John Stevens - Capital Immersion - Cheerio October 18-23, 2026

Roman Capitals are magnificent and represent stature and purity of form. However, they are also mutable, meaning that there are many variations.

Join John for an immersive calligraphy experience at the Cheerio Calligraphy Retreat in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina! He’ll be teaching a special Capital Letters workshop from October 18–23, 2026. Spaces are limited, so please find all the details and register at https://www.calligraphycentre.com/retreats

View John's Instagram for his video detailing the class: https://www.instagram.com/calligraphile/reel/Db1PGVhgHeV/

Capital Immersion with John Stevens

In-Person retreat

October 18-23, 2026

Camp Cheerio, Glade Valley NC

Registration link: https://www.calligraphycentre.com/retreats

Contact: tetascribe@triad.rr.com

Class Supplies

Brushes:

• (BR01. BR24) Broad-Edged Brushes (W&N 995=1/2” or Raphael Kaerell 8796 #10 or #12) For video on brush preparation for broad-edged brushes: http://bit.ly/jsbrush
• (BR28, BR12) Optional: Pointed Brushes (W&N Series 7 #000, #00, #2); Raphael Kolinski 8408; Sho-card brush Rekab #5

Pens:

• (N02, N04)Broad Nib Pens (Brause, Mitchells in multiple sizes from small to medium)
• (FP67, FP69) Pilot Parallel 3.8 mm (Green Cap) preferred, and cartridges
• (M217, M218, M219) Felt-tipped Pens such as Pigma Micron Black #02, #01 or #005
• (N72, N74, N77, N86) Pointed pen (We are going to put an edge on a pointed nib for small writing). Suggestions: Gillott 303, Gillott 404, Hunt 101, or Hunt 56 (school round pointed)
• (N27) Optional: Automatic Pens

Pencils:

• (PL38, PL21) 2B-HB (for drawing/writing) / can be mechanical pencils
• 2H-4H (for ruling line)

Ink/Pigment:

• (S1022) A container of Nicker Poster Color Black. (For brush Roman. If you are going to practice a lot, it is good to purchase 2 of these).
• (I08) Higgins eternal (Black)
• (S1022) Optional: Nicker Poster Color (a couple of colors)
• (S1116, HG749, WNG1) Gouache (a couple of colors)
• (IS03, IS14, IS43) Ink stick & stone

Paper:

• (P32, P09-50)Smoother paper for ink/pen. Bond paper is fine if it does not bleed. Something like Canson Pro-Layout Marker Pad or Boris Layout Pad (Borden & Riley #37) Size: roughly 11" x 14" / (28 cm x 35 cm)
• (PS01, PS42, PS104, PS87-SA) Optional: Hot press watercolor paper of your choice (Arches Text Wove, Zerkall, Rives BFK, MBM, Fabriano, W&N, etc.)

Words/Texts:

• Some as short as 2-3 words but also, a sentence or two, and other texts that are longer.

Other Supplies - For shaping small nibs (We’re going to shape pointed or small nib with a fine broad edge for small writing):

• (S115) Hard Arkansas Stone
• (S1112-LED) 32x loupe or magnifying glass
• (S107) Polishing Paper (very fine (9 micron) sandpaper. Check the website of John Neal Books code: S107)

Basic Workshop Tools:

• (S3010) Palette to palette our brushes (glass or porcelain are ideal, but can be coated paper plates)
• (S930, S987) Soap to clean brushes
• (H129, H105) Pen holders (that fit your nibs, obviously)
• (BR43) A small brush for loading pens
• (S1005) Water container
• (E13) Eraser
• Paper weights
• Knife (to cut paper)
• (S391) Glue stick
• (S753, S270) Straight edge, T square, or ruler
• (S504) Cutting mat (or back of the bond paper pad)
• Crops (2 “L” crops / you can cut from mat board)
• (S1145, S412) Masking Tape
• Paper towels
• Note-taking stuff

Optional:

• Writing board
• A palette for color mixing

Supply Fee: $35 for exemplars