lettercarving letter design calligraphy

let te rcar v ing
let te r de sign
calligr aphy
WOR K S HOP S 2014
letteringartstrust.org.uk
w ho we ar e
The Lettering and Commemorative Arts Trust (LCAT) occupies a
critical place in the wider movement to rediscover the arts and
crafts and to value beautiful handmade works and the skills
involved. Through our programme of workshops and apprenticeships LCAT has become one of the major providers of training in
lettercarving and letter drawing in the UK.
With the opening of the Trusts’ Lettering Arts Centre at Snape Maltings in Suffolk at the
beginning of 2013, we have the unique opportunity to display contemporary lettered
work of the highest standard across many media. The Lettering Arts Centre is becoming
a central hub of intense activity for the Lettering Arts: workshops, exhibitions, advice
on training opportunities in lettercarving including our Apprenticeship and JourneymanSchemes.
LCAT is enabling the UK’s long tradition of fine lettercarving and calligraphy to flourish.
Since 1999 we have been running short courses tutored by some of the UK’s leading
practitioners, catering for all levels from complete beginners to professionals. Our
priority is to offer the highest standards in tuition at a reasonable cost. Concessions
are available.
let te r de sign
let te rcar v ing
Tom Perkins teaching at Cambridge Workshop
Michael Rust: Lettercarving in Wood
3 days: £270
Kent (Fri 30 May ­– Sun 1 Jun & Fri 3 –­ Sun 5 Oct — any ability)
This flexible and practical course, designed for a small group of no more than seven
students, will appeal to those with a range of ability in working in wood from beginners
to advanced students. The course will be a combination of design work and practical
carving; how much time students spend on each will depend on their ability and needs as
discussed with the tutor. Design work will be based on the Western tradition of using a
broad edged tool that determines the subtlety of the shapes of our letterforms, numerals
and alphabets. The practical work will include setting out the design, carving incised and
relief letters, working with the grain of the wood in different directions and the use of
various finishes to enhance inscriptions. Those with experience may wish to bring projects they are working on and this is welcomed through prior arrangement with the tutor
Michael is a letter carver and sculptor in wood and stone working largely to commission.
He studied lettering at Reigate School of Art & Design, is a Fellow of The Calligraphy &
Lettering Arts Association, a full Member of Letter Exchange and a professional member
of The British Woodcarvers’ Association. He has taught widely in England and the US.
Gaynor Goffe: Calligraphy for Lettercarvers*
1 day: £95
Cambridge (Thurs 17 Jul — any ability)
Tom has an international reputation as a lettering designer and craftsman, with work in
public and private collections. He has taught widely in the UK and also in Europe, the USA
and Japan and has influenced many other practitioners.
Eric Marland: Lettercarving in Stone*
3 days: £270
Cambridge (Mon 21 –­ Wed 23 July — any ability)
Students will be given help & advice according to their needs; it is also suitable for previous
students. Individual tuition and group demonstrations will be given, ranging from first
principals of lettercarving to more advanced techniques for students with prior experience.
Students will have the opportunity to try different types of stone and learn carving
techniques appropriate to each person.
Eric worked as a freelance lettercarver in London until 1990. Moving to Cambridge, he first
worked for David Kindersely and then The Carving Workshop. Eric set up his own studio
in 1998 where he has an established reputation for fine lettering and creative design.
*A combined seven day course is available for the above three workshops run by Tom
This calligraphy workshop is particularly suitable for those wanting a calligraphic basis for
letter design for lettercarving, though open to all. It will focus on pen-written italic or Roman capitals. It is suitable both for beginners and those with calligraphic experience, since
much of the tuition and demonstration is on an individual basis. For Gaynor’s mini-biography
see Calligraphy section
Tom Perkins: Roman Capitals plus Creating Letter Variations*
Day 3: For beginners, further work on drawing Roman capitals inscription(s).
For non-beginners, further work on designing letterform variations/ layout and design of
drawn inscription(s).
