The Gentle Penman

Engrossing is an unfamiliar term to most of today’s calligraphers. However, from about the mid 1800’s through the mid 1900’s engrossing studios flourished throughout the U.S. employing hundreds of calligraphers or engrossers. Mike was...

During this workshop, student will dive deep into the world of Fraktur – a 16th-century blackletter script that mixes the elegance and refinement of formal gothic hands with the liveliness of Bastarda. Student will explore the fundamentals of...

Calligraphy has long been paired with paintings, ornamental scroll work, and other pictorial objects to enhance a piece's visual impact. In this class, we will explore the relationship between ovals and curvatures, and learn how to use them strategically...

Explore the beautiful world of Uncials with Sachin Shah. Although Uncial is a historical script dating back to 4thcentury, its relevance and applicability in the calligraphy world remains unparalleled even today. In this workshop, we will discover the...

Off-hand flourishing is a non-lettering form of penmanship and as such, there are no baselines, waistlines, capitals, or lowercase flourishes. As an artform, off-hand flourishing serves two purposes; these are space-filling and ornamentation. It is...

Romans have been our calligraphic foundation through the decades. They have a fascinating history of which we still follow, with a few adjustments. In this course we will begin with a solid understanding of these beautiful, classic letterforms, then take...

This workshop will cover the fundamentals of design to create a successful layout that combines lettering and watercolor florals, pen illustration, or your favorite decorative technique. Student will learn: 20 layout ideas (at least!) to use with small...

Before the age of computers and vinyl stickers all commercial signage was layed-out and painted by hand. For a few decades handpainted signage was almost gone. Today there is a new demand for handmade signs. They simply have so much more character than...

We cannot begin without looking at the Roman caps. And that is what we will do. Going through the Roman proportions, but not in a very detailed way. The study of Roman caps is a workshop(s) on its own. But it’s important to know that all caps are...

Student will explore the technique of calligram that consist to create a silhouette made by words. The workshop refers to people in love with lettering, calligraphers and designer that wants to have more skills especially with hand made types. Daniele...

Brush writing is one of the most expressive forms of calligraphy used today. Many styles can be recreated with the brush using the pressure technique, both classic and not, from the italic forms to the various types of cursive to the forms of sign...

In this workshop student will create expressive and personal scripts and then combine them to achieve new graphic effects. Working with a variety of pens, student will be asked to invent styles of calligraphy to express emotions, associations, and other...

You don’t need fancy paper or drawing skills to create a bespoke, handstitched notebook with a beautifully illustrated cover. In this introductory bookbinding class with book artist Bel Mills, you’ll transform a pair of envelopes into a...

Historical Hands  In keeping with our commitment to calligraphy education, the Gentle Penman is pleased to announce a new series of short workshops, which will serve as an introduction to a selection of styles of traditional calligraphy over the...

For those of you who have always wanted to learn calligraphy but didn't know where or how to begin, this is a perfect opportunity to learn about the tools, materials, and basic pen techniques  needed to start your journey! We will work together to...

"I am sure that many calligraphers have come across this situation of a client handing you a font, thinking it was a script, and wanting other items, such as addressing envelopes, to match that font." That is what happened to Bill, and he had to develop...

The Victorian Pen workshop combines historic offhand flourishing subjects along with my signature line and wash technique. The workshop was created to help students enhance their flourishing skills. Students will be guided through pen drawn flourishes...

Babanakkas was the head Nakkas (Artist) of the Ottoman Palace at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Period in the 15th Century. Baba Nakkas has given this period his name with his new styles and techniques. The fig leaves, different mushroom motifs and flowers like...

Over the last two thousand years one type of majuscule in particular has been an enduring letter style for all time, the working versal. Versals have appeared in various forms of the western alphabet in every century throughout that time period. The word...

This class is an introduction to Square Kufic Calligraphy. Originally created for architecture purposes, this ancient script beautifully simplifies the letter forms into modern angular shapes. Introduction to its history, individual and connected letter...