Online – 5 Sessions – Tuesdays, April 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2024, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., US Eastern time.

If you want to capture someone’s attention, go for the gold! This fun workshop will explore using gold for all the text of a piece. We’ll work with gold paint, metallic ink, and experiment with gold leaf using both gesso and miniatum. 

After you register, you will receive a separate email with log-in information for the online sessions.

The Abbey Studio is offering a 10-month Calligraphy Certificate Program, beginning in June 2023. All of our workshops are stand-alone learning experiences and can be enjoyed on an individual basis. But put them all together and our workshop offerings essentially constitute a year’s course in calligraphy and hand lettering. Beginning with the sessions concentrating on Italic lettering, Copperplate Script, and Uncial we’ll gradually work into the very important step of beginning your calligraphic piece with pencil and working toward an effective layout. We’ll then begin concentrating on the various forms of decorated letters and how to create and execute everything from a drawn Roman capital to a large Lombardic decorative capital, enhanced with raised gold leaf. The final workshop will pull together all the skills that have been acquired during the preceding 10 months. Anyone completing all the workshops will receive a Certificate of Completion. To that end, we’ve established a discount program for anyone registering for multiple workshops at the same time:

Study more, save more! Our workshops have been designed to complement each other and build upon your skillsets. Register for TWO workshops at the same time and receive 10% off both — use Coupon Code 2Classes10 in the shopping cart (click where it says “Have a coupon?” near the top of the cart). Register for THREE or more workshops at the same time and receive 20% off all of them! Use Coupon Code 3Classes20 in the shopping cart (click where it says “Have a coupon?” near the top of the cart).

Supply List (supplies not included):

High-quality art paper such as Saunders Waterford 90# 

acrylic gesso 

mixing brush 

small mixing bowl 

high-quality watercolor brush – extra fine 

fine pointed pen, such as a crow quill

ink

agate burnisher (optional)*

several leaves of 23K gold leaf (optional)*

gold paint or ink such as Winsor & Newton metallic gold 

gouache 

miniatum (optional)*

tracing vellum 

No. 2 pencil 

drafting tape 

white plastic eraser 

wide broad-edged pen and holder

*optional items are for those who wish to try gilding with actual gold leaf

Workshop Withdrawal Policy: Unless you are paying for your class with a gift card, a refund (tuition less 20%) will be issued if you withdraw from class two weeks or more prior to the beginning of class. If withdrawal occurs less than two weeks before class, no cash refund will be issued, but a studio credit voucher will be provided. Occasionally there is insufficient registration for a class to run. In such cases, registrants will be given three options:  (1) Private or semi-private lessons (with price adjustment), (2) placement for the same class held in the future at a different date and time, or (3) refund.