Perkins, Eric Marland and Gaynor Goffee in Cambridge — this is available with a 10%
discount at £571.50 (would be £635 if booked separately)
3 days: £270
Cambridge (Fri 18 –­ Sun 20 Jul) & Lettering Arts Centre, Snape,
Suffolk (Tues 19 –­ Thurs 21 Aug) — any ability
This course is suitable for all levels including beginners. Tuition is a combination of blackboard demonstrations and individual help.
Day 1: For beginners, drawing Roman capitals with detailed blackboard guidance. For those
familiar with Roman capitals, either revision, or using them in short inscriptions, with tutor
guidance/feedback on letterforms and letter spacing and lay-out as required.
Day 2: For beginners, completing drawn Roman capitals alphabet learning letter spacing, and drawing out short inscription(s). For non-beginners, blackboard introduction to
designing letter variations, followed by designing your own alphabet and working towards
drawing out short inscription(s)
Student Work
John Neilson: Numerals — Design & Carving in Stone
5 days: £450
student work
student work
This workshop is designed for students who have
experience of designing and carving letters, but want
to take their design skills further by looking at the less
often studied subject of numbers. This in turn will
feed back into their knowledge of letterforms. We
will start by exploring the historical development of
the design of numerals, and finish with carving a v-cut
composition of your own using numeral forms of
your own design. On the way we will look at different
approaches to designing numerals and relating them to letters, and do trial designs which
may take the forms down a more experimental route. We will also cover general issues
of design and form. Most students will spend the second half of the workshop carving,
but some may wish to spend all the time on design. If students have other specific matters
they’d like to cover, this might be possible by prior arrangement.
John has worked as a letter carver and designer in North Wales since 1992, after training in
calligraphy and a spell as assistant to Tom Perkins. He is a qualified teacher and was one of
the first carvers to take on an apprentice through the Memorial Arts Charity scheme.
student work
Pip Hall: Lettercarving in Stone
3 days: £270
John Neilson
Dent, Cumbria (Fri 8 –­ Sun 10 Aug — any ability)
With a slide show and demonstration, students will look at the history of letterforms,
at contemporary lettering practice and explore drawing techniques and approaches to
designing for lettercarving in stone. Demonstrations of v-cut and relief methods of carving
with chisels will be followed by individual tuition. The course is tailored to individual needs
and students are welcome to bring their own stone and project — although most arrive
with no firm idea in mind but get inspired on the day. Students will usually have completed
(or nearly!) anything from a house number to a short phrase at the end of a threeday course.
student work
Pip has been running a carving studio for 17 years, carving inscriptions for commemoration
and celebration, house signs and garden features, as well as carrying out public art
commissions, and exhibiting. Pip’s work also includes lettering and illustration for books,
and interior design. Pip’s last assistant, Wayne Hart, trained with support from the
Memorial Arts Charity’s Apprenticeship Scheme.
Tom Perkins
John Neilson
Newburgh, Fife, Scotland (Thurs 31 Jul –­ Mon 4 Aug — intermediate/advanced)
Malcolm Sier & Giles Macdonald: Elements of Shaping
3 days: £270
Birmingham (Fri 8 –­ Sun 10 Aug — any ability)
Winterbourne House is a unique heritage attraction which has been restored to its
Edwardian Arts and Craft splendour — set within seven acres of beautiful botanic gardens,
it is host to works from the Trust’s Art & Memory Collection.
Many who are interested in, or practice carved lettering, are unfamiliar with the skills
& techniques involved in shaping the material. These techniques are closely related to
those used in the carving of letters. An appreciation of these skills can help refine the
understanding of how to approach and work with the material, encouraging a sense of
confidence and control in achieving a desired outcome, whether shaping a form, carving in
sunken or raised relief or indeed carving incised letters.
If however, you would prefer to learn the basics of carving letters, or you have a project
that you need help with, Malcolm and Giles are happy to guide you through the process.
Malcolm Sier studied fine art and sculpture at Stourbridge College & Wolverhampton
University, and then architectural stone carving and letter carving at Weymouth College.
After this he continued his study of lettering with spells working for Tom Perkins. For some
years he has worked on letter carving and sculptural commissions from his workshop in the
West Midlands.
