classes

FOC Workshops

• Suzanne Moore

FOC Classes

Basic Supplies

Memorial Scholarship

FOC Lecture

Members Who Teach

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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• 
  
  Suzanne Moore
  Speaking to the Eyes: Exploring Writing as Image
  
  A five-day in-person workshop
  
  Monday – Friday, July 21 – 25, 2025
  Time: 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
  
  Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Avenue, Kensington, CA
  
  Cost: $500 (FOC members only)
  Materials fee: $35, payable at workshop
  A list of materials not covered by the fee will be sent to participants.
  
  This is an in-person workshop
  
  Download the 2-page PDF flyer here
  
  If registering by check, it must be postmarked no earlier than May 21.
  A 50% deposit is required to reserve your space; balance due by June 23.
  
  This workshop 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.
  
  

  Select one:

  Select one Deposit: $250.00 USD Full payment: $500.00 USD

  Special instructions to FOC:

  
  Whence did the wond'rous mystic art arise,
  Of painting speech, and speaking to the eyes?
  That we by tracing magic lines are taught
  How to embody, and to colour thought?
  ― William Massey, The Origin and Progress of Letters, 1763.
  
  This 18th century passage inspires an array of letter-based visions—legible and abstract. The possibilities of rendering words as images have powerful potential. In this class, you will use your calligraphic knowledge—or your handwriting—as the vehicle for our journey to spirited expression.
  
  You will:
  Explore the possibilities of handwritten words becoming imagery for a host of creative work: broadsides or manuscript book, as well as in painting, drawing, and future print techniques.
  
  • Experiment with various mark-making tools.
  • Use the meaning of your chosen word or phrase to inform your creative choices.
  • Explore scale, rhythm, compression, and variations of pattern
  • Develop and morph your writing to create a unique “voice” with which to transform words into imagery.
  • Create a book or a series of 2D work that presents your concept in unfolding pages.
  
  Open to calligraphers of all levels, and visual artists and designers who want to weave words into their work. Multiple paths for the week will allow each artist to develop unique work, based on a text of their choice.
  
  An open mind and willingness to go beyond the “known” are essential.
  
  * A pre-class assignment * will give you a head-start. It will allow you to spend time thinking about the words you want to work with in class and give you some ways to consider and explore lettering that will feed your experience as an integral aspect of the week and the work you create.
  
  Suzanne Moore layers painting, lettering, printmaking, and drawing to create contemporary manuscript books and limited edition books, which cover an array of subjects: Sequoyah’s invention of the Cherokee writing system; the spirituality of gardening; Bob Dylan Song Lyrics; the multi-layered story of Scheherazade; and the many faces, symbolism, and spirituality of the digit Zero. Her latest project is a variant edition exploring, reclaiming, and rescuing the Letter Q.
  
  Suzanne weaves word and painted image with form, content, and structure into spaces that invite the reader to engage, examine, and inquire. Her books blend abstract and representational imagery, rich color, and surface treatments with textual content and contemporary lettering and typography to create work that obscures the line between word and image, legibility and abstraction.
  
  Sky-diver, car hop, architectural renovator, art director, and freelance artist, she was among those chosen by Donald Jackson to create contemporary interpretive illuminations for the Saint John’s Bible.
  
  Her work can be seen in institutions such as Wellesley College, the Library of Congress, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, the University of Washington, and in the Harrison Collection of the San Francisco Public Library.
  
  Questions? Please contact Meredith Klein at gkle@sbcglobal.net.

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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.
(Download FOC Classes pdf brochure for 2025)

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., English Roundhand), 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 2025)

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, 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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• 
  
  English Roundhand
  Katie Leavens, instructor
  7 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person, Fort Mason
  June 17, 24, July 1, 8, 15,** 29, August 5
  $205 non-members / $185 FOC members
  
  Class Description
  In this class, we’ll demystify English Roundhand using 18th century writing manuals, including George Bickham’s The Universal Penman. We’ll reinterpret these historic letterforms with modern metal nibs, starting with small broad-edge nibs and progressing down to an almost pointed pen.
  This course will clear up common misconceptions about English Roundhand, a script often mistaken for Copperplate. We’ll explore its evolution from Italian Cancellaresca and how it later inspired the development of Copperplate Script.
  All levels of lettering experience are welcome.
  
