The Joy of Calligraphy (Sharon Zeugin: 5 day)

Skill level: This class is for intermediate to advanced calligraphers.

Developing a Personal Script: We come to calligraphy with the intention of making beautiful letters. While engaging in the discipline necessary to master formal penmanship, our enthusiasm, curiosity and joy may wane. Our lettering, though structurally accurate or “well-behaved,” might lack freshness, vitality, Life.  In this class, we dare to wander off the familiar calligraphic path while exploring ways to invigorate our work and develop a more personal approach to calligraphy. Specifically, the aim of the class will be to develop one’s own script. While class exercises will include careful study and attention to pleasing forms, the emphasis will be on composing dynamic lines of writing, not achieving typographic perfection.  Our own handwriting– and an informal cursive italic–will be points of departure as we experiment with calligraphy as gesture, line, pattern and graphic form. This class will be a laboratory where experimentation, improvisation, exploration and discovery will replace the goal of gaining mastery. Participants will create a broadside and a  hand-bound journal of their class exercises  and script developments.

Supply List: Calligraphy supplies including nibs (to include #6 Mitchell and C-5 Speedball); penholders; water container; rags; loading brushes; non-traditional tools (cola pen); 11×14 drawing pad (Strathmore); gouache (white & black); Sumi ink; Walnut ink; Arches Text wove paper (at least 1 full sheet); Niddigen paper; 1 sheet black paper (Ingres, Arches); T-square ruler; HB pencil; at least 3 tubes of acrylic paint; brushes for acrylic paint; Micron Pigma (01, 005): 4 bookbinding needles; thread; Xacto knife.

Supply Fee: $10

About the instructor: Sharon Zeugin spends most of her days drawing, painting, and doing calligraphy in and out of her studio in Austin, Texas. Her background includes degrees in history and social work from the University of Southern California and University of Texas. Zeugin also studied calligraphy at the Roehampton Institute, in London.  In addition to her commission work, she teaches workshops all over the US, Canada, and soon, Europe, and participates in both local and national juried art exhibits. Sketching is a passion; she loves to “seize the moments as they fly” in various journals. As a teacher, her aim is to help students discover and cultivate their passion – and get over their fear of the blank page.