Giles Macdonald runs a lettering studio in Oxfordshire, designing, carving and making
inscriptions for buildings (architectural lettering), plaques, memorials and public art commissions. Giles is a mentor with the Crafts Council Hothouse scheme, and a member of
Letter Exchange (the society of lettering professionals) and the Oxfordshire Craft Guild.
Eric Marland & Tom Perkins: Lettercarving in Stone
5 days: £450
Cambridge (Fri 19 –­ Tues 23 Sept — any ability)
Participants will be led through learning/revising key classical Roman capital letterforms by means of blackboard demonstrations and individual guidance. This will be
followed by their use, with or without serifs in the layout and design of short texts.
If you would like to bring your own texts these should be approximately 5-10
words. The drawing of Roman lower case letters may be covered, time permitting.
This course will provide help and advice according to the needs of the participants;
it is also suitable for previous students. Individual tuition and group demonstrations
will be given, ranging from first principals of lettercarving to more advanced techniques for students with prior experience.
Cambridge Workshop
calligr aphy
photograph by Roger Bamber
Ewan Clayton: Half Uncials — Then & Now
2 days: £130
Lettering Arts Centre, Snape, Suffolk (Wed 28 –­ Thurs 29 May — min. 1 class experience required)
A masterclass in the form from the Lindisfarne Gospels down to 20th century typographic
experiments. We would look at the essentials of the hand and its various interpretations,
the goal would be to enable each participant to evolve their own interpretation.
Ewan is a renowned calligrapher, and Professor in Design at the University of Sunderland.
He runs his own calligraphy business from his workshop in Brighton, West Sussex. In 2013
Ewan’s history of writing The Golden Thread was published by Atlantic Books. Ewan tells us
he “enjoys teaching students at whatever level of experience they are at, from those who
have just begun lettering to those who have considerable experience.”
Ewan Clayton: Push, Dab, Glide & Flutter
2 days: £130
Lettering Arts Centre, Snape, Suffolk (Tues 28 –­ Wed 29 Oct — all levels)
For beginners, this workshop will serve as a good introduction to using pens, and will give
you confidence in your own first steps into calligraphy. For the more experienced, you will
emerge with a new confidence in your ability to write.
Ewan Clayton (detail)
Fluent movement is the essence of good letterforms — it encourages the emergence of
personal expression. Working at first with abstract patterns and lines, we will experiment,
in a structured way, with different movement styles. We will then apply these skills to different styles of letterforms, overcoming our limited and habitual patterns in the process.
Behind these exercises lies the work of Rudolf Laban, one of the twentieth century’s great
artists of movement. Ewan learned about Laban’s work from his Godmother, Joy Sinden,
who was one of his students.
Gaynor Goffe: Full and Half Day Workshops
Half day: £48 Full Day: £60
Lettering Arts Centre, Suffolk (Wednesdays: 16 Apr, 14 May, 11 Jun, 2 Jul, 6 Aug, 3 Sept — all levels)
Beginners and improvers are welcome on these calligraphy workshops; Gaynor is happy
to adapt to everyone’s individual needs. You will be encouraged to work in one or more
calligraphy scripts, for example Formal or Cursive Italic, Foundational Hand, Uncial, Versal
or other capitals.
For improvers: You can learn or revise the scripts of your choice, experiment with the
letterform variations and use the scripts in short projects to encourage rhythm in writing
and good layout and design.
Gaynor is a well-known calligrapher and teacher with over 35 years experience in calligraphy and teaching. She is a fellow of the Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society and the Society
for Scribes and Illuminators.
Gaynor Goffe (detail)
“I don’t know whether I am a great teacher but I do know that I can easily
pass on what was taught to me (and more) if the apprentice is committed to the study of good lettering. I would prefer enthusiasm over prior experience, particularly with the letterforms themselves. If they already have
experience of letterforms then they need to be willing to let their own
personalities rest for a while. Their unique style and input will emerge of
its own accord. At first, they need to have confidence in, and look to the
master for their knowledge. I believe (and some may disagree!) that the
craft of lettering (or any craft for that matter) comes from the inculcation
of the essence of good form. No-one would expect experiment and ‘style’
to rule the training of a classical musician. So it is with any craft. The craft
has to be taught first. This is the difference between an apprenticeship
and a college course.
appr e nt ice ships
I say all this because the few ‘trainees’ that came to me gave up as soon
as they were asked to draw the same inscription out more than 2 or 3
times. An apprentice has to (fairly merrily!) draw something a hundred
times if necessary and with the understanding that the shapes they are
concerned with must live within them.”