  Supplies: Basic Supplies* plus a 9x12" pad of layout bond paper, and artist tape.
  
  **Date skipped for English Roundhand
  
  

  Select now:

  Select one Non-members: $205.00 USD FOC members: $185.00 USD

  Special instructions to FOC:




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• 
  
  Book of Kells Script
  Meredith Klein, instructor
  4 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • Online
  August 12, 19, 26, September 2
  $125 non-members / $115 FOC members
  
  Class Description
  The Book of Kells (ca. 800 CE) is an iconic symbol of Irish culture.
  Its script, an Irish reimagining of Latin half uncial with Ogham, uses chunky wedge serifs and a combination of upright, ovate, and large round forms, strung across the page in an irregular but artful syncopation. This beautiful insular majuscule hand was also used in other notable manuscripts, but the Book of Kells is distinctive.
  You will learn the letterforms, copy a portion of a manuscript page, and play with decorated letters and/or ampersands.
  
  For this class, it is best to have some experience using a broad nib, since various letterforms involve pen manipulation, but adventurous motivated beginners are welcome.
  
  Supplies
  Basic Supplies* (but Parallel Pens 3.8mm and 2.4mm may be used instead of Brause nibs); and small and large pads of layout bond (9 x 12" plus 11 x 14", 11 x 17" or 14 × 17"); 18" C-thru ruler recommended.
  
  

  Select now:

  Select one Non-members : $125.00 USD FOC members: $115.00 USD

  Special instructions to FOC:




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• 
  
  Textura
  Raoul Martinez, instructor
  7 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person, Albany
  September 9, 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21
  $205 non-members / $185 FOC members
  
  Class description
  As literacy rates increased among the secular public of 11* century Europe and the demand for textbooks increased, Carolingian script became more compressed, and a new type of writing evolved. Its tightly-spaced vertical strokes gave it a woven, picket-fence look, hence its name Textura. Known today as "Gothic," it had tall, narrow letters, angular shapes, biting of the bows and many scribal abbreviations. Textura was the first of the blackletter scripts, which continued to be used in northern Europe into the first half of the 20th century. We will study manuscripts from various countries and periods, learning the minuscules and majuscules.
  All levels of lettering experience are welcome.
  
  Supplies
  Basic Supplies* (We will work with Brause 3 mm. pen nibs. Experienced calligraphers may use the more flexible 3 mm Tape nib.), plus a pad of 9 x12" marker layout paper.
  
  

  Select one:

  Select one Non-members : $205.00 USD FOC members: $185.00 USD

  Special instructions to FOC:




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• 
  
  The Calligrapher's Process
  Rick Paulus, instructor
  4 Sat. mornings • 10:00AM–1:00PM • Online
  November 1, 8, 15, 22
  $150 non-members / $135 FOC members
  
  Class description
  The challenges of placing text on a page in a meaningful way can be a daunting leap for one who has never attempted to do so. A series of independent assignments will gently guide you through the process of taking your work from concept to completion, using easily acquired methods and processes.
  As you explore the basics of design, you will use a range of papers and mediums including gouache, watercolor and gold leaf–all essential tools in the calligrapher's studio–to further your abilities as an artist.
  
  Basic knowledge of at least one calligraphic hand is required.
  
  Supplies
  Basic Supplies* plus 12" roll of tracing paper; slant board; two small tubes gouache; two small tubes watercolor; old "retired" small brush for mixing (can be poor quality); T-square recommended but not required.
  
  

  Select one:

  Select one Non-members : $150.00 USD FOC members: $135.00 USD

  Special instructions to FOC:

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Friends of Calligraphy Memorial Scholarship

The Friends of Calligraphy has a scholarship fund honoring beloved members.
To apply, click here.

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Friends of Calligraphy Lecture

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FOC has scheduled several lectures. They will be posted as soon as more information is available.

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MEMBERS WHO TEACH

San Francisco:

• Katie Leavens
  Calligraphy & Illumination classes

East 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, CA

Santa Cruz/Monterey/Carmel:

• 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

Riverside County:

• Risa Gettler • Call 951-520-3010

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:

• 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