Unprecedented Times & Online Calligraphy Classes
August 22, 2020
It has been awhile since my last post in February. Obviously, so much has happened personally and collectively during this time. It’s been challenging to let go of the plans I had for what this year would look like. Everything I was looking forward to has been cancelled or postponed. This includes a trip to Europe and calligraphy conference in Canada. It’s been disappointing and weird, but a good lesson in change and resilience.
I’ve been working my day job from my kitchen table since mid-March, having weekly Zoom dates/book club with dear friends from college, and doing social distance happy hours on my mom’s deck. During this time, I’ve found it challenging to sit down at my desk and create because while I have ideas, I haven’t had much energy. But that’s okay. It’s been a time of rest and surrender to what is.
One of my favorite things about the last few months has been the surge in online calligraphy classes. It’s provided many of us with the opportunity to learn from teachers that we otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to study with. I thought I would share about the 3 classes I’ve taken so far, what I hope to do in the coming months and resources if you want to see what classes are available.
My first class was in July, The Juicy Line: Bone Script with Carol DuBosch. This was hosted by Calligraphy Italia. It was a 2-day, 4-hour class. While there were a few technical difficulties, the class exceeded my expectations. This is a script I wanted to learn for a couple years but didn’t have the chance until now. On day 1 Carol shared many examples of her work. We learned pen manipulation for the basic stroke and all the lower-case letters. Day 2 was a fast review of day 1, as well as all the upper-case letters. One thing that I appreciated is that Carol took the time to also show us about color blending to get the beautiful bleeding that we saw in her work. She shared her formula to get a perfect palette with the dark blue and yellow ochre Winsor Newton inks. We also learned about how she works on layout and design. That was a huge help and provided me with additional ideas for how I can approach projects.
Not long after that class I took 2 classes with Amity Parks, Exploring Bister and Chunky Caps. The Idaho Inkspots were planning on a workshop with Amity in October, but I knew there was a chance we’d have to cancel, which we ended up doing. So, I was grateful for this chance to learn from her. I’ve been wanting to try the Bister inks for a while now. Like many, I love the rich, vibrant, natural colors and they did not disappoint! Bister inks are a wood dye and work a lot like walnut ink crystals. I took a couple pages of notes in the 2-hour class. Not only did we learn multiple techniques for using the ink, we also learned an entire monoline bold cap alphabet! There are so many possibilities for this ink and I’m sure you’ll be seeing it a lot in my future work.
The 2-day, 4-hour Chunky Caps class with Amity was another fun one! I love the bold and dramatic style. Not only did we learn the alphabet, but she also shared how you can mix it with a gestural script for contract, as well as how you can shade the letters with graphite. Shading really makes the letters pop! One thing that was unique in working with the Bister inks and Chunk Caps was how wet you want to keep your ink. That sounds silly because obviously ink is wet! However, if you flood your stroke with ink from the pen, then use a pointed brush to drop water into the stroke, it causes the Bister ink pigment to be pushed to the sides. This creates a really cool effect where the edges dry darker making the letters look like they’ve been outlined.
Overall, the classes I took were amazing and I learned so much. If you know me, you know I’m a ‘Learner’ and it’s something I’ve missed while staying home. I did miss the personal interaction with classmates and the teacher, as well as feedback on my work, but they were nice introductions into something new. Both Carol and Amity did an excellent job in keeping us engaged and covered more than what I anticipated for the time we had. Can online classes take the place of in-person workshops? Absolutely not, but they sure are a good substitute in the meantime.
In September I will be taking Monoline Italics and Hand Embossing with Carol DuBosch. I’m also hoping to get into John Steven’s 5-week Italic class. He just finished a round and I’ve been fawning over photos I’ve seen from people who’ve taken it. Italic is one of those scripts that I love, but it doesn’t quite love me back. I hope that both of the Italic classes will help me with the parts I struggle with so I can really improve my skills.
If you are interested in taking an online class, but don’t know where to look, I highly suggest starting on the John Neal Books website. They have been compiling a list of teachers and classes. This is regularly updated, and you will find just about any script you could imagine being taught by someone. Many of these classes are live, but if you can’t make it you will find that usually you will be emailed a recording that is available for anywhere from 1 week to 30 days, even 6 months after the class, so you can rewatch at your convenience. I haven’t taken any prerecorded classes, but there are some available so you can go at your own pace.
I’ve also kept an eye on Carol DuBosch’s offerings because she’s had a variety. From the one I took and other’s I’m going to, she has previously done Ben Shahn letters and Jubilee script, and she’s doing an Uncial class next week. Calligraphy Italia has been hosting a number of teachers, including Yukimi Annand, Gemma Black and Dao Huy Hoang. I’d love to know what classes you’ve taken or plan to take!