Dancin’ Pen…

“Dancin’ Pen” was born from my book of the same name.  It’s my funky twist on the Italic alphabet.  It all started with the Bone alphabet and pen manipulation and then ran amok into all my other alphabets.  I have also drawn inspiration from my Italic Variations class, which analyzes each component part of the […]

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Italic: Formal to Funky…

“Italic Formal to Funky” starts with an in-depth review of the formal Italic alphabet. Individual attention will help to sharpen your italic hand. We will study each of the components of the alphabet – what makes it look the way it does – and use this information to determine how your personal italic can be […]

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Foundation Meets Bone…

The Foundation alphabet was aptly named by Edward Johnston as it is based on Carolingian, an early Humanist Roman hand and became the “foundation” for a calligraphy revival in the early 1900’s. This class will begin with a study of the beautiful, strong, round Foundation alphabet and then morph into the Bone alphabet which was […]

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Fine Tuning the Fundamentals…

When you sit down to do a calligraphic piece, do you have to refer to an exemplar to remember how to write an alphabet? Are you happy and confident with the look of your basic alphabets? Are your letterforms up to snuff? We all want to be able to fly, but we need to know […]

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Art for Non-Artists…

In calligraphic interpretation of words, we sometimes need to create a mood or enhance a theme, add excitement, power, serenity or drama to our calligraphy. Have you ever been stumped as to how to get that passion and expression down on paper? This class gives you the tools. It will be an exploration into artistic […]

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Big Bad Bone…

The Bone alphabet is one of my favorites because I’m never quite sure how it is going to come out. It has a wonderfully sensual and playful quality because of the very manipulated strokes, creating beautiful waisted strokes and sexy shapes within and between the letterforms. The letters dance up and down and nestle into […]

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Foundational…

The Foundational alphabet is a beautiful, legible, very versatile and very usable hand based on Roman forms. The name foundational was coined by Edward Johnston as it was his feeling that this alphabet is the foundation for all the others. It is a must for your calligraphic repertoire, and one you will find yourself using […]

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Gothic…

The term “Gothic” is a very broad classification for many types of blackletter alphabets, which depend upon time of inception and country of origin. Each has its own personality and they can be quite varied. What they all have in common is the very textural, architectural quality. It can almost look like a weaving with […]

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Italic…

Beginning Italic… Have you always wanted to write beautiful invitations, greeting cards, gifts and correspondence? Italics is a beautiful, flowing and consistent style of calligraphic lettering. It is a good alphabet to begin your calligraphic education or early in your training. You will find yourself using this alphabet most often. Mastering Italic… This workshop will […]

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Playful Letters: Dance of the Pen

So, OK – you’ve been studying calligraphy for a while. You’ve disciplined yourself to maintain pen angle, slant, pressure, proportion and spacing. Your letterforms are respectable, but they look stiff. You look at the work of other calligraphers and admire the liveliness and expressiveness of their letterforms, but aren’t sure how to get it into […]

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