Calligraphy-A Beginner Guide

Escape into the calm creative vibe of our heritage studio workshop, breathe in deeply, relax and enjoy the company of likeminded others eager to learn the traditional art of calligraphy.

Mind you - this isn't just a quick start, quick finish course … whilst Lauchean shares many secrets from her long experience as a passionate professional at The Graphic Quill, it is your practice and putting pen to paper that will enhance your own experience.

Choose your course content. Complete beginners are recommended to start with the fundamentals of historical round hands - Uncial, Foundational Hand and Roman Capitals.

However, an introduction to Italic for beginners is offered within the same six week course. Ideally italic students should have some previous experience as the Italic form is a little more difficult to learn. Learn how to become consistent, then fluent with this elegant style.

All students will follow the same Beginners Guide Course Content: ie, basic strokes, letter groups, how to rule lines etc … as per the info detailed below.

Calligraphy - A Beginner's Guide

Here's the dates for this Six Week Course

Week 1. Sat, May 11, 12.30–3.30pm

Week 2. Sat, May 18, 12.30–3.30pm

Week 3. Sat, May 25, 12.30–3.30pm

Week 4. Sat, June 1, 12.30–3.30pm

NO CLASS SATURDAY June 8 (Kings Birthday Holiday)

Week 5. Sat, June 15, 12.30–3.30pm

Week 6. Sat, June 22, 12.30–3.30pm

Here's a bit of what you'll learn.

Calligraphy - A Beginner's Guide Course Content

• Getting started: Holding the pen & setting up your desk

• The alphabet, basic strokes and letter groups

• Letter and word spacing with minuscules (lowercase)

• How to rule lines and making ruling templates

• Capitals – Roman Letter Proportions & letter spacing

• Letter weights and contrasts: size, weight & colour

• An introduction to inks and gouache

• Practical projects: simple layouts and use of colour

• An introduction to studio materials, tools their use

Master Calligrapher, Lauchean takes you on transformative artistic journey into the art of calligraphy. This 6-week calligraphy course is designed specifically for beginners like you.

Focusing on historical hands, starting with the basics and developing your writing skills, she guides you through the fundamental principles, techniques, and secrets of calligraphy. With step-by-step instructions, lots of personalized feedback, and practical exercises your progress towards the creation of beautiful lettering and stunning artworks is ensured.

Discover the joy of expressing yourself through elegant strokes and flourishes. This Beginners Guide to Calligraphy will equip you with the skills and confidence needed to turn your marks on paper into personalised gifts.

ABOUT LAUCHEAN - Your TEACHER

As a teacher Lauchean wants to excite and empower you to unleash your creative potential. She believes anyone can cultivate their creativity and achieve amazing results!

Nurturing students through the process of learning and skills development, bringing together logical and philosophical approaches to design, layout and drawing - all taught with a purpose to calligraphy.

Lauchean’s unique teaching approach encourages students to first gain an understanding of the parts, the basics. Blending the moving hand, a focused mind & the heart desire for creativity, paving the way to artistic growth in a shared environment with likeminded others.

Looking into the history of writing, it’s place as a contemporary art and modern calligraphy, Lauchean suggests her students collect a “future file”. That’s simply a gallery of calligraphic images that inspires and excites a budding calligrapher. That’ll be anything from historical decorative lettering to modern experimental expressive calligraphy, hand writing, signage and abstract designs.

LAUCHEAN’S CALLIGRAPHY JOURNEY

Her discovery of beautiful writing led her from a print room to study Ticket and Show Card writing, Screen printing, Bookbinding and into Classic Calligraphy. Then at 27, it was back to college where she studied Graphic Arts and hand lettering. Achieving top awards at graduation she went on to work as a Graphic Artist specialising in calligraphy and lettering in a boutique Melbourne Publishing house.

In 1991 Lauchean established her studio, “The Graphic Quill”. As a pioneer in the industry she built her business based on calligraphy, lettering and print powered by a passionate love for letters. She has continued her own studies with Master Calligraphers both internationally and here in Australia throughout her decades as a working artist. Lauchean delights in “forever learning”.

Relishing every opportunity to share her knowledge, she’s been teaching Calligraphy and the book arts in Colleges, Universities and Arts Centres across Melbourne and Victoria for over 35 years. Prior to the pandemic she tutored the 2 Year Certificate of Calligraphy Course at RMIT in Melbourne. Since our “Covid” break she has returned to teaching her art and design classes in her new McKinnon studio workshop.

Calligraphy - It’s a journey of a thousand steps, taken one step at a time and tackled with patience, practice, purpose & focus.