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
-
JURGEN VERCAEMST
COLORFUL LETTERING COMPOSITIONS
Four Monday mornings:
January 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2025
Time: 9:30 AM to 12:00 noon PST
Cost: $180 (FOC members only)
Online, via Zoom
All levels of experience welcome
Download the pdf flyer here.
We will be starting out with simple caps, in an informal way, trying out rhythms and textures. First with pencil and after that, going through all possible writing tools. The next step is to make built-up caps, again going through different writing instruments. Going from a letter size of about 2 cm (~3/4 in.) to larger lettering at 5-6 cm (~2 to 2-1/4 in.). Doing larger size lettering lets us look more in detail. It allows us to design every single letter rather than drawing/writing. And larger size lettering is more amenable to using color. Jurgen will be going through some specific designs/layouts where we can apply and enjoy color to its full extent (walnut inks, watercolors, brush sign pens and others).
For this weekly Zoom class, participants must have an electronic device with the Zoom app and access to a printer for handouts.
Flemish calligrapher Jurgen Vercaemst credits his first workshop with Frank Missant with igniting his interest in calligraphy. Further inspired by Brody Neuenschwander and his longtime teacher and mentor, Yves Leterme, his views on calligraphy, letterforms, letter drawing and design were also deeply influenced by a 2005 Peter Thornton workshop. Jurgen lives in Ruddervoorde, a little town near Bruges, where he runs a coffee bar, Morris Coffee & Crafts, with his wife and son, He teaches in the first floor studio of the coffee bar, inviting other calligraphers to come teach there as well. He also teaches online and abroad. He team-taught in 2016 with Peter Thornton at A Show of Hands in Asheville, and in 2019, with Elmo van Slingerland at Cheerio. Jurgen says, “The pencil is my utmost favorite tool that never lets me down, along with my Moleskines I carry in my backpack at all times.” His work was featured in Alphabet, Vol. 48, No. 3, Spring 2023.
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.
(Download Fort Mason pdf brochure for 2024)
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 (e.g., Engrosser’s Script), 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 Fort Mason brochure. (Download pdf brochure for 2024)
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
-
Fort Mason
2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123
Free parking outside the gate and metered parking within.
- Fort Mason 2025 Classes will be posted soon. Stay tuned.
Friends of Calligraphy Memorial Scholarship
The Friends of Calligraphy has a scholarship fund honoring beloved members.
To apply, click here.
Friends of Calligraphy Lecture
-
Life and Times of an Off-Paper Calligrapher
An illustrated Zoom presentation by Brody Neuenschwander
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
10:00 am PST
This is a free, on-line lecture via Zoom.
Spaces are limited.
Brody has been a calligrapher his whole life. As a teenager, he embarked on an illuminated Psalter, getting all the way to Psalm 119 (the longest) before setting the project aside in his first week at college. College presented many other opportunities, this being the pre-digital age: posters, certificates, and more came his way, and he wrote them with enthusiasm and zero understanding of letterform.
This lecture will be a sightseeing tour through Brody’s long career, stopping along the way to see projects in every material, on every scale, and in a hundred styles of calligraphy.
Download the PDF flyer
Contact: Elena Caruthers
Register for this lecture on Eventbrite.
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.
- Carla Tenret • Call 510.526.1214
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
Marin County:
- JoAnn Burchfiel Brand • Call 415.924.2625
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 TehachapiReno/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:
- Harvest Crittenden • Call 517 545-3031
Online classes in Spencerian, Flourishing, Copperplate and Photoshop for Calligraphers.- Nancy Hills
Email Nancy for information about current classes.- Elizabeth McKee
Ongoing classes in pointed brush- 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- Jacqueline Sullivan