“Getting your pen to fly, glide and land with speed, purpose and precision, and what beach calligraphy has to teach”

Engage in an entirely unique workshop! We have selected a studio near the beach and the beach will teach us all sorts of wonderful things about pen and paper calligraphy.

The workshop will begin at Rick Paulus’s Wareham, MA studio with a study in hand-arm mechanics and how they can be used for easier precision, for getting your pen to go where you need it to go. Then, we will delve into how different rhythms can be used to naturally produce different styles. We’ll apply the concept of ergonomics to calligraphy, exploring how your posture and height at the table relates to your calligraphy, right down to how to change it for different hands. We will explore sensing the body’s momentum and tension for specific movements in your calligraphy using wind-up and release.

If you are surprised how liberating all this can be you will be blown away by the effect of beach calligraphy! Over 3 days , one full day and 2 mornings will be spent indoors with pen and paper and 2 afternoons will be spent on the beach. Check out Andrew's Instagram (@beachscriber) to see his calligraphy works in motion! As calligraphers we tend to think in two dimensions -- the plane of a page -- but cutting into the sand of a beach gets you seeing the third dimension, and ink and paper calligraphy in a new light. This part of the workshop will alternate between play (lots of cool tools to explore) and rhythm and movement insights.

WHEN: September 29, 30 and October 1, 2023, 9AM - 5PM
WHERE: Rick Paulus’s Studio, Wareham, MA, and nearby Scusset Beach
COST: $250 for members, $280 for non-members (includes $30 annual membership). Workshop limited to sixteen participants. Eight student minimum must be confirmed by August 1 to avoid cancelling this workshop. To pay your dues or to join Masscribes, refer to the Masscribes membership page.
LEVEL: All skill levels
REGISTRATION: Opens June 30, 2023 at 10AM Eastern Time

Download the flyer with registration information HERE.

Click HERE for SUPPLY LIST.

Click HERE for TRAVEL DIRECTIONS, LODGING and FURTHER INFORMATION.

Click here for Andrew van der Merwe's BIO and his Instagram (@beachscriber).

To register for this workshop, please scroll down to submit the registration form in the bottom of this page (if you don't see the form, please click HERE) and proceed to the payment page.

The Monoline letter is ubiquitous and has many voices. It was a favorite of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods and continues to thrive today. Discover the diverse and lively world of the magnificent monoline letter in this colorful workshop. From creating White House invitations (really!) to expressive calligraphy pieces and logo design, monoline lettering is as diverse and as easy to create as it is fun! Regardless of skill level, this workshop will bring new, exciting life to your work.

Rick Paulus has been a calligrapher and a teacher for over forty years. Rick apprenticed for several years at the legendary Tolley Studios, in Washington, DC, before becoming the engrosser for the US State Department. In 1998, he was appointed chief calligrapher of the White House, where he remained for two presidents. Today, in addition to enjoying calligraphic explorations, Rick is dedicated to sharing the knowledge gained through many years of studio production and experimentation to students young and old alike.

WHEN: September 17 & 18, 9AM - 5PM
WHERE: Norwood Sportsmen’s Association, 576 Nichols St. Norwood, MA
REGISTRATION: Opens August 19, 2022
Scholarships are available for current members.

Download the flyer with registration information HERE.

As this is an in-person workshop, we will follow the current CDC guidelines and encourage all participants to use their discretion with personal health status and masking choice. Workshop registration fees will be refundable in case of cancellation due to personal last-minute health issues.
Questions? Contact Dave Flattery: lettering@aol.com.

The cost of this 2-day workshop is $125. If more than 18 enrollments are postmarked or made by PayPal on Friday, August 19, 18 participants will be selected in a lottery from the registration requests.

Enrollment is limited to 18 Masscribes members. To pay your dues or to join Masscribes, refer to the Masscribes membership page.

To register for this workshop, please submit the registration form (if you don't see the form, please click HERE) and proceed to the payment page. The form will go live on August 19, 2022 at 9AM ET.

The word texture comes from the Latin word 'textura' which means “yarn weaving”. It also applies to the links of the
chapters of a literary work, as well as the mineral constitution of rock. In the 15th Century, a gothic small letter was named “textura” which points out its precision and the way of interlacing each letter to write a word.
First, the participants will practice interlacing letters starting from their handwriting. Then, they’ll work on capital letters practicing their calligraphic knowledge. After which, they will progressively get free from readability and experiment with a playful approach leading to a very large range of writing textures.
The first objective of this workshop is to show how endless the possibilities of creating textures are and also the part they play in a composition. The second objective is to enrich graphic vocabulary and scriptural composition.

