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
- Copperplate: A Different Look at the Swelling Line
(Download pdf flier)
Rachel Yallop, instructor
Saturday, Sunday, Monday / September 17–19
9:30– am to 4:30 pm / Fort Mason / San Francisco
$265 FOC members only (Join Friends of Calligraphy)
This workshop is full and a waiting list has begun. You must register to be placed on the waiting list. A refund will be issued if no space becomes available.
Copperplate is a supremely elegant hand that should take your breath away. The subtle but swelling line is the key to a beautiful and accomplished copperplate style. This class looks at how this can be achieved. Class exercises will deal with the critical issue of pen handling, the subtleties of letterforms, and successful word design.
Pen Handling: The correct angle to the page and the correct position in the hand to achieve the perfect, elegant line. Particulary for those who wish to use, as I do, a straight pen holder.
Feel: The breath-like touch on the paper for the fine strokes and the rhythm of pressure and release that create the thick and think strokes.
Placement: Understanding where to place the swelling line by practicing some basic strokes.
Contrast: Analyzing the inherently narrow proportions of the letterforms in contrast to the expansive beauty of flourished ascenders and descenders.
Details: Looking at the subtle details of each letter and executing minor changes that make the difference between a perfectly acceptable letter and a beautiful one.
Designing Words: Looking at design solutions to individual letters and how they sit together to make a unique piece of lettering.
Rachel Yallop is a British calligrapher and lettering designer. Her love of letters stems from a lifelong passion for drawing, with her original calligraphic works exploring form, space, tension and freedom of line. Rachel studied at Ravensbourne and then at the Central School of Art & Design in London, gaining an MA in 1985. Rachel has pursued a freelance career specializing in creative and expressive calligraphy for 30 years working with design consultants handling accounts from major companies. For much of this time she has also taught a wide variety of calligraphic and design disciplines in art schools, at conferences and in workshops. Rachel is an elected Member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, a Founder Member and past Chairman of Letter Exchange, and an Honoured Fellow of the Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society.
- Copperplate Variations
Rachel Yallop, instructor
Tuesday / September 20, 2016
9:30– am to 4:30 pm / Fort Mason / San Francisco
$95 Current FOC members only (+small materials fee) (Join Friends of Calligraphy)
Priority will be given to any member who is not a participant in the Copperplate: A Different Look at the Swelling Line workshop.
This class is about looking at the essential components of the copperplate style and exploring a new way of looking at it. Many of the "rules" are the same, but stroke terminals, joins, spacing and letter shapes can all be altered to make a style which can be fine and elegant or fun and quirky.
This class is open to participants who have some knowledge of and experience with Copperplate.
- Graphite Techniques for Calligraphers
(Download pdf flier)
Amity Parks, instructor
Saturday and Sunday / October 15–16
9:30– am to 4:30 pm / Albany Senior Center / Albany, California
$185 Current FOC members only (+$10 materials fee) (Join Friends of Calligraphy)
This workshop is full and a waiting list has begun. You must register to be placed on the waiting list. A random drawing for one space will take place on Friday, August 19, after which you will be placed on the list as you pay. A refund will be issued if no space becomes available.
This workshop is for all skill levels – some calligraphy experience is helpful.
In this class, the humble pencil and its relatives become powerful tools in creating many eff ects from subtle to stunning. We will use pencils, erasers, graphite sticks/blocks, powdered graphite and their water-soluble cousins to explore the possibilities of this medium for creating refi ned works of art to quickly made drawings in our sketchbooks. Further time will help to explore how to integrate letters with backgrounds into designs that will grab our viewer’s eye.
Amity Parks is an artist and calligrapher living in Missoula, Montana. For some years she has been studying calligraphy in weeklong and private tuition classes with internationally renowned instructors. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tulsa, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana. Her work has been featured in national and regional exhibits and publications. She has been a long-term active member and teacher in her local and state calligraphy guilds and travels within the US and internationally to teach workshops, including serving on the faculty for the International Lettering Arts Conference in 2014 and 2015, for SSIW in Melbourne, Australia and the Midwest Art and Lettering Retreat in 2016. More information and artwork can be found on Facebook and at her website, www.amityparks.com
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 2016)
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, Utrecht. 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.comPlease 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.
- Italic Handwriting
Patricia Coltrin, instructor
Four Tuesday evenings • 6:30–9:00 pm
October 25, November 1, 8, 15
$80 FOC members / $85 non-members
This workshop is full and a waiting list has begun. You must register to be placed on the waiting list. A refund will be issued if no space becomes available.
Italic was used both as a formal and as a cursive script in Renaissance Italy. Its clear, elegant forms provide a wonderful model for modern handwriting. Using pencils and fountain pens with broad-edged calligraphy nibs, 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 towards a more freely written version through exercises for developing rhythm and speed. Students will see many historical and modern examples.
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). -
Stroke Sequence - My Ramblings through the Alphabet
A slide lecture by Amity Parks
Friday, October 14, 2016 • 6:30–8:00 pm
San Francisco Center for the Book
375 Rhode Island St. • San Francisco
Amity Parks is an artist and calligrapher living in Missoula, Montana. For some years she has been studying calligraphy in weeklong and private tuition classes with internationally renowned instructors. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana. Her work has been featured in national and regional exhibits and publications. She has been a long-term active member and teacher in her local and state calligraphy guilds, and travels within the US and internationally to teach workshops.
She spends many hours in her studio on her business and teaching committments, and tends to a busy family life. For more information please visit her website www.amityparks.com
This lecture is presented by Friends of Calligraphy and San Francisco Center for the Book, with thanks to the support of the Raymond Family Foundation.
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 - Holly Ynostroza • Call 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.
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
Santa Cruz/Monterey/Carmel:
- Debra Ferreboeuf • Call 831 655-4311
- Carolyn Fitz • Call 831 335-2886
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.
- Ann Miller • Call 650 558-8270
Friends of Calligraphy Lecture
