Workshop Dates …

… you’ll find here, whenever one is coming up. You can also join my newsletter list – just send me an e-mail please. I announce workshops often first in my newsletter, then on Insta and on my website. Thanks!

Otherwise, if you scroll down this page, you’ll find everything you need to know about my calligraphy workshops – what and for whom learning calligraphy might be interesting, brief information about different styles and writing instruments, feedback from participants, and a list of some of my courses in the past. – My workshops have had and still have a wide variety of formats: from 3-hour introductory courses to several days of real immersion in the subject.

Are you interested in a tailor-made workshop on a specific topic, perhaps at an event or for your employees? I am also happy to give a lecture on the topic of pointed pen calligraphy. I look forward to your !

Learning Calligraphy – why?

Professional creatives such as illustrators, typographers and graphic designers can benefit from writing with a pointed pen – whether as a very relaxing and almost meditative counterbalance to their daily work on the screen or for professional use. Practical work with handwriting and calligraphy trains the eye in the evaluation and use of script fonts and can serve type designers as a starting point for designing one.

But everyone can also use calligraphy in everyday life – for headlines in a journal, for designing postcards, letters, poetry or song texts, envelopes or even wedding stationery. Or just for relaxation and to create something by hand again!

What is Copperplate actually?

Copperplate – known in Germany as ‘English Handwriting’ or ‘Anglaise’ – is the classic, elegant script par excellence. It has its roots in the English writing manuals of the 18th century. Incidentally, historically it is simply called ‘Roundhand’ because, in contrast to the Gothic manuscripts of the time, which were written at a much more acute angle, it has rounded, softly flowing forms. As the copy books were reproduced as copper engravings, the term ‘Copperplate’ later became established in the Anglo-Saxon countries for this kind of formal handwriting.

From Quill to Steel Nib

For centuries, the appearance of European scripts – whether Gothic or ‘Latin’ – was characterized by the broad-cut goose quill – so even Copperplate was originally written with a broad nib! In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, some scribes began to cut their nibs to a point so that they would not need a special nib for each script size – the bold strokes could thus be determined by pressure rather than by the width of the nib tip. The first steel nibs didn’t come on the market until the early 19th century, and were first modeled on these pointed-cut quills. (I go into this subject in detail in my book, and in workshops, too, if there is interest!)

Are there other Pointed Pen Styles?

As indicated above, I am not the biggest fan of a division into broadpen or pointed pen scripts – after all, many styles can be interpreted with a wide variety of writing tools! The Kurrent script (see left) is a good historical example, it was written with the (broad) quill from the end of the Middle Ages, later with the pointed steel nib, and in its last iteration so far at the beginning of the 20th century with the Redisfeder, which produces a monoline stroke (like a fountain pen).

But still, yes, of course there are – currently popular styles are Spencerian and Modern Calligraphy, for example. The latter is a loose script variant that often uses a traditional pointed nib, but influences from handwriting play a strong role and great importance is attached to individual expression. Spencerian is a very elegant American style that had its heyday in the late 19th century. I also teach these styles on request (also in private lesson, whether in person or online)!

Past Workshops, for Example …

8. bis 11. Oktober 2022 :: Englische Schreibschrift, Mühlheim an der Ruhr

17. Mai 2019 :: Flourishing auf dem Berlin Letters Festival, Berlin

27. Mai 2018 :: Copperplate Majuskeln, Berlin

26. Mai 2018 :: Copperplate Minuskeln, Berlin

17. März 2018 :: Copperplate Majuskeln, Berlin

10. März 2018 :: Copperplate Minuskeln, Berlin

16. Dezember 2017 :: Weihnachtskalligrafie, Potsdam

25. November 2017 :: Weihnachtskalligrafie, Potsdam

8. Juli 2017 :: Copperplate Majuskeln, Potsdam

1. Juli 2017 :: Copperplate Minuskeln, Berlin

3. Juni 2017 :: Copperplate Majuskeln, Bremen

2. Juni 2017 :: Copperplate Minuskeln, Bremen

18. März 2017 :: Modern Calligraphy, Potsdam

11. März 2017 :: Modern Calligraphy, Potsdam

11. Februar 2017 :: Kalligrafie zum Valentinstag, Potsdam

17. Dezember 2016 :: Weihnachtskalligrafie, Potsdam

10. Dezember 2016 :: Weihnachtskalligrafie, Potsdam