Calligraphy, Illumination and Craft Tuition by Peter Taylor

Peter provides professional but enjoyable instruction at his Peter Taylor’s Calligraphics studio in Brisbane or anywhere worldwide

He is the author of ‘Practical Calligraphy’ pub. Hinkler Books in 2010, ‘The Australian Manual of Calligraphy’ pub. Allen and Unwin 1987 ‘A Manual of Calligraphy’ pub. HarperCollins/Unwin Hyman 1987 ...and another contracted book is in progress

Many skills can be learned from Peter's books, although an immense advantage is gained by having an expert personally guide you.

Tuition for adults and children (aged 10 and up) is offered on a wide range of styles and techniques, adapted to in individual's needs. Absolute beginners who have not held a calligraphy pen before and those with more experience who wish to refine their skills are both catered for.

Private tuition for one or two people can be given at the studio. The cost for learning a writing style is $44 per hour, with all materials and equipment supplied. This cost can be shared between two people.

Workshops and practical courses for larger groups of up to 20 people can also be arranged if you are able to supply the venue (eg. schools, seniors clubs, craft groups). The charge will be negotiated and depend on duration, travelling time, topic, number of people and the materials that need to be supplied.

In a previous life, Peter taught art and science in schools for over 15 years He is still a Registered Queensland Teacher and Blue Card holder. Larger school classes can be handled, with suitable content chosen for the age. These can be ‘one off’ appearances or a continuing program, or a residency, and adults are welcome to participate. In-service training for teachers can also be provided. As a past Coordinator of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Peter can also talk or instruct about Writing and Illustrating Picture Books; Visual Literacy; Book Cover Design; the History of Books and other topics as well as teaching the crafts of: Calligraphy and Illumination; Artist’s Book Construction; Creativity with Paper; Papermaking; Bookbinding. Please visit Peter’s ‘Writing Site’, where you can find more about ‘Visits’

Writing styles for beginners (eg. Italic, Gothic, Celtic and Foundational Hand) usually take four one hour lessons for private tuition, or approx. 6 working hours for adult groups.

Some popular subjects include:

Make your own Pen

Working with Gold and Colour


















Cut Letters

Techniques of Medieval Illumination

Drawing Versals Letters

Decorative Capitals for Celtic




Celtic with Changed Features

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Lettering

Layout and Design











Embossing, Resists, Carving and Rubbings

Painting for Calligrpahers

White Vining

Roman Capitals

Modern Versals

Carolingian Old and New

Celtic with Tweaks

Italic with Oomph and Pizazz

Introduction

Fun Lettering

Introduction to Penmanship

Fundamentals

Italic 1
Italic 2
Gothic
Celtic
Foundational

Useful Techniques

Make your own Pen
Layout and Design
Working with Colour and Gold
Embossing, Resists, Carving
and Rubbings
Cut Letters
Painting for Calligraphers
Medieval Illumination
'White Vining'

Advanced

Roman Capitals
Drawing Versal Letters
Modern Versals
Carolingian Old and NewDecorative Captials for Celtic
Celtic with Tweaks
Celtic with Changed Features
Italic with Oomph and Pizzazz

Fun Lettering

This is suitable for children, card-makers, scrapbookers and others who wish to explore the creative design and use of letters.

...and for those wishing to learn the finer points of calligraphy:

An Introduction to Penmanship

The basic principles of calligraphy are introduced. The different choices of pen, associated techniques and the breadth of possibilities are also covered through learning a modern simplified Neuland hand.

The four most famous basic alphabets (separate sessions for each):

Italic  1 - for beginners

Italic calligraphy is particularly useful for poems, greetings cards and envelopes, but can also be adapted for formal applications such as presentations and certificates.

Italic 2 - for those who have completed Italic 1 and mastered the basics

An introduction to adding flourishes and decoration to letters, as well as writing in colour.

Gothic - for beginners

Angular, strong, decorative and always impressive, Gothic is one of the easiest scripts to learn. It is particularly useful for headings and greetings cards, but also many other purposes.

Celtic - for beginners

This script is a slightly modernised version of the ancient script used by Irish monks to produce their ancient manuscripts. This is straightforward to learn.

