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 Making of a Manuscript Book
Judy Detrick
(download the pdf flyer)
Monday Mornings • 9:00 am—11:00 am PDT
April 8—May 20, 2024
An Online Class via Zoom
Participants must have a computer with camera and microphone, access to a printer, and current version of Zoom.
Proficiency in at least two calligraphy hands is required.
$210 for Members • $245 for Non-members
Complete registration instructions are in the PDF flyer
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.
This master class will be an exciting adventure into the making of a hand-written, hand-decorated, and hand-bound book. From certain required components—title page, text, and colophon—a wide range of design choices will emerge, and tantalizing aspects of page design, margins, folios, decoration, and details of binding will be fully explored.
Judy Detrick is a calligrapher/designer living on the Mendocino coast of Northern California where she taught calligraphy and graphic design at College of the Redwoods for more than 25 years. Her work can be found in several anthologies of calligraphy and graphic design, and she is represented in the Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and Lettering at the San Francisco Public Library. She is the author of Simply Calligraphy: A Beginner’s Guide to Elegant Lettering.
Questions? Contact Elena Caruthers at: elena.caruthers@gmail.com.
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Pointed Pen Variations
a 2-day workshop with Mike Kecseg
(download the pdf flyer)
Two Days, April 13 & 14, 2024
9:30 am to 12:30 pm PDT
This is an on-line workshop via Zoom.
Cost: $90 (FOC members only)
The class is limited to FOC members. To join FOC, go to: www.friendsofcalligraphy.org/pages/join.html.
Complete registration instructions are in the PDF flyer
Copperplate is a beautiful, flowing hand steeped in tradition. While very practical there may be a time when you’ll want to break with this traditional style and create letterforms that are more expressive and contemporary. In this class we’ll take the same flexible pointed pen we’ve been using for Copperplate and use it to explore the potential for creating new and exciting letterforms. Through step by step instruction we’ll start with an informal pen script and then move toward creating a “gothicized” script and an “uncialized” script. Along the way we’ll develop a confidence with the pointed pen and discover the unique advantages of lettering with a flexible tool.
This class is for all levels of experience although some pointed pen experience may be helpful.
Mike Kecseg began doing calligraphy when he worked as an engrosser. Since 1984 he has owned and operated Pen Graphics Studio, Inc. He has been on the faculty of thirteen International Calligraphy Conferences and five IAMPETH conferences. He has taught workshops throughout the country specializing in the pointed pen. His work has been exhibited widely and can be seen in various publications, including Letter Arts Review, Lettering Arts, The Encyclopedia of Calligraphy Techniques, Calligraphy Crush and The Speedball Textbook including the cover of the 23rd edition. His calligraphy is included in the permanent collection of the Newberry Library. He was inducted as an an IAMPETH Master penman in 2002 and has earned an IAMPETH Certificate of Excellence in Engrosser’s Script in 2019.
Questions? Contact Nancy Noble at nrnoble@sfsu.edu.
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
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Fort Mason
2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123
Free parking outside the gate and metered parking within.
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Bâtarde
Raoul Martinez, instructor
7 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person
May 14, 21, 28, June 4, 11, 18, * July 2 *Date skipped for Bâtarde class, on purpose
$205 non-members / $185 FOC members
In the second half of the 14th century, a new calligraphic hand emerged in northern France and the Netherlands – bâtarde or littera bastarda. It was a hybrid of gothic cursive and textura.
This hybrid script, with its flourishes and its curved strokes that lean slightly to the right, retains the cursive look of its ancestors, yet is elegant enough to be a book hand. It was the last blackletter script to make its appearance before the Humanist movement. 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.
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Italic
Meredith Klein, instructor
7 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person
September 17, 24, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
$205 non-members / $185 FOC members
Arising from Humanist cursive writing during the Italian Renaissance, italic has come down through the centuries as one of our most versatile calligraphy hands. This elegant, graceful, and practical script can be used for nearly anything: poems, envelopes, certificates, signs, books—the list is endless. In this class, you will learn the minuscule and majuscule alphabets, focusing on the letterforms, rhythm and spacing. We will also cover layout and ways to create variations.
All levels of lettering experience are welcome.
Supplies: Basic Supplies, plus a 14 x 17" pad of layout bond paper, a protractor, a drawing board and an 18" or 24" T-square. An 18" C-Thru ruler is suggested in place of the metal ruler.
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Introduction to Engrosser’s Script
Rick Paulus, instructor
4 Sat. mornings • 10:00AM–1:00PM • Online
November 2, 9, 16, 23
$150 non-members / $135 FOC members
Among the pointed pen hands, Engrosser’s Script stands out for its elegant strength and formality; it has been used to inscribe presidential appointments for over 100 years, and is the primary script hand used in White House entertaining.
Inspired by the Zanarian School’s “Roundhand” or “Engrosser’s Script,” we will begin by practicing the surprisingly few basic strokes required to create a minuscule alphabet. After a series of exercises designed to familiarize the eyes and the hand to these new shapes, we will move on to majuscule letter forms and numbers, thus laying a solid foundation to developing an elegant script hand.
All levels of lettering experience are welcome.
Supplies: Basic supplies, plus an oblique pen holder with brass flange, flexible pointed pen nibs (Leonardt Principal EF, Nikko G, Gillotte 303, Zebra, etc.), and a 9 x 12" marker layout paper.
Friends of Calligraphy Memorial Scholarship
The Friends of Calligraphy has a scholarship fund honoring beloved members.
To apply, click here.
Friends of Calligraphy Lecture
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Calligraphy Series: Zen Paradoxes
with Kazuaki Tanahashi
March 13, 2024
10:00 am PDT
This is a free, on-line lecture via Zoom.
The lecture is limited to 250 participants.
In 2023 I created a body of thirty scrolls of East Asian style calligraphy, 4' x 7 ' each, acrylic on canvas. The theme is Zen Paradoxes. The works represent words by ancient Chinese Zen masters up to the thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master Dogen. They might be of interest to you for their large size, the use of Western medium, and the style of brushwork to match the eccentric poetic statements.
Kazuaki Tanahashi, born in Japan in 1933 and active in the United States since 1977, is an artist, writer, and peace and environmental worker. As a painter and calligrapher, he has been pioneering the genres of one-stroke painting, multi solo exhibitions of his brushwork worldwide and has taught numerous workshops, including at seven international calligraphy conferences. As a writer, editor, and translator, he has produced over forty books in English and Japanese. As an environmental activist, he was the founding secretary of Plutonium Free Future. As a peace activist, he worked against the nuclear arms race and two Gulf Wars. He is currently the founding director of A World Without Armies. He is also a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.
Download the PDF flyer
Contact: Evelyn Eldridge
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.- 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