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Calligraphy - Beginners
Funding area Creative Arts (Entry Level)
Check your eligibility
You must meet the entry requirements for the course
- You must be a UK national, or an Irish national, or an EEA national with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement scheme
- You must have been resident in the UK or an EEA country continuously for the 3 years preceding the start date of your course. For learners living in the Greater London Authority area only you must have valid permission to live in the UK for at least 12 months in duration from the start date of your course.
- You must be aged 19 or over as at the 31st August 2024 for courses in the 2024/25 academic year
- You must agree to commit to and complete an Individual Learning Plan in agreement with your course tutor
Who can join this course
This is one of our Tailored learning Entry level (Beginners) courses. This course is for learners who have not studied with us previously in the same subject area at Level 1 or above.
Eligible learners may enrol onto entry level courses in this subject area up to a maximum of 120 guided learning hours in total.
Please refer to our Course details for the subject area, and guided learning hours assigned to this course.
If you have already reached the maximum guided learning hours in this subject area and level, you should look to progress to courses at Level 1 (Improvers).
This course is aimed at those new to this subject, or with little or no previous experience of this subject. Those with some experience or those who have already completed Beginners (Entry level) courses should consider our range of Level 1 (Improvers) courses.
This traditional Calligraphy course is for complete beginners and for students who have not yet learned the Foundational Hand.
Is this course for me
Our Creative Intent
Creativity is an essential aspect of human expression and plays a crucial role in fostering well-being and a sense of purpose.
The ambition of the Kent Adult Education Creative curriculum is to engage the community through an energetic and diverse programme offer planned to meet the varied needs and interests of Kent’s communities, thereby ensuring high quality learning is delivered across the county in dedicated adult education centres, online and in neighbourhood settings.
Creative courses aim to build confidence through learning, allowing students to express themselves, think critically, and collaborate with their peers. By empowering our students to become confident, imaginative, and adaptable learners, we aim to develop students' curiosity, resilience, and adaptability, preparing them for future challenges, opportunities, and personal development.
Calligraphy writing is a simple yet powerful method to calm your mind after a busy day. Practical calligraphy using a broad-edged dip pen to make letters in the beautiful lower case Foundational hand, and the Roman capitals, is the focus of this course.
The Foundational Hand is a classic round hand script, based on the famous calligrapher, Edward Johnston’s letterforms, it’s an excellent starting point for beginners. The tutor will provide a brief overview of the historical context of this script and setting up your workspace and preparing your tools, which can be a calming ritual it itself.
On this course we will study a modern form of this script. Starting with pen patterns using calligraphy felt tip pen, as a fun and creative introduction to broad-edged pen. Whilst introducing the pen strokes that make the letterforms, it is also useful for making border decorations.
Moving on to the preparing and handling of dip pens, using ink and gouache paint, we will focus on making good letterforms, and then letter and word spacing, and developing a good writing rhythm as you become fully immersed in creating each letter.
Calligraphy is not only a beautiful artform, but also a great way of switching off from our digital lives, as you naturally become absorbed in the process.
Working with a short quotation of your choice, with attention to layout and design, the aim is of this course is to complete a piece of calligraphy with a pleasing composition, and associated decoration if desired.