Calligraphy Symposium

Calligraphy Symposium is arranged annually by the Finnish Calligraphy Society to bring together everyone that is interested in beautiful writing. There are usually a range of 3 to 5 workshops and teaching is provided to everyone, irrespective of their skill level.

CALLIGRAPHY SYMPOSIUM 2025

There are now three different workshops available, from which you can choose one. Teaching will be both in Finnish and in English. Tessi Ranta-aho will teach how to make joyful, colourful calligraphy and doodling. In the calligraphy master Veiko Kespersaks´s workshop you´ll get familiar with drawn letters with colours. In Tania Crossingham´s and Pauliina Yliniitty´s you´ll orientate yourself with Art Nouveau-style alphabets and decorated initials.

Calligraphy Symposium is for all who are interested in calligraphic skills and art of letters. All the workshops are designed the way you can participate even if you haven´t done any calligraphy before. You can acquire equipment needed with guidance on the spot. Take your friend along or come by yourself, you are welcome!

Welcome to Calligraphy Symposium!

Below is link to sign up for Calligraphy Symposium and after the link you can explore workshops available.
https://epopisto.fi/koulutustarjonta/lyhytkurssit/kalligrafiapaivat

Drawn letters with colours / Veiko Kespersaks

Writing is not only writing beautifully but more complex and multiple working.

In this workshop we are looking for understanding to line, nuance and colours. We will start by drawing lines combining to background and also functioning independently. We will also accomplish gamut which starting-point is basic colours working in environment, in nature and will be searching everyone´s personal artistic view both in
oneself´s and others´ piece of art – and that will help us to develop creativity and quality in imminent works.

We will be using Versals as drawn letters and seek the balance, relations and shapes of letters. You can draw a simple drawn letter in many ways or you can use different materials like silk or wood as canvas. We are searching variations to drawn letters from Lombardic shapes and will create a new dimension for alphabets and how to use them.

Workshop fits for everyone who are interested in artistic calligraphy.

Equipment and materials needed: pencil, eraser, layout-paper, aquarelle-paper, ruler ( 20 cm), apron, brushes, gouaches or watercolours.

Maximum of participants around 25.

Doodling, colours and calligraphy / Tessi Ranta-aho

Playing with colours among calligraphy and doodling.

We are making backgrounds with watercolours, acrylic-colours and inks, we will be writing, drawing, decorating and doodling letters. Light and joyful, beautiful and fun in playing with letters, colours and shapes and f.ex. using embossing and shadowing. We are gonna get a little bit crazy and take a joyride in the world of multiple opportunities. We will test the limits of calligraphy and doodling, the interfaces of art and hilariousness – or we can stay in moderation.

The alphabets we could go for are Neuland, Foundational Hand, Romans and maybe Italic. You can make up your own alphabets or modify old familiar ones.

We will compose a little book of our experiments. This workshop fits for both beginners and experienced persons which recognise playfulness and free experiments as their own.

I´ve been participated in both Finnish and international calligraphy teachers´ – about 20 teachers – workshops. I myself have been teaching calligraphy besides Vantaa in Espoo, Kerava, Tuusula and Nurmijärvi. Nowadays I´m teaching also doodling which is light and relaxing drawing. Calligraphy and doodling go together!

One of my education is NLP-instructor and I´ve been guiding several wellness and interaction workshops. I´m member of Finland´s Calligraphy Society since 2016.

Art Nouveau / Tania Crossingham and Pauliina Yliniitty

The Art Nouveau style lettering together with decorated initial.

Teachers: Tania Crossingham and Pauliina Yliniitty
Tania: Decoration
Pauliina: Kalligrafia
Teaching language: English and Finnish
Level: beginners and advanced
The maximum amount of students: 30, divided into two groups

Aim:
You will learn to draw the basic shapes of the alphabet according to the Art Nouveau style, as well as to draw and paint a large decorated initial according to the style.

Description:
– Students get to know posters, drawings and illustrations from the Art Nouveau style.
– Using the instructions given by Tania, create a decorated initial in this style.
– Learn how to create the Art Nouveau style capitals with Pauliina.
– Students will learn to create Art Nouveau style work with both calligraphy and decorated initials.

