The Art of Italic Calligraphy - Calliarts in June and July 2026

 Dear Members and Followers,

Get your slant on with our June and July Calliarts afternoon as we explore the art of Italic calligraphy.

Suitable for new and continuing students alike.

The Italic hand is probably one of the most versatile scripts available to today’s calligrapher, and although its roots are solidly based in the 16thC it sits very comfortably with us in the 21stC and can be used for any occasion, formal, informal, whether the words are funny, sad, or serious. You name it and Italic will be able to cover it.

For new or beginning students session 1, will focus on correct letter shapes along with correct spacing both between letters and actual words, along with the usual boring stuff you need to know about when starting to learn something new! You will be under no pressure to work faster than you are comfortable with.

For ongoing students wanting to brush up on some rusty skills, in session 1 you will have the added option of trying one or two of the many Italic variations.

Session 2, will see all students putting together a small piece of work suitable to your skill level.

Bring your usual calligraphy kit, along with your favourite chisel edge pens, ink or paint of your choice, paper towel or rag for clean up and reasonable quality practice paper of A3 or A4 size, a small nylon brush for loading ink onto your pen, plus at least 1 or 2 small quotes to work with.

Materials List - 

A3 or A4 layout pad -- or similar for practice work

HB pencil

Eraser

Ruler

 Speedball, Brause or Mitchell nibs.  reasonably large sizes such as SBall 2 or 3. Brause, 2.5 or Mitchell no 2.

Alternatively a Parallel pen 2.4 would work well.   (see note below)

 

Ink of your choice.

Small, cheap nylon brush (#1 or 2) for loading ink into the reservoir.

Water pot, paper towel, or a small hand towel for cleaning up.

A few quotes of at least five / six lines.

NB: we work with larger pen sizes to start with, as these allow us to really see where we might be making mistakes. Smaller nib sizes come after a little practice.

When: 13 June 2026 and 11 July 2026
Where: Sylvania Community Centre - Canberra Road, Sylvania
Time: 12.30pm - 3.30pm
Cost: Members - $20.00, Visitors - $25.00 (per class)
Bookings - email southscribes@yahoo.com.au

Bookings must be made at least 1 week prior to the class commencing.

 

May Calliarts - Unlocking the Majesty of Uncial - Part 2

 Dear Members and Followers,

Please join us for part 2 of Unlocking the Majesty of Uncial calliarts.

This month after a warm up of our letters and writing a few short words, we will be exploring how to use your Uncial. 

Come along for a creative afternoon. 

You must bring:

A4 paper

A3 paper (minimum of 2 sheets)

Pens, Nibs, Coloured gouache, etc. (water jar, palate, brushes) or

Coloured calligraphy/felt calligraphy pens

Ruler

Eraser

Graphite pencils

Geometric compass

Tracing paper

Usual calligraphy gear.

 

It is essential you book in no later than the Thursday night before class, so the tutor has photocopies for you. 

When: 9 May 2026

Where: Sylvania Community Centre - Canberra Road, Sylvania

Time: 12.30pm - 3.30pm

Cost: Members - $20.00, Visitors - $25.00

Bookings - email southscribes@yahoo.com.au

Calliarts - Unlocking the Majesty of Uncial

 Dear Members and Followers,

Calliarts - April & May 2026 – Unlocking the Majesty of Uncial – Cathy

Step back to the dominant script from the 4^th to the 8^th century and discover the hand that shaped early manuscripts. Uncial is one of the most beautiful and influential hands, preserving great bibles and early literary treasures of the west.

This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to slow down, pick up a pen, and master the rounded, rhythmic elegance of this classic majuscule script. We will break the individual letters down, focusing on its signature “roundness” and the specific pen-angles required to achieve its characteristic weight.

Over the two months we will:

·       Foundations – history of the script, tool set-up and basic warm-up strokes.

·       The Alphabet – Group letters by shape and practice.

·       Refining the Hand – Adjusting the X-height, alternate letters, etc.

·       Work on aspects of decoration and usage that are associated with the hand.

Who are these afternoons for?

·       Beginners – No prior calligraphy experience is necessary. Uncial is an excellent starting point for calligraphy as we work with majuscules and limited slopes.

·       Intermediate and More Experienced calligraphers. Time to refine the hand and add some extras to your uncial.

Materials List Across the Two Months:

·       A3 Bleed proof Paper Pad – (Reeves from Officeworks, works well or an alternative from Eckersley’s)

·       Graphite Pencils – HB and 2B

·       Ruler – 40cm

·       Eraser

·       Penholders and broad edge nibs (chisel) in a variety of sizes (beginners April – Artline calligraphy markers in different sizes, again Officeworks)

·       Ink and/or Gouache (you will also need gouache for lettering a piece). Please include a gold gouache.

·       Some sort of palate, cheap small brush, good small brushes (000, 00 and 0 – not expensive), water jar/s, paper towels or cloth for cleaning

·       Black fine liners

·       Tracing paper

·       Grid paper

·       Geometric compass

·       Suitable quotes, + one longer piece

(the list may seem extensive, but I promise we will use everything).

When: 11 April 2026 and 9 May 2026

Where: Sylvania Community Centre - Canberra Road, Sylvania

Time: 12.30pm - 3.30pm

Cost: Members - $20.00, Visitors - $25.00

Bookings - email southscribes@yahoo.com.au

March Calliarts - Running Bookhand Part 2

 Dear Members and Followers,

Calligraphy Southscribes are trialling something new this year. Instead of a different hand each month, we are instead enabling our members to extend their lettering skills by working across the one hand for two months.

