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.