Foundational / Roman - for beginners

Some calligraphers believe that this script should be learned before any others, but all of these four styles have their advantages. It provides a logical build up of letter structures and shapes that can be later be modified, and the capitals in particular are a foundation for the structure of capitals in all other styles. It is has a formal appearance.

Useful techniques

Make your own Pen

Pens made from reeds and bamboo have been used for centuries to produce the finest results. They can also be shaped to suit the way that makes writing easiest for you, made cheaply in a range of sizes and are a joy to use. We will also make pens from Balsa wood and experiment with them to construct impressive decorative letters in colour.

Layout and Design

Mainly concentrates on the design options for laying out poems, invitations, presentations, advertisements and other common tasks calligraphers may wish to do. It also teaches writing on curves and gives ideas for easy ways to create monograms. Writing expertise is not a pre-requisite.

Working with Colour and Gold - an introduction

You will learn the best ways to write in pure and blended colour on white and dark coloured papers and write with gold paint in a ‘dip nib’. Ideas will be provided for a range of ways to add colour to your calligraphy. Though it is likely that most attendees will have some experience in writing in calligraphy, this is not essential and expertise is not presumed. You will also apply 23ct gold leaf! A small additional fee applies.

Embossing, Resists, Carving and Rubbings

These techniques are particularly suited for creating headings and greetings cards – but creative people will use them for a wealth of purposes. No calligraphy skill is expected.

Cut Letters

Pop-up, bend the flap, see-through, cut out, stick-on, 3D... A selection of designs will be supplied for you to experiment with. No calligraphy skill is expected.

Painting for Calligraphers

Produce a decorative letter with a trail of leaves and flowers and maybe add some wildlife. You can frame your finished work of art, but you will be able to adapt this idea for letters to start poems and for the creation of borders. Designs will be provided, so no prior skills are required. This teaches the use of fine brushes, pointed pens and the principle of trailing borders.

Medieval Illumination

You will create a painted capital letter in 14th century style, with blended colour and fine white line decoration, a 23ct gold leaf background and a mixture of leaf and flower designs from the period. This will enable you to copy any designs that you see in a picture of a medieval manuscript or devise your own. This workshop focuses on painting techniques and drawing skills, and no prior experience is required. A small additional fee applies.

‘White Vining’

You will use 23ct gold leaf produce a copy of a medieval letter and paint a multi-coloured background using different strengths of paint, leaving plant trails in the colour of the paper. A modernised version will also be produced and this will enable you to design similar letters for yourself. You will want to frame your results! This is a stand-alone workshop and no prior experience is needed. A small additional fee applies.

For those aiming to become experts

This series of workshops offers a choice of new styles and variations to standard ones to add to your ‘calligraphy tool box’ of useful techniques. Though not absolutely essential, most attendees will have used a calligraphy pen before and written in at least one basic style.

Roman Capitals - painted and pen written

These letters have been the foundation stone of all our Western alphabets. An understanding of their construction will improve your ability to draw elegant letters in a wide range of styles.

Drawing Versal Letters

The principles of versal letter construction will be emphasised so that you can design letters to accompany medieval and modern scripts or use them on their own.

Modern Versals

Though similar versals can first be drawn as outlines and painted, the letter shapes in this class will be built up from pen strokes.

Carolingian Old and New

Elegant and rounded, variations of Carolingian scripts can provide a formal look or a more cursive appearance, as in ‘Running Book Hand’.

Decorative Capitals for Celtic

Few people can construct letters with the same number of knots and intricacies that the early illuminators used. These letterforms, based on the proportions of the originals, provide fitting alternatives.

Celtic with Tweaks

I will teach you how the monks drew their letters in ancient times and also some useful simplified versions.

Celtic with Changed Features

There are many ways that Celtic features can be built into modernised scripts to make them stylish. This alphabet has plenty of character for use in a variety of calligraphic artworks.

Italic with oomph and pizzazz

Learn tweaks and modifications that can change the appearance of Italic to give you added ‘colours’ to choose from in your palette of alphabets.