CALLIGRAPHY SYMPOSIUM 2024

The 2024 Calligraphy Symposium was organized in cooperation with Etelä-Pohjanmaan Opisto (South Ostrobothnia Folk High School) in Ilmajoki, June 6-9, 2024.

Learner level: to all
Number of students: about 25
Language: Finnish and/or English

You now have a unique opportunity to learn to know the Copperplate writing style in this workshop. The variation of thin and thick strokes is characteristic for this elegant style. During the workshop you will learn, how to get started. We will go through all the necessary tools and materials. You will get detailed instructions for each lowercase and uppercase letter, as well as how to combine them to form words. I want to share with you an experience that transformed my calligraphic art life enormously. It was the moment as I learned, how to draw flowers with pointed pen nibs. I would not have believed it that I could draw anything so beautiful and simple, even though I had studied in an Art school. I would like to invite you too to have fun by sharing beautiful, decorative flowers. I know that you will be amazed of the beauty that you are able to create yourself, just like I was. You can see that the possibilities are endless for these wonderful decorating inspirations.

The humanist script along with Italian Renaissance style decoration / Tania Crossingham ja Pauliina Yliniitty

Lerner level: to all
Amount of students: max 20 students/teacher
Language: Tania English, Pauliina Finnish and/or English
Participants: in two groups and exchange halfway through the course

Aim: Learn the strokes and forms of the humanist script and capitals in the style of Bartolomeo Sanvito along with Italian Renaissance style decoration.

Students will study examples of manuscript pages from the Italian Renaissance. Using the instructions given by Tania, create a decorated versal and border in this style. Study and learn how to create the Humanist script made famous by
the Renaissance scribe, Bartolomeo Sanvito. Students will learn how to create an Italian Renaissance manuscript
style page with calligraphy and a decorated versal and border.

Beyond just beautiful handwriting – delightful letters drawn with pointed nib pens in the style of Sachin Shah/Tessi Ranta-aho

Especially during the Covid-19 years I have taken part in net online courses of many international Calligraphers: Paul Antonio, Carol DuBosch, Julie Wildman, Amity Parks, Gemma Black, Marta Mapelli, Sachin Shah, Ann Mason, Irene Kirchner, Veiko Kespersaks and Gertrud Ziegelmeier. I teach mainly in Finnish, but I have also had foreign students, whom I have teached in English.
web-page: www.pystyraita.fi

Learner level: Previous Experience in Calligraphy might help your learning, but also the Fresh Starters are most welcome
Quantity of students: max. 12
Language: Finnish and/or English

Description of the Class:
This airy and delightful Italic-based Calligraphic writing of an Indian engineer – Calligrapher Sachin Shah has charmed thousands of people around the world. I was studying this beautiful, although not very easy, style in his net online course in spring 2022. Not any basic scribble! Written with a flexible pointed nib pen this clear and great style will leave space for your own personal choices and for developing your own style. We will gradually learn the technique needed for the pointed nib pen, and our writing will get more fluent. We will learn, how to write lowercase and uppercase letters and will write texts.

The Theme of the workshop:  Letters on the wall – Calligraphy in interior art design
Learner level: to all
Quantity of participants: max. 16
Language: Finnish and/or English
More details about the workshop:

Interior Design Calligraphy will take the participants beyond basic paper and pen, creating art by using letters and strokes. You don’t need any previous experience of creating art, this workshop is for everyone. We will start by making different kinds of easy exercises but also inspiring and challenging exercises and continue by practicing two different basic calligraphy styles and perform experiments with colour and materials. This will unlock the creativity in you and everyone will get at least one interior design product finished; whether it be your own fabric, a sign, a text on the wall, a painting to be hanged on a wall, or a piece of installation art with your own letters and text. Marika has plenty of ideas for you to choose from, or you can start your own project. After registration you will get a more precise list of materials needed and also an inspiration list: “what to bring with me”.  (will arrive well before the event starts).