So, on Saturday March 14 we will be working on Running Bookhand - Part 2 with Glenis Sheather.

Running Bookhand Part 2 will build on what we covered in Part 1 last month. This will entail using different size nibs and tools.  In particular, we will be using double pencils for larger letters, which can be used for a decorated letter at the start of a piece of work or for a full word or name.

 

We will also look at creating a small piece of work, with instructions on how to arrange your chosen wording on your page.

Materials List:

 

·           A3 Bleedproof layout pad

·           2 x graphite pencils, either HB or 2B

·           2 x rubber bands or masking tape to bind the pencils

·           A variety of nib sizes (bring what you have)

·           Any monoline pens you may have, eg. Speedball “B” Series nibs, biros, gel pens, etc.

·           Ink or gouache of your choice, if using calligraphy nibs

·           Coloured pencils or watercolour paints

·           Plastic Ruler

·           Eraser

·           A sheet of tracing paper

·           A piece of better-quality paper, A5 size.

·           A short quote      

·           Usual calligraphy gear.

When: Saturday, 14 March 2026

Where: Sylvania Community Hall, Canberra Road, Sylvania

Time: 12.30pm to 3.45pm

Bookings Essental: email southscribes@yahoo.com.au for payment details.

February Calliarts - And Welcome New Year with Running Bookhand

 Dear Members and Followers,

We are back with more calligraphy in February 2026 starting off with Running Bookhand.

The first Calliarts workshop for the year is Running Bookhand with Glenis Sheather. A modern variation of a 10^th Century hand, Running Bookhand is easily read and written, which makes it an ideal script for beginners.  

This workshop will be taught over two months and in Part 1 we will be working on the lower- and upper-case letters of this lovely hand.

We won’t forget our experienced calligraphers, who can use the workshop as a refresher, as well as trying some other variations.

Materials List:

 

·        A3 Bleedproof layout pad

·        Nibs, such as a William Mitchell 2, Speedball 3, Brause 2 or a chisel edged felt tip pen, such as an Artline Calligraphy Pen size 2 (available at Officeworks)

·        Ink or gouache of your choice, if using calligraphy nibs

·        HB or 2B pencil

·        Plastic Ruler

·        An A4 sheet of tracing paper     

·        Usual calligraphy gear.

When: Saturday, 14 February 2026

Where: Sylvania Community Hall, Canberra Road, Sylvania

Time: 12.30pm to 3.45pm

Bookings Essental: email southscribes@yahoo.com.au for payment details.

November Calliarts - Let it be Crafty, Let it be Crafty

 Dear Members and Followers,

The November Calliarts will see us getting into the Christmas spirit, with tutor Glenis Sheather showing us how to make a Christmas card using the Iris Folding technique.  Iris Folding has been around for quite a few years now and the designs are formed from strips of paper.  The paper shouldn’t be too thick; envelopes, wrapping paper, Japanese paper or Origami papers are all suitable.  This will be a fun afternoon making some cards in time for the Christmas mail.

Materials List: 

·       2 x A4 sheets of craft card - one dark and one light colour (which will make 2 cards)

·       2 or 4 different papers, which can be contrasting or matching, but should match your cardboard

·       Narrow ribbon or cord

·       1 sheet of tracing paper

·       Cutting mat

·       Craft knife

·       Small scissors

·       Steel edged ruler

·       Bone folder, if you have one

·       Sticky tape (in a dispenser if you have one)

·       Removable sticky tape, if you have it

·       Double sided tape or glue suitable for cardboard

·       Pencil and plastic ruler

When: Saturday 8 November 2025

Time: 12.30pm to 3.45pm

Where: Sylvania Community Centre, Canberra Road, Sylvania

Bookings Essential: email southscribes@yahoo.com.au for payment details

State Library Victoria Celebrates 20 years of World of the Book

 Dear Members and Followers,

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of World of the Book. Since 2005, the Library’s annual exhibition has displayed more than 5000 objects and provided free access to some of the rarest and most unusual items in the Library's Rare Books and State Collections.

In celebration of the anniversary, 20 iconic items that were featured in the inaugural exhibition will once again be on display, including a manuscript made for Lorenzo de’ Medici in 1478 when he was at the height of his power as the de facto ruler Florence (pictured above) and the oldest book in Australia, De institutione musica (The Principles of Music), a seminal work on the theory of music dated to c.1100 CE.

World of the Book: The rare, the sacred and the iconic features more than 300 historically significant items from the Library’s State Collection, showcasing the history of book design, production and illustration from c.2000 BCE to today. 

Travel through the history of the book and marvel at items such as a nearly 4000-year old cuneiform tablet; an example of the Hyakumantō Darani, the oldest dateable printed texts in the world; stunning examples of colour theory, including works by Leonardo da Vinci and Josef Albers; the evolution of manga from Hokusai to Astro Boy; fan art inspired by Andy Griffiths’s Treehouse series and much more.

Themes explored in this year’s exhibition are: 

• books and ideas
• books and imagination
• exploring the world
• art and nature
• artists and books.

https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/world-of-the-book?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=18-9-2025_SLV-News_Spring-25&utm_content=18-9-2025_SLV-News_Spring-25+CID_676a1b9c28680671898226fef886cbe2&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=20th%20anniversary%20of%20World%20of%20the%20Book