­­—Extract from a written application for an apprentice
from Gary Breeze to the charity (2002)
1) Two years: For keen, talented students starting from scratch or with little training.
2) Six months to one year: For students who have been lettering for a while but
need more specialist help in the areas where they are weaker
3) Part-time (according to the student’s needs): This will be from one to four
days per week or in blocks of time.
4) Our Journeyman Scheme where the student has already had excellent experience but would really benefit from working for three month periods with a variety
of lettercarvers.
For more details, please contact Lynne Alexander: [email protected]
Wayne Hart (trained by Pip Hall under the Apprenticeship scheme)
Payment schemes
You can now spread the payment of your Lettercarving workshop(s) over a set period of time;
this option is available all year round. The first payment will be classed as your £50 non-refundable
deposit. You can pay by bank transfer, standing order or plain old fashioned cheque. The cost of
a place includes tea, coffee and biscuits and great company. All workshops are non-residential.
Concessions are available on completion of an application form. Please contact the charity. For
more information please email: [email protected]
Robbie Schneider
To book a place
Please send a deposit cheque for £50 made payable to The Lettering and Commemorative Arts
Trust to the address overleaf, or if you would like to pay your deposit by bank transfer, please
contact the charity for details. Please note that all courses are run subject to demand. A full refund
will be made if we have to cancel any course.
Cancellations and Refunds
If for any reason you find it necessary to cancel your booking, please let us know as soon as
possible, ideally by telephone. We regret that we are unable to refund deposits. Should you wish
to consider cancellation insurance (though you are under no obligation to take this out), more
information may be obtained from Cancelsure (0845 071 3929/www.cancelsure-insurance.co.uk).
Other companies may offer similar services and it is also worth checking your own insurance
policy, if you have one, to see whether you are covered against such an event. If we have to cancel
a course for any reason you will be notified as soon as possible. Any deposits and course fees that
you have paid will be refunded in full.
Gift vouchers
The perfect gift for aspiring Lettercarvers and Calligraphers is the LCAT Education Programme
Gift Voucher. Gift Vouchers can be purchased in values of £25, £50, £75 and £100 and can be
applied to any of the workshops in the Education Programme. They are valid for a full two years
and can be redeemed in part or full payment of a workshop.
Health and Safety
Safety glasses and dust masks will be provided for the letter carving sessions and students are
strongly advised to bring safety boots with steel toecaps. Your tutor will give a Health & Safety talk
at the beginning of your workshop. By booking this workshop, you agree to all the Health & Safety
information made available.
More details on our website: www.letteringartstrust.org.uk
Please note: A small charge is made for the stone you use and will need to be paid directly to your
tutor. The cost of the stone is generally between £5 – £25 depending on the size of your project.
Larger pieces can be purchased from the tutor if the workshop is held at the tutors’ studio. Students can bring their own stone if they wish, but must inform the tutor beforehand.
The designing of letterforms, and lettercarving on stone
and wood, are skills that are learnt over many years of
study and practice; through workshops and apprenticeships.
Our letter design and carving workshops will introduce you
to the skills you will need to pursue a career in lettering;
they will also give you an idea of what can be achieved
with good training from Master lettercarvers.
We would like to thank the trusts and
foundations that support our educational work:
The Cochemé Charitable Trust
The Derek Hill Foundation
NADFAS
The Tanner Trust
The Behrens Foundation
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The Worshipful Company of Masons
...and two individual supporters
who wish to remain anonymous.
All enquiries:
Lynne Alexander
[email protected]
Lettering Arts Centre
Snape Maltings Suffolk IP17 1SP
01728 688 393
Charitable Company Limited by
Guarantee registered
in England & Wales no 07936156.
Registered Charity no 1148638
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