A two-day watercolor workshop
with Carol V. Hall
December 2 and 3, 2023

Learn how to create unique botanicals, decorate initials, and add calligraphic elements to your designs.

Day One: Explore at least 8 different ways to make simple flowers, plants and autumn leaves using watercolors.

Day Two: Learn several easy ways to embellish an initial and participate in a fun, neurographic exercise for name writing. We will wrap up the experience by looking at some ways to add lettering to your designs. There’s bound to be surprises along the way!

The Finished Product: Bring home between 10-20 watercolor cards that you can pop in an envelope and send to friends, or keep as a reference book for yourself

This workshop will meet on Sunday afternoons during August 2022. This workshop will be held via Zoom. Registration is now open. Please contact Ann Cobb for details and the registration form.

This workshop has been canceled.

Using your favorite tools and a favorite quote, you will be led through a series of exercises that will focus on layout, composition, and the negative space that is created. Principles of graphic design will be introduced as we discuss where the next letter or word should go, where and when to apply color, and the steps it takes to get to a finished piece.

wildmandesigns.com

Registration is closed.

See the registration form in your January newsletter.

Stop and smell the roses as Miranda teaches you beginning botanical art! This 2-day workshop invites you to relax and enjoy the plant world in a creative way and encourages self-expression during the process. You will learn how to study, draw, and color your favorite botanicals.

The first day, we will cover the differences between botanical illustration and botanical art, how to examine plant life, creating your art space, basic drawing techniques with graphite, texture, shading, and blending techniques with colored pencils. The second day will be spent on watercolor techniques and adding fine details. Miranda will also demonstrate masking and background techniques.

Workshop postponed

This workshop has been postponed due to COVID 19 restrictions. When more details are available, they will be posted here.

Postponed - new date TBD

Stop and smell the roses as Miranda teaches you beginning botanical art! This 2-day workshop invites you to relax and enjoy the plant world in a creative way and encourages self-expression during the process. You will learn how to study, draw and color your favorite botanicals.

Day 1

During the morning session we will cover:

• What are the differences between Botanical Illustration and Botanical Art?

• How to examine plant life in detail

• Basic composition and drawing techniques with graphite

• How to transfer a drawing with tracing paper and graphite

During the afternoon session we will cover: texture, shading, mixing and blending techniques with colored pencils.  

Day 2
During the morning session we will cover: watercolor techniques and adding fine details.

The afternoon session will be play and guided independent work. Miranda will demonstrate fun masking and background techniques after lunch that can be applied to your work in class.  

Miranda will bring several types of plants to each session. Students can bring 1–2 small plants that they would like to study. These can be small clippings, 2–3 flowers in a small vase, or a small potted plant. Full-color handouts on the topics covered and step-by-step instruction will be given. Each student will keep a multimedia journal to practice techniques during class and at home.

Registration now OPEN

Email Ann Cobb, Workshop Committee Chairperson, for additional information.

The Victorian Pen introduces pen drawn flourishes that have been influenced by the colors and styles of the Victorian era. Many of the historic offhand flourishing designs start out as pencil sketches before rendering the designs in ink.

The Victorian Pen workshop introduces pencil techniques for the terrified! Even if you think you cannot draw, this class will help you add simple floral designs, acanthus patterns and ornamental scroll work your offhand flourishing. The use of the pencil allows pre-planning and corrections which are not possible with true offhand flourishing.

We start simply with corner ornaments and expand to more intricate designs. These decorative ornaments can be gilded with 23K gold leaf and painted with watercolor or tinted gently with colored pencil. This class assumes some knowledge of the pointed pen.

Registration now OPEN

Email Ann Cobb, Workshop Committee Chairperson, for additional information.

Time: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (brown bag lunch)

Ever since men began to write in books, there has been the urge to decorate the pages in some way. These decorations have changed over the ages depending on the letter styles used and the purpose for the illumination. They have become more elaborate over time, taking up a whole page at times. The word illuminate derives from the initial reason — to illumine or light up the word of God. Today, of course, we use these methods for many different purposes.

