Learn the origins, variations, and contemporary applications of the Blackletter or Gothic Textura script in this beginning-level workshop. Students will practice using the broad-edged pen and learn to write a basic Blackletter alphabet. 

Explore the traditional tools and materials used to write Textura by medieval monks and discuss the various options available to the modern-day scribe. Tackle different techniques using the broad-edged pen and emerge with the skills necessary to write a basic Blackletter alphabet.

Expert linocut printer and calligrapher Grendl Löfkvist will provide handouts and examples to guide and inspire students in their future calligraphic endeavors. 

Materials to Bring: None.

Workshop + Materials Fee: $135.00

Date & Time: Thursdays, February 2 & 9, 2017 :: 6:30-9:30pm

Location: 375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Note: Please read over the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THIS WORKSHOP.

About the Instructor | Grendl Lofkvist

Grendl Löfkvist is an instructor in the Visual Media Design Department at City College of San Francisco, where she teaches the history of graphic design, book arts, calligraphy, and letterpress printing. She also offers a variety of courses here at the San Francisco Center for the Book, including Blackletter calligraphy, letterpress printing, and linoleum block printmaking. She is also a core instructor at Type@CooperWest(link sends e-mail), the West Coast iteration of New York's Cooper Union whose focus is on lettering and type design.
 
Grendl was a press operator for 13 years at Inkworks Press in Berkeley, a collectively owned, politically progressive offset printing company that just recently closed its doors. She does letterpress and printmaking work under the imprints of Red Star Media/Design and Cloven Hoof Press, and she is currently the President of the American Printing History Association's Northern California Chapter.
Her interests include the study of printing as a subversive “Black Art,” and she is always on the lookout for bizarre, unusual, or macabre print and type lore.

Past Student Reviews:

“Enjoyable vibe.”

“Grendl is a GREAT teacher.”

“She's a pro--and I so appreciate the history she talks about at the beginning. The material is really nicely presented in the handouts and in the slide show.”

“The background info on the type & illuminated manuscripts was incredibly interesting.  I love that we managed to try dip pens in one short session. And she gave us enough tips & tricks that you felt like you really improved by the end of the night.”