See the flyer for this workshop HERE.

Extend the range of your pointed pen’s potential as we break away from traditional pointed pen hands and explore the full power of this amazing little pen nib. Following an analysis of historical models as well as the work of contemporary masters, we willput our pens to paper and systematically develop new pointed pen styles out of formal broad-edge hands such as foundational, italic and uncial. The methods and skills acquired in this workshop will give participants the tools they need to further their reach with the pointed pen in infinite ways.

ALL LEVELS

Rick Paulus has been a calligrapher and a teacher for over forty years. Rick apprenticed for several years at the legendary Tolley Studios, in Washington, DC, before becoming the engrosser for the US State Department. In 1998, he was appointed chief calligrapher of the White House, where he remained for two presidents. Today, in addition to enjoying calligraphic explorations, Rick is dedicated to sharing the knowledge gained through many years of studio production and experimentation to students young and old alike.

Download the flyer with registration information HERE.

A brush is a very unique, responsive and gentle tool, which can be used for calligraphy backgrounds or a final artwork. With the patterns and transparent paths of the brush, one can enjoy all the advantages that it offers.We will build designs by exploring textures with the brush by making numerous layers of letters and changing positions. This effect is really breathtaking! In addition to dry brush, we will learn how to incorporate a small text - written with smaller nibs that are familiar to you - into your final design. We will also be learning a few embossing techniques that involve colors, metal leaves and different pressures to enhance the embossing effect. This too could be added to your final piece!

Loredana Zega is a passionate Slovenian Calligrapher with an English National Diploma in Calligraphy, held by CLAS (The Calligraphy and Lettering Art Society), passed with Distinction. She is experienced in a variety of techniques, surfaces and alphabets. Her passion is the flat brush, besides dance and theatre. She is representing her passion for letters through her Musical "A day of a calligrapher".

Download the flyer with registration information HERE.

Download the supply list HERE.

In this workshop we'll make two, possibly three, simple, elegant, Japanese-style folded boxes. The boxes are geometrics, formed from one long sheet of card stock scored and folded to create equal triangular shapes. The form can easily be expanded from a square to a pentagon, hexagon, octagon, etc. The first box will be made from heavyweight translucent Pergamenata stock, to understand the overall structure and assembly. The second box will be finished with Japanese papers. We will create decorative lids using avariety of techniques and finish them with beautiful beads or finials. The third box, time permitting, will be a variation by either expanding the number of sides or changing the folds.

Barry Morentz owns and operates his Manhattan studio where he creates calligraphic works and handmade books, boxes, and portfolios. He holds an MA in Medieval History, but abandoned pursuit of a doctorate in favour of an even less likely career in calligraphy. Initially self-taught, he began his formal calligraphic studies, primarily with Sheila Waters, in 1977, and eventually with almost every internationally recognized master. A seminal experience was participation in the Hermann Zapf Master Class at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1985, and subsequent paleographic studies in Rome and the Vatican Library. He has taught numerous workshops throughout the US, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and at five international Calligraphy Conferences.

Download the flyer with registration information HERE.

In this workshop we begin by looking at Johnston’s forms and their historical antecedents. Then we zoom into the 21st century and consider the forms stripped of anachronisms, and apply modern techniques to make them more viable. Day 1 deals with the minuscules and the rhythm of writing and spacing. On Day 2 we will work with the variables that create an entirely different feel, as well as with the bounty of styles that permit us to create an endless repertory of Capitals.

This class requires some prior knowledge of Italic.

Barry Morentz owns and operates his Manhattan studio where he creates calligraphic works and handmade books, boxes, and portfolios. He holds an MA in Medieval History, but abandoned pursuit of a doctorate in favour of an even less likely career in calligraphy. Initially self-taught, he began his formal calligraphic studies, primarily with Sheila Waters, in 1977, and eventually with almost every internationally recognized master. A seminal experience was participation in the Hermann Zapf Master Class at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1985, and subsequent paleographic studies in Rome and the Vatican Library. He has taught numerous workshops throughout the US, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and at five international Calligraphy Conferences.

Make sure you follow his work on Instagram (@barrymorentz)!

