Workshop Listings
Courses taught by Ewan in 2019:
March 30-31st
Informal roman cursive scripts
Writing in the ancient roman world included not just the formal painted and carved capital lettering we still employ today but also several forms of informal handwriting: old and new roman cursive. In this class we will look at these informal scripts, studying the handwriting based on capital letters on day 1 and the lower-case forms on day 2. Our aim is to understand their constructive dynamics using the pencil and then to explore them with pens as a basis for creating our own more contemporary and expressive calligraphy.
Cost £170.
This workshop takes place in Ewan's Studio, 10 am to 4.30 pm.
Course in 2020
Training in-depth:
Calligraphic fundamentals in depth, 3 month course. Running next in 2020.
12 weeks, 2 days a week (Mondays and Tuesdays). January - March . Cost: £1400
Foundations of calligraphy, roman-upper and lower-case letterforms, italic, introduction to materials and tools, project assignments. Taught by Ewan to the depth that it used be at Roehampton. Students are expected to complete up to two days home-work during the week. Limited to 7 places. The course is suitable for beginners as well as those with considerable experience. The benefit of a course such as this comes from having a concentrated period of time devoted to growing one's calligraphic skills, the sustained programme of learning helps it bed down in your motor system and grow your imagination, skill and confidence. There are also a limited number of places for advanced students who may want to audit the course whilst working on their own projects.
The syllabus covered:
1. Roman Capitals, the historical background, an introduction to 'essential forms', geometric construction, pencil and monoline studies, spacing
2. Working with a pen and using lightweight roman capitals, monoline capitals in a text and simple designs
3. introducing weighting to capital letters, serifs, spacing again. Working with contrasting weights.
4. Continuation and completion of capital letter projects. Ink.
5. Introduction to Edward Johnston’s teaching of related form, geometric study of lower case roman forms, the principles of related form as seen in his 'foundationa'l hand studies. The historical development of lower-case forms
6. Analysing a historical manuscript, large weighted roman lower-case forms, the relationship between calligraphy and type design. Paper and how to handle it.
7. Upper and lower-case romans in combination, smaller scale writing, and introduction to the quill pen
8. On manuscript books, planning and making a small book. Introduction to vellum.
9. Continued work on books. An introduction to formal italic writing, its development and history
10. Flow and ease in writing, revision of Roman and compressed capitals.
11. Italic capitals, flourishing
12. Project completion. Review and planning individual future learning.
For full workshop listings for 2019 please click here. In 2019, while I write a new book I am teaching less, so I have opened my studio up to a series of guest instructors including Christopher Haanes, Luca Barcelona (workshop full) and Giovanni de Faccio. All of them are focussing in different ways on calligraphic foundations.
In addition my apprentice and assistant Megan Maksimovich will be running a series of introductory and taster sessions for those who want to begin their calligraphic explorations.
Travel and accommodation details on the contact page.
Courses taught by Ewan in 2019:
March 30-31st
Informal roman cursive scripts
Writing in the ancient roman world included not just the formal painted and carved capital lettering we still employ today but also several forms of informal handwriting: old and new roman cursive. In this class we will look at these informal scripts, studying the handwriting based on capital letters on day 1 and the lower-case forms on day 2. Our aim is to understand their constructive dynamics using the pencil and then to explore them with pens as a basis for creating our own more contemporary and expressive calligraphy.
Cost £170.
This workshop takes place in Ewan's Studio, 10 am to 4.30 pm.
Course in 2020
Training in-depth:
Calligraphic fundamentals in depth, 3 month course. Running next in 2020.
12 weeks, 2 days a week (Mondays and Tuesdays). January - March . Cost: £1400
Foundations of calligraphy, roman-upper and lower-case letterforms, italic, introduction to materials and tools, project assignments. Taught by Ewan to the depth that it used be at Roehampton. Students are expected to complete up to two days home-work during the week. Limited to 7 places. The course is suitable for beginners as well as those with considerable experience. The benefit of a course such as this comes from having a concentrated period of time devoted to growing one's calligraphic skills, the sustained programme of learning helps it bed down in your motor system and grow your imagination, skill and confidence. There are also a limited number of places for advanced students who may want to audit the course whilst working on their own projects.
The syllabus covered:
1. Roman Capitals, the historical background, an introduction to 'essential forms', geometric construction, pencil and monoline studies, spacing
2. Working with a pen and using lightweight roman capitals, monoline capitals in a text and simple designs
3. introducing weighting to capital letters, serifs, spacing again. Working with contrasting weights.
4. Continuation and completion of capital letter projects. Ink.
5. Introduction to Edward Johnston’s teaching of related form, geometric study of lower case roman forms, the principles of related form as seen in his 'foundationa'l hand studies. The historical development of lower-case forms
6. Analysing a historical manuscript, large weighted roman lower-case forms, the relationship between calligraphy and type design. Paper and how to handle it.
7. Upper and lower-case romans in combination, smaller scale writing, and introduction to the quill pen
8. On manuscript books, planning and making a small book. Introduction to vellum.
9. Continued work on books. An introduction to formal italic writing, its development and history
10. Flow and ease in writing, revision of Roman and compressed capitals.
11. Italic capitals, flourishing
12. Project completion. Review and planning individual future learning.
For full workshop listings for 2019 please click here. In 2019, while I write a new book I am teaching less, so I have opened my studio up to a series of guest instructors including Christopher Haanes, Luca Barcelona (workshop full) and Giovanni de Faccio. All of them are focussing in different ways on calligraphic foundations.
In addition my apprentice and assistant Megan Maksimovich will be running a series of introductory and taster sessions for those who want to begin their calligraphic explorations.
Travel and accommodation details on the contact page.
