Menu with a Slant

What fun it was to letter this menu!

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Pointed Pen Explorations Workshop

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of teaching for Kaligrafos, the calligraphy guild in Dallas. What a great group of people!  It was a wonderful experience
and I enjoyed nearly every minute of my stay (except for the part where I hurt my toe – but it’s almost better
now {yay!}).

Anyway, Debi Sementelli was my hostess with the mostest and, if you don’t already know, she’s the artist behind the terrific Belluccia font.  Outside of class, we had a great time talking about lettering and fonts and as many other alphabetically related things as possible.

Debi was kind enough to write a lovely review of the workshop so if you have a minute, hop on over and read all about it!

Set-Up Fees for Calligraphy

While this may not be the sexiest post ever ; ) the topic of Set-Up Fees came up while I was recently in Dallas to teach a workshop (more on that to come, so stay tuned), and I thought that posting my list of what is included in my [relatively] small charge might be a good idea. Not only is it important for my clients to understand why the fee is requested, but I feel that it is necessary for calligraphers recognize as well.

When someone asks, “How much do you charge to address an envelope?” I respond with a price for lettering a simple script, in black ink on an envelope by Crane & Co., or equivalent, which is based on the time it takes to do the lettering, and I go on to add that a there is also a Set-Up Fee which helps defray the cost of other activities and supplies associated with addressing those envelopes.

Without further ado, here is my list….

Of course, there are additional charges for extra flourishing, lettering on difficult paper, mixing an “exact” ink colour, writing in gold or pastel inks, etc., etc., but again, all of these (and more) are based on the time it takes to do the work.

So, now you know!

Copperplate Calligraphy Class

This year began in a whirlwind! While my resolution to post more frequently was truly authentic, too many great projects got in the way, but I hope to rectify my neglect with the next few posts. ; )

March saw the end of a six-month Copperplate continued studies program in Murrieta, California. All I can say is how wonderful it was to have an opportunity to teach such a lovely group of wonderfully dedicated letter lovers.

Our first few classes began by going over the basic strokes and letterforms, with the rest of each day devoted to individual instruction from me and practice, practice, practice. The following classes saw more one-on-one attention and much practice, with definite improvement seen along the way.

Studio tips were offered throughout the time and included an opportunity to experiment with writing on black with gold and pastel colours, and writing using a phantom liner.

Finally, we explored how to make subtle changes to the look of the lettering while keeping true to the Copperplate style, and each student made their own small book with the various examples to use as a reference. To round it all off, the last two sessions extended the class in order to do some flourishing work. Phew!

And last but not least …. a heaping huge note of THANKS to Dots n Doodles for kindly sending some great samples of wonderful products to the students!

What a great experience I had with my first extended studies class … I certainly hope to have the occasion to do this again soon!