Certificate Core: Experience the Origin of Roman Inscriptional Capitals

This workshop will be a close examination of creating Roman Capitals with a flat brush. About 2000 years ago, the Romans had evolved these lovely forms, which they borrowed from the Greeks and perhaps, the Etruscans. The beauty of these forms is that they remain the traditional standard, and most experts agree that the beautiful nuances and serifs are the result of writing with the chisel-edged brush*. Roman capitals offer us many “lessons” to calligraphers and typographers on the subtleties of Letterform design.
In this hands-on workshop, we will write with a flat brush, learn the moves and techniques that will let you “see” the cause of these shapes that have stood for twenty-one centuries.
*The theory was laid down by Fr. Edward Catich; (but there are further distinctions and refinements we can make using both flat/square brush and the round ferrule, sho-card brush.)
John is an acknowledged master of these forms: both teaching and doing.

Note: This workshop is only open to students enrolled in the Type West Certificate Program in Type Design.