Capital letters are important — they start every sentence and verse. They accentuate the titles and emphasize important texts. The capitals that accompany most calligraphic styles are based on the basic Roman proportions. Understanding these proportions gives the calligrapher the ability to then manipulate the letterforms to fit with any of the various letter styles, such as Bookhand, Foundational, Carolingian, Italic and are the basis for Versals. Participants will explore the basic Roman form, then using various methods, exercises and mediums, learn to create Capitals that will enhance any piece of calligraphic art.

There are innumerable ways to add interest and emphasis to your lettering — whether in a rendition that reflects the past or in a modern interpretation. There are so many options that it can get confusing — from formal to informal. Though Lombardic Capitals are used often for the process, these techniques can be applied to almost any letter style.

In this class participants will be introduced to some of the basic steps they can take to create a beautiful illuminated letter. We will proceed step by step through the processes to build up the form adding shading and highlights and line accents. We will discuss materials and painting techniques.

Participants will be introduced to several ways to add gold or metallic accents to their work — using paint, powdered metals, and gilding techniques. In addition, we will experiment with some methods to add a modern twist to your letters.

Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (brown bag lunch)

This is the fourth session in a four session series. See session one for additional information.

PLANNED:

Spend this final weekend at Carson-Newman University studying illuminated manuscripts from across the centuries, employing many of the materials and techniques presented in this course.

Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (brown bag lunch)

This is session three of a four part series. See session one for additional information.

Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (brown bag lunch)

This is session two of a four part series. See session one for additional information.

Time: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (brown bag lunch)

Textura is called by many names...Gothic, Blackletter, Old English but there are slight differences. For me, Textura is a simpler form and you can create more difficult forms from that. We will begin with the basics and before the weekend is over I will add a little Fractur to go along with it. The capital letters are especially beautiful.

This class will not involve a lot of supplies since we will be using graph paper (to help you with straight lines) and the Parallel Pens so you won’t have to wait for ink to dry. They also make great hairlines!! There will be more about supplies when you sign up. This is a great class for beginners so you don’t have to deal with slant. I hope to see you there!

Photo courtesy of Sheryl Bracey.

Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (brown bag lunch)

This is a four session course that meets March 2-3, April 6-7, May 4-5 and May 31 - June 1. Participants should plan to attend all four sessions.

The greatest work of art in western calligraphy and illumination in the last 500 years is The Saint John’s Bible. It is created with materials that reach back millennia: calfskin vellum, quills, stick inks, dry pigments, gilding, and more. The designs, though grounded in tradition, always have a contemporary flair.

The intention of this extended studies course is to be immersed in these materials and techniques in order to produce a finished work, broadside or book, integrating these materials and designs.

Curriculum will include:

• Lining and Lettering on Paper, Vellum, Parchment

• Gilding on various bases with seven kinds of gold, and tooling the gold

• Metal nibs: broad edge, pointed, ruling pen, ball pointed pen: adapting them with honing (several), reservoirs, distempering, snipping.

• Quills: cutting and maintaining them

• Writing Fluids: Gouache, Watercolor, Ink Sticks: (black and color), Dry Pigments

Participants must have a working knowledge of Italic lettering.

Planned:

The final weekend at Carson-Newman University studying illuminated manuscripts from across the centuries, employing many of the materials and techniques presented in this course.

The Saint Johns Bible: Heritage Edition! Up close and personal with one of the volumes. A chance to study this life size, brilliantly reproduced, rare book. (Note: The current cost of the full seven volume set is approximately $165,000.)

workshop is full

Time: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (brown bag lunch)

In this class, the humble pencil and its relatives become powerful tools in creating many effects from subtle to stunning. We will use pencils, erasers, graphite sticks/blocks, powdered graphite and their water-soluble cousins to explore the possibilities of this medium for creating refined works of art to quickly made drawings in our sketchbooks.

Starting with basic drawing principles like line quality and shading, we will experiment with each tool to discover the marks it can produce. We will then move on to drawing letters and designing word groups, both formal and casual. The monochromatic drawn letterform forces us to slow down and relate more organically to the forms we are creating. You will find drawing letterforms with care and thoughtfulness to be so helpful in improving your design and lettering skills and in allowing for more refined and subtle attention to detail. 

