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 Community Center
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
Marin County:
- JoAnn Burchfiel Brand • Call 415.924.2625
- Patti Cooke • Call 415.888.3299
- Jody Meese • Call 415.272.3612
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 Book Hand for Book Artists. - Rick Paulus • Call 774.323.0050
- Melissa Titone • Call 707. 573.3810
Ongoing classes and private lessons in Santa Rosa.
Santa Cruz/Monterey/Carmel:
- Debra Ferreboeuf • Call 831 655-4311
- Carolyn Fitz • Call 831 335-2886
- Ruth Korch
Art and calligraphy classes in the Santa Cruz area
Kern County:
- Chris Paschke •Call 661 821-2188
Ongoing classes at all levels in Tehachapi
Reno/Tahoe:
- Carol Pallesen • Call 775 329-6983
Ongoing classes in calligraphy and book arts
New Mexico:
- Bill Kemp • Call 505 235-4983
Teaching and tutoring in Albuquerque
Online:
- Ann Miller • Call 650 558-8270
Calligraphy and Letterform. Advanced Calligraphy. Two accredited Online courses through San Francisco Academy of Art University - Harvest Crittenden • Call 517 545-3031
Online classes in Spencerian, Flourishing, Copperplate and Photoshop for Calligraphers. - Meilissa Esplin
Brush lettering, gestural pointed pen, and chalk lettering.
- Ann Miller • Call 650 558-8270