Poetic Pen Masterclass

Class Description

In this special enhanced study edition of The Poetic Pen class, we will strive to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the whimsical Italian Hand. We will explore a variety of influences on the capital letters and refine the details of the delicate lower case. The end goal of this class is not to copy a historic hand but to help unlock its mysteries and bring it forward into this century.

You will understand how to study, research, and extract the important nuances of this graceful hand as you find your rhythm of writing. Find the poetry and expressive nature of this beautiful hand as we work together and take time to savour the details of this delightful hand.

The study of Italian Hand can be a valuable key to unlocking other script hands and helping you develop a fluid calligraphic handwriting. Described as playful, joyful, and exuberant by its early writing masters, Italian Hand reaches back to the first decade of the 1600’s and was prominently used until the mid 1860’s. This mercantile script is a narrow and graceful hand, made distinctive through its unusual use of shading. Often called “blob top or club top” lettering, this hand evolved out of Italic hands and appears throughout history in various forms. Although it was historically marketed as the simplest of all script hands, it can look confusing until it is demystified. The lowercase forms are very simple to learn. The capitals are varied and can take the form of Standard Roundhand or the more complex reverse shaded letterforms.

Class Details

How to join

REGISTRATION FORM

Suggested Materials

• Straight holder

• Medium Flexible Pointed Pen Nib: Hunt 22, Gillott 404 or Zebra G

• Flexible Pointed Pen: Brause 66 EF, Leonardt EF Principal or Gillott 303

• Broad Edge Nib: Mitchell 6

• Practice Ink: McCaffery Black, Sumi Vermillion, any iron gall, or Walnut Ink. Fountain pen inks are suitable for practice as well. I recommend Sailor Gentle.

• Size A4 Layout Paper. I prefer Daler Rowney. You may substitute your favourite practice paper or graph paper, but you should be able to see guidelines through it.

• Pencil, Ruler, Eraser, Note Taking Supplies, Paper Towel, Water dish, Two Paper Clips

• Cardstock for writing projects, either 5’X7” Size or A4 size. A few sheets in a light colour and a few sheets in any dark colour.

• Optional: A few coloured pencils, metallic watercolour and Sakura Clear Stardust Gelly roll pen for embellishment

• Bleed proof White with mixing brush and water dish for practice on dark cardstock.

The Teacher

Heather Victoria Held is a Canadian freelance-lettering artist who operates The Victorian Pen studio in St. George, Ontario. She has studied extensively with Master Penman Michael Sull and Master Penman Brian Walker. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Spencerian Heritage Award given through Michael Sull at the Spencerian Saga.

She was a long time member of Master Penman Brian Walker’s Spencerian Review Study Group, CLAS, The Copperplate Special Interest Group, and a faculty member of several International Calligraphy Conferences.  

During 2013-2014 she served as the President of IAMPETH and continues to support IAMPETH on the Board of Directors as an advisor and as an instructor for the conferences. Her teaching style is gentle and encouraging while helping students to achieve the next level in their skill sets.

Her work in promoting handwriting skills has attracted television, magazine and radio coverage in Canada. She conducts intensive workshops in Offhand Flourishing, Decorative Lettering and Ornamental Penmanship world-wide.

Her art work is in private collections around the world and has been featured in Pen World, Bound and Lettered, Calligrafia, Somerset Studio, Romantic Homes, The Penman’s Journal, The Spencerian Review, 1000 Handmade Cards. The Speedball Textbook, The Copperplate Manual and Good Mail Day. She and her husband Chris create hand dyed or painted Held Pens, which are highly sought after and in the hands of artists throughout the world.

Important information

TERMS

Your place is secured once your payment has been processed. As the workshop recordings will be made available to students for a limited time after the event, no refunds will be offered for non-attendance.

DATA PROTECTION

As a stricter data protection regulation came into place in 2018 (GDPR), we follow specific guidelines on what we do with your personal information. In the case of booking a workshop, we will use your email address to keep you informed of everything you need to know in the lead up to the event. Please make sure our email address (info@pointedpencollective.com) and no-reply@squarespace.com is in your contacts or safe list to prevent it going to your junk or spam folder. We may contact you via phone if absolutely necessary. We will not use your contact details for any other purpose.

If you would like to stay informed about other upcoming events, please be sure to sign up to our mailing list or opt-in to this mailing list at checkout.

CONTACTS

Email: info@pointedpencollective.com (managed by Kate)
Instagram: @learnpointedpen (managed by Cecilia)