Further time will let us explore how to integrate our letters with their backgrounds into designs that will grab our viewer’s eye. Finally I’ll show you some of the tricks I’ve learned to save time and ensure success when working with this versatile medium.

Photo courtesy of Amity Parks.

Cancelled

Rose gold, lemon gold, yellow gold, white gold, raised gilding, flat gilding, tooling, gesso size, acrylic size, natural size, synthetic size, powdered gold, shell gold, golden graiselle… so much to learn and so little time. In this workshop, you will learn what each technique is by hands on gilding. We will gild on vellum and hot press watercolor paper. We will start with ancient techniques and work our way up to modern, including flash gilding and mica powder. Rather than having students purchase expensive supplies and equipment, a $25 supply fee is charged and ALL the gold, sizes, and papers will be provided for you, including the vellum. I will have a variety of burnishers, ruling pens, and quills for you to try. We will take the mystery out of all that glitters.

Photo courtesy of Harvest Crittenden.

Registration is CLOSED. Workshop is full.

Italian Hand is an elegant mercantile script that reaches back to the first decade of the 1600’s and was prominently used until the mid 1860’s. It is the "bridge" hand that will connect your understanding of both English Roundhand and Spencerian Script. It 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. Throughout The Poetic Pen class, we will simplify the capital forms while striving to perfect the shading on the lowercase forms. We will explore various European influences of the capital letters. 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. The practice of this delicate hand will help lighten your touch as you approach other script hands. This workshop welcomes any skill level from novice to advanced.

Photo courtesy of Heather Held.

Registration is CLOSED. Workshop is full.

Priority will be given to those who register for all three of Carrie's workshops.

Dancin’ Pen is my funky twist on the Italic alphabet. It all started with the Bone alphabet and pen manipulation and then ran amok into all my other alphabets. I have also drawn inspiration from my Italic Variations class, which analyzes each component part of the alphabet and then stretches each component to its limit to create new, expressive alphabets. Alphabets should not need labels, but should serve to convey emotion and the feeling you get when you read a piece of words that moves you. You need to be able to write letters that say what you feel.

This class will give you the tools to morph your Italic alphabet into an unlimited number of new forms for your use. It will free you from the “rules.” So come step out of the box and express yourself. You will surprise yourself with the most exciting letterforms you've ever made!

Photo courtesy of Carrie Imai.

Registration is now CLOSED. Workshop is full.

Priority will be given to those who register for all three of Carrie's workshops.

Dancin’ Pen is my funky twist on the Italic alphabet. It all started with the Bone alphabet and pen manipulation and then ran amok into all my other alphabets. I have also drawn inspiration from my Italic Variations class, which analyzes each component part of the alphabet and then stretches each component to its limit to create new, expressive alphabets. Alphabets should not need labels, but should serve to convey emotion and the feeling you get when you read a piece of words that moves you. You need to be able to write letters that say what you feel.

This class will give you the tools to morph your Italic alphabet into an unlimited number of new forms for your use. It will free you from the “rules.” So come step out of the box and express yourself. You will surprise yourself with the most exciting letterforms you've ever made!

Photo courtesy of Carrie Imai.

Registration is now CLOSED. Workshop is full.

Priority will be given to those who register for all three of Carrie’s workshops.

This workshop will be an in-depth study of the Formal Italic Alphabet through demonstration, revealing exercises and personal attention. We will study each of the components of the alphabet — what makes it look the way it does — and use this information to determine how your personal Italic can be improved. We’ll begin with pen angle, structure, branching and shape. I’ve seen quantum leaps in improvement in this workshop.

Photo courtesy of Carrie Imai.

This workshop is designed for those new to calligraphy as well as for those who want to refine pen skills and learn more about this hand.

We will look at the variety of writing fluids and media, nibs, pens, papers, and other tools of broad-edge calligraphy.  We will practice techniques of working with a broad-edge nib while continuing to refine our calligraphic technique by focusing on letter construction, pen angle, and spacing.

The Foundational hand is a lovely round hand suitable for many projects and is the starting point for other hands such as Italic and Blackletter.