Chatting to Anna on Sunday before my calligraphy workshop in Cumbria, I said how much I loved getting away from my desk to teach! I love being self employed and the solitude really suits me. However, sharing the art of calligraphy with other people is so rewarding. I'm really excited to begin my Christmas calligraphy classes next month at:

(standing in for Evelyn)

[Click the links above for tickets and information]

Bauble calligraphy workshops?

Christmas always brings the challenge: do we attempt calligraphy baubles?! It's lovely to have something other than gift tags to take home. 

The short answer! Yes - I plan to bring bauble blanks to the Abbey Mill and Hare Hill Barn classes. You'll also have all the gift tags you could dream of to take home from all of my festive calligraphy workshops. 

Is learning calligraphy like other craft workshops?

Craft classes are very different from calligraphy workshops. In a calligraphy workshop you're learning a new skill. You won't walk in to find a blank bauble and a pen on your desk! I'll talk you through lettering and how beautiful words are formed first. There's something really lovely and mindful about calligraphy, and classes are often quiet, and relaxing - and very focused!

Compare this with a craft workshop where the aim is to make a thing. It could be a Christmas wreath or a basket or a wire sculpture or piece of jewellery. In each of these classes, the end product is a little more accessible. Instructions are easy to follow and you're guaranteed to come home with something you've created.

Why I love teaching modern calligraphy 

In my calligraphy workshops I will always do my best to send you home with a little project that everyone in the class can achieve. But it means the world to me that I can send you home with a new skill. 

You'll enjoy the day, and learn everything you need to know about calligraphy pens, so you can continue practicing at home. You'll understand how letters are formed with thick and thin swells, how flourishes are made and how to correct your mistakes as you go. In the long term, calligraphy is ever so rewarding. It also gives you a lovely new hobby to practice (with very little expense after the day) - during the rainy months of the year*.

*As I live and work in Cumbria, home of the Lake District, that's July - June ;-) It gives you all the time in the world to practice calligraphy!