We all know what the proportions of capital letters should be. Or do we? And do we know why? What magical happening occurred to decide these proportions? Who was responsible for their creation? Charles Pearce thinks that he may have the answer. During this workshop he will explain his theories about how letters may be more directly linked to architecture than previously thought. From that point he will take you through their rough construction to the finished drawn letters which form the basis for all our modern alphabets. There will be plenty of demonstrations and hands-on work during this weekend. Be warned, there will be (dare we say it) some pen manipulation involved.

Please do not be put off by the fact that this is a workshop dealing with Roman Capitals. Charles will be here to prove that Romans can be fun, and after all, every letter we use has its basis in Roman Inscriptional letters, so the more we know about them, the better our calligraphy will become, right? Right!!!

It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you.

You will need to bring:

• A selection of large pens, such as: Coit, Automatic Lettering, Horizon, Hiro, etc. at a minimum size of 3/8" (8mm)

• A goodly supply of ink preferably of the aniline dye variety - Pelikan 4001, Quink, etc,

• One or two flat acrylic hair brushes (not bristle) between sizes 1/4" to 1"

• One or two tubes of gouache

• A pad or two of layout/detail paper, 14" x 17" (or A3) minimum

• One or two sheets of heavyweight drawing or watercolor paper

• A plastic or porcelain mixing palette

• An HB (#2) pencil and pencil sharpener

• A pair of scissors

• A roll of magic tape

• A drawing board and T square

• A water pot

In the first of these two workshops Charles Pearce will be taking both a look backward and a look forward to the most basic of all letters used by modern day calligraphers – the Foundational Hand. We shall work through from the ancestors of the Foundational Hand, the tenth century Carolingians, epitomized by the scribes of WInchester in England, through Johnston’s letters, to forms that are of the late twentieth and early twenty first century.

These twenty-first century letters are executed with a considerable amount of pen manipulation and give the modern day scribe a whole arsenal of possibilities. Pearce will demonstrate the techniques of pen manipulation and give plenty of one on one instruction.

Foundational does not have to be boring!

It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you.

You will need to bring:

• A selection of large pens, such as: Coit, Automatic Lettering, Horizon, Hiro, etc. at a minimum size of 3/8" (8mm)

• Some Mitchell's (size 3 and 3 1/2) or Brause (size 1.5mm and 2mm) pens and penholders

• A goodly supply of ink preferably of the aniline dye variety - Pelikan 4001, Quink, etc,

• A pad or two of layout/detail paper, 14" x 17" (or A3) minimum

• An HB (#2) pencil and pencil sharpener

• A drawing board and T square

• A water pot

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS #2
A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP

In the second workshop you will enjoy (say it with a German accent) Letters From Hell. Ah, yes! Another look at those wonderful Gothic Black Letters which enchanted so many people back in Minnesota in 1991, and which prompted one well-known calligrapher to opine, “I have never been so humiliated in my life“. But, fear not, good friends. All will be revealed!

We shall trace Gothic letters from the eleventh century through to the present day. The Letters from Hell will require a considerable amount of pen manipulation and students will be guided through all the subtleties and pitfalls of this approach to calligraphy. There will be plenty of one on one instruction to help students through any problems they may encounter.

It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you.

You will need to bring:

• A selection of large pens, such as: Coit, Automatic Lettering, Horizon, Hiro, etc. at a minimum size of 3/8" (8mm)

• Some Mitchell's (size 3 and 3 1/2) or Brause (size 1.5mm and 2mm) pens and penholders

• A goodly supply of ink preferably of the aniline dye variety - Pelikan 4001, Quink, etc,

• A pad or two of layout/detail paper, 14" x 17" (or A3) minimum

• A drawing board and T square

• A water pot

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At the beginning of the 20th Century when Edward Johnston was first formulating his Foundational Hand for the teaching of calligraphy, he took as his model the Ramsey Psalter (Harley 2904). It was Donald Jackson who first coined the term "forensic calligraphy" and far be it from me to try to change both the term and its sense.
 
In this workshop we will first cut quills and then, having armed ourselves with the tools, do an in depth study of the letters which first so appealed to Edward Johnston. There are now so many variations of the Foundational Hand that we really owe it to ourselves to go right back to the source, and, through the miracles of modern technology (I have been able to get digital images of two pages from the Ramsey Psalter from the British Library) we shall be able to do just that.

It is always a good idea to bring a notebook and cameras are permitted in class, but please keep flash to a minimum, and use only when writing is not in progress! Thank you.

You will need to bring (or *buy at the workshop):

• A quantity of goose, turkey or swan left wing feathers (right wing if you're left-handed).

• A quill knife

• An Arkansas stone or diamond sharpener

• One or two sheets of Hot Press watercolor paper (Arches, Fabriano, etc.)

• A Chinese in stick

• An inkstone

* Some sumi ink

* A selection of gouache colors

• A porcelain or plastic mixing palette