Download the flyer with registration information HERE.

April 26-28 Barry Morentz  with 2 workshops! April 26 - Japanese Boxes; April 27-28 - Gothicized Italic

September 21/22 Loredana Zega - "Brush Textures". See www.kaligrafija.org and follow Loredana on Instagram and Facebook

October 19/20 Rick Paulus - "The Truly Flexible Pointed Pen". See Rick’s work at http://www.rickpauluscalligraphy.com

If you are attending the Rendez-vous 2019 International Calligraphy conference in Montreal next July, we want to hear from you! It will be fun to know who is going. Just send an email to info@masscribes.com. Also let us know if you are interested in driving up with another member and we can coordinate with each other.

Imagine having time dedicated to focusing and exploring a series of works that combine meaningful words and images in multiple ways. Our focus will be on layout and design, layering lettering techniques, combining text and images, and most importantly learning to work on multiple pieces at once in order to overcome the ‘fear’ we develop when the investment is focused on a single precious piece. The freedom of multiples allows us to take more chances, to do the unexpected and not settle on the first solution to a problem. By working in a series we forget the preciousness of each piece knowing that not everyone will be successful, and embracing that freedom to make mistakes.

Throughout the class we will employ a variety of techniques, such as painting, drawing, collage, and image transfer incombination with our calligraphy. While not strictly a lettering class, we will incorporate our calligraphy throughout the process. Layering, masking and photo transfer techniques with a variety of mixed media allow for risk taking and experimentation as we discuss layout principles and make thoughtful design choices.

You will work in a small scale in multiples, focusing on the development of a series of work, refining your designs and the integration of images, words and letters into your pages. You will explore how to incorporate personal meaning into your pieces, and why this is necessary tocreate work that tells a compelling story. The class includes a discussion on the importance of choosing words you want to spend time with and playing with ways of combining text and image that are not only interesting to look at, but add meaning to your work, avoiding the obvious and respecting your audience enough to leave some of the mystery for them to solve.

By the end of class you should have a few resolved final pieces, a pile full of work that needs more attention and the skills to go back to your studios equipped with a way of working without worrying!

Amity Parks's website with her bio and the most recent work is http://www.amityparks.com.

 

 

Celtic knotwork is a beautiful art form that can look more difficult than it actually needs to be. Once having learned the basics of drawing elementary knots, one can use simple methods to expand designs and use them in numerous creative applications, from illuminated pages to decorated objects. Working with the symbolic geometry that is innate to Celtic knotwork can be rewardingly meditative.

In this one-day workshop, participants will be introduced to the art of Celtic knotwork through a combination of history review, live demonstration of multiple methods of construction (different ways to approach interlacing designs), hands-on practice, and a look at the ways in which elements of this ancient art are being applied by artists and designers today. Handouts will include exemplars for traditional knots and borders, in-class exercises, terminology definitions, images from historic samples, pages from a variety of writings by prominent Celtic art researchers, and lists of resources. 

After learning the process of plotting out and interlacing the cords of a formal knot, we will make a lateral move to following the less measured and mathematical method of constructing freeform knots. Concentrating on balance and spacing, we will talk at this point about continuity in the curves of lines as they pass through intersections and the very important habit of looking for symmetry, shape, and weight of negative spaces. As a culmination of the day’s lessons, each student will choose one of their completed designs to cleanly trace in outline form. The cords of the knot will be outlined with Micron pen and colored in with Prismacolor pencils. Elegance and dimension will be added to this piece by finishing it off with subtle highlights and shadows, shading and blending colors to create depth and a 3-dimensional effect.

Diane McDougall-Desautelle has long been in love with the fascinating and mystical designs of Celtic art. Multiple trips to Scotland and England during her college years provided her with plenty of visual nourishment for years of work in calligraphy and Celtic influenced art and design. Today she takes as many opportunities as possible to thread this influence into her commissions and personal work. She is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts where she received her diploma and her BFA in affiliation with Tufts University in 1991. A natural love of teaching led her to continue at Tufts and pursue her Master of Arts in Teaching which she earned in 1993. In addition to running her small business, ThistleWork Design Calligraphy Studio from her Framingham home - Diane teaches calligraphy classes to children and adults at private schools and evening adult education programs. Her work can be seen online at www.ThistleWorkStudio.com and www.Facebook.com/ThistleWorkDesign