Anglo-Saxon Calligraphy and Illumination workshop
Anglo-Saxon Calligraphy and Illumination workshop
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The Anglo-Saxon Workshop will take you into the fascinating world of British Illuminated manuscripts from the 5th century to 1066. You will explore the decorated manuscripts from this period, and learn how to create Rustica calligraphy and Anglo-Saxon Illumination over a two day online course. By the end of the weekend, you will have created a beautiful page of calligraphy with an illuminated letter and figure from the Anglo-Saxon era.
Both days of the workshop will run from 9am - 4pm Helsinki (Eastern European Time) via a Zoom link. The link will be emailed you a few days before the event. There will be breaks throughout the day for you to eat and rest.
The entire workshop will be recorded, so if the time zone makes it difficult for you to attend the live event, you will still get full access to the workshop videos, instructions and all resource materials for one month after the workshop. We also provide a space for you to upload your work to ask for assistance during the workshop and share your work with others.
Day 1 – Run by Finnish calligraphy teacher, Pauliina Yliniitty.
Pauliina will give an introduction to the Anglo-Saxon period. You will then explore rustica calligraphy with its variations and practice the letterforms. Towards the end of the day, you will write out the calligraphy for the final piece.
Day 2 – Run by medieval illuminator, Tania Crossingham.
You will explore Anglo-Saxon Illumination and gain an insight into its historical significance. The day will be spent learning how to create an Illuminated letter and figure in this style which will complete your manuscript page in the Anglo-Saxon style.
To fully enjoy this workshop, we recommend that you have the following things ready to go before the workshop begins.
- A4 size (210 x 297mm) sheet of hot pressed watercolour paper or a sheet of Pergamenata paper for the final piece
- Extra sheets of hot pressed watercolour paper for practicing calligraphy
- 30 cm ruler
- Protractor
- Tracing paper
- Soft white eraser and a putty (kneadable) eraser if possible
- Mechanical pencil with extra leads or a regular pencil with a sharpener
- Paper towel
- Cup of water for cleaning pens and brushes
- Gouache paints in the following colours
Metallic gold
A bright green or Brilliant green (Winsor & Newton)
alizarin crimson (a cool deep bluish red)
burnt sienna
burnt umber
cobalt blue
titanium white (or regular white )
black
- Titanium white watercolour paint by Winsor & Newton (optional but helpful)
- Brown ink (if you prefer that to using gouache for drawing with a nib)
- Quality brushes (size 00 & 000)
- Pipette (for adding drops of water)
- Calligraphy nib (size 2) and pen handle
- Very fine pointed nib
- Automatic calligraphy pen (size 4 or 5) or a brush or stick of balsa wood which is at least 10mm wide
- Brush (for mixing calligraphy gouache)
- Gum Arabic or toothpaste and toothbrush (for cleaning a new nib)
- Palette or china plate or a small containers for mixing gouache for the calligraphy and gouache for the painting
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.