What will I learn at a calligraphy workshop?

I thought it’d be lovely to explain a little about my calligraphy workshops. They’re fun, everyone is welcome and you don’t need any calligraphy experience.

I always try to have a little project, so everyone gets to take home a finished ‘piece’ by the end of the day. Just something pretty you’ve written with your calligraphy pens – no pressure to create a masterpiece! – and I’m there to help of course!

Everything is provided for you

I’ll bring pens and nibs, inks and paints, paper and worksheets. Refreshments will be provided for you too! (Cookies and cake are SO important to aid learning!)

We start with the basics. How to put a nib in a pen. Why I’ve made a raw potato hedgehog while you were walking into the room. How to draw a line. Why it’s fine that your line is wobbly.

And then we do swirly things, and I’ll gradually encourage you to draw a few swirls, and shapes…

Confidence comes from playing with pens

Before you know it, we’ll be tracing our first letters! (It’s not cheating. It’s teaching your hand to dance with the pen, without overloading your brain. You can be having a chat with the person sat next to you as you write!)

And suddenly, when you’re gaining in confidence, you’ll be writing letters and words and names and swooshing and swirling and playing with colours – and you’ll have learned how to handle a calligraphy nib in the most enjoyable way!