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.

 

April Calliarts - Art Deco and All That Jazz!

 Dear Members and Followers,

I dare anyone to admit that they don't like Art Deco in any shape or form. With that in mind Calligraphy Southscribes, Inc. for the April Calliarts session is bringing to you Art Deco with Glenis Sheather.

Elegant, geometric and streamlined are adjectives that epitomize the Art Deco period, and

in this workshop we will be looking at some Art Deco inspired monoline scripts. Monoline

means a single line so every stroke in the lettering is the same width. You can use many

tools to create monoline letters, e.g. ball point pens, gel pens, pencils etc., but using

Speedball B series nibs will be our main focus. We will also look at some Art Deco style

decorations to use with the scripts, which will be suitable for cards, bookmarks etc.

Materials List:

• Speedball Series B nibs (or similar) preferably within the 4-6 size range.

• Inks/gouache/watercolour paint of your choice.

• Any of the following: ball point pens, gel pens, fine liners, round end felt tip pens,

pencils (graphite and/or coloured).

• Layout Pad.

• Ruler (essential for drawing geometric patterns).

• Coloured pencils, water colour pencils, water colour paint or gouache if you wish to

colour decorations.

• Better quality paper if you wish to complete a piece of work or make a card.

• If you wish to do a quote, find a suitable quote from writers of the period, e.g. Oscar

Wilde, J Scott Fitzgerald, etc.

• Usual calligraphy gear.

If any of you have Speedball Series A nibs, bring them along because I have an exemplar that

suits them. However, this is only if you have them, as I think Speedball has ceased making

them.

Date:     Saturday, 12th April, 2025  

Time:     12.30pm – 4.00pm  

Cost:      $20.00 – Members, $25.00 – Non-Members  

Place:    Sylvania Community Centre - Canberra Road, Sylvania  

              (Near Southgate Shopping Centre)  

              Bookings Essential: southscribes@yahoo.com.au 

Payment Options: Direct Deposit, Cash on the day or Cheque. When booking, please advise which payment option you will be making. 

Copperplate 2 - The Class Continues

Dear Members and Followers, Some say the sequel is never as good as the original but in this case it isn't true. Copperplate Part 2 CALLIARTS 11 March 2023 Tutor: Glenis Sheather Following on from Copperplate Part 1, in this second Calliarts workshop we will concentrate on the beautiful capital letters of this graceful script. It is advisable but not mandatory to have done Copperplate Part 1 before embarking on Part 2 MATERIALS LIST • Bleedproof Layout Pad, preferably A4 size. • Elbow nib* and pen holder OR a straight pointed nib and an oblique pen holder. • Ink (Chinese or similar) or gouache of your choice. • 2B or HB pencil • Usual Calligraphy Gear. However, you will not need a slope board. *Elbow nibs can be purchased at Eckersley’s. If you are unable to buy one I will have some for sale on the day for $3.50 each. Please have the correct money. Date: Saturday, 11 March 2023 Time: 1.00pm – 4.00pm Cost: $20.00 – Members, $25.00 – Non-Members Place: Sylvania Community Centre - Canberra Road, Sylvania (near Southgate Shopping Centre) Bookings Essential: southscribes@yahoo.com.au Payment Options: Direct Deposit, Cash on the day or Cheque. When booking, please advise which payment option you will be making. Looking forward to seeing you!

Calliarts - Akim Cursive

Dear Members and Followers,

Our April Calliarts is tutored by yours truly, and we will be looking at the Akim Cursive hand or script.

Akim Cursive was developed by German Calligrapher, sculptor and musician Hans-Joachim Burgert (1928 -2009). Akim is a move away from the regimented where your own characteristics will come to the fore. To quote Hans-Joachim “Cursive writing is full of motion and emotion; it trips along the page in full flow, bursting with movement and life. Cursive writing breathes irregularly, like a dancer performing a graphic symbol”. ‘The calligraphic line’ Berlin 1989. Great for beginners and more advanced calligraphers.

Cathy Sayer - copyrighted.

Date: Saturday 13 April 2019

Place: Sylvania Community Hall, Canberra Rd, Sylvania

Time: 1pm to 4pm

Cost: $10.00

Bookings: No bookings necessary, inquiries - southscribes@yahoo.com.au

Materials List:

Usual calligraphy kit plus

·         Any monoline writing tools (i.e. graphite pencil, coloured pencils, gel pen, pointed nib or speedball B series)

·         Nib holder and ink/gouache

·         A4 bleed proof pad

·         Ruler

·         Some Haiku poetry

·         Brown paper – no smaller than A4, suitable to write on.

·         Alternate writing surfaces (but make sure you bring a writing tool that will write on the surface).

 

 

Calligraphy Southscribes, Inc. proudly supported by Sutherland Shire Council.

Retro Deco with Gemma Black

Dear Members and Followers,

We are lucky enough to have the wonderful Gemma Black conducting a two day workshop for the us entitled "Retro Deco"

In this weekend workshop we will be taking a look back on the lettering samplers of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and creating not only painted coloured pieces and in designs like Charles Rennie Mackintosh & Margaret McDonald  created but working with line drawn pen and ink work with substantial 1920’s modernism. 

 Saturday 30 September and Sunday 1 October 2017 - Sylvania Community Hall, Canberra Rd, Sylvania

We are proudly supported by Sutherland Shire Council.