Friends of Calligraphy

08/25/2026

We got some interesting responses to this month's art prompt:

Write the alphabet in a different order from standard.

Artists who submitted entries:


calligraphy

08/21/2026

The dates for our brush script class have moved up a week. The new dates are September 1, 8, 15, 22. There are still spots left. Hope to see you there!

Whether you are new to lettering or an experienced calligrapher, brush script is a fun and expressive style. It will bring ease and flexibility to your writing. In this class, we’ll explore a connected, casual script inspired by the italic hand—perfect for envelope names, cards, and bullet journal titles. Using a brush pen, you will learn to create lively, rhythmic letters that feel both natural and intentional.

Class starts September 1 and there are still spots available. Register at FriendsOfCalligraphy.org

Brush Script
Katie Leavens, instructor
4 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person, Fort Mason
September 1, 8, 15, 22
$125 non-members / $115 FOC members

08/21/2026

Keep the conversation going! Here are a
few great responses we got from July's
"How long do you practice at a time?"

Featured responses from IG: .and.tassel ,
FB: Laura Dinkel

If you go back to our post from July 15th, you can find
even more of the conversation.

08/20/2026

This month we remember our former member, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse.

Gudrun Zapf von Hesse (1918–2019) was a renowned bookbinder, type designer, typographer, and scribe from Darmstadt, Germany where she lived with her legendary husband, Hermann Zapf. She was the second woman to receive the Frederic W. Goudy Award for typographic excellence, and was honored by FOC with a lifetime achievement award.

She first learned lettering as a 16-year-old bookbinder’s apprentice, but was dissatisfied with the instruction so taught herself from Rudolf Koch and Edward Johnston. Her first actual teacher, years later, was Johannes Boehland.

Operating her own bookbindery on the premises of the Bauer Typefoundry in Frankfurt after WWII, she was introduced to the precise practice of punchcutting for type design. Her first attempt yielded her Hesse Antiqua in brass, to be used as gold-stamping tools for her bindings.

In 1948, her lettering came to the attention of Dr. Gunther Lepold, director of the type foundry, D. Stempel AG, and its art director, Hermann Zapf, resulting in her first published typeface, Diotima, and her marriage to Zapf in 1951.

She designed ten typefaces in all: including her last — a published digital version of Hesse Antiqua, that first tooling type finally published 70 years after its creation in celebration of her 100th birthday in 2018.

Both she and Hermann were venerated by the extensive Zapfest exhibition and festivities at the San Francisco Public Library in 2001, curated by Susie Taylor and Linnea Lundquist.

Linnea: “While not as widely known as that of her prolific husband, [Zapf von Hesse’s] work is also beautiful and typographically vital, and her career has also been long and productive. And speaking as a woman who has worked for years in a male-dominated type industry, Gudrun Zapf von Hesse’s example has given me much inspiration and faith that good work is worth doing.”

This piece and more can be seen in the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering, Book Arts and Special Collections (), on the sixth floor of the SF Main Library.

08/16/2026

The Friends of Calligraphy and the Reed College Alumni Association celebrated the 2026 Spring Solstice by creating weathergrams at the Ghirardelli Card Shelter in Golden Gate Park. Lloyd Reynolds initiated weathergrams at Reed and describes them in his book "Italic Handwriting, Calligraphy & Handwriting." Several participants wrote weathergrams recognizing the particularly foggy weather in San Francisco this spring, but others chose diverse topics, honoring the day. A good time was had by all.

1 - The group at one point. Drop-ins were welcomed.

2 - a weathergram collection

3 - 6 - in the trees, Lloyd Reynolds would approve

7 - 8 - calligraphy in process, Ian Atlas, Michael Starkman, and friends

9 - closeups: Michael Starkman, Dorothy Yuki, Meredith Klein

Photo credits: Sarah Cortes, Meredith Klein, Michael Starkman, Connie Brand

08/15/2026

Raoul Martinez taught a seven-week Copperplate class for the Friends of Calligraphy May through July 2026. Raoul introduced all the lower and upper case forms and covered the history and primary uses of the script. These are participants’ images from class. There are advantages of being in-person.

1 - Sarah Cortes
2, 3 - Brian Beard
4 - David Brookes
5, 6 - Laura Tsunoda
7 - Julia Wu

Inmage credits: Raoul Martinez, Dean Robino, Julia Wu

08/15/2026

What do you listen to when you write?

Artwork by

08/15/2026

Ann Miller - Writing on the Grid

Sometimes we use the grid, sometimes we avoid it, but we're always are aware of it.

08/13/2026

Miss hanging out at Fort Mason and learning letters together? We're back with brush pen lettering at one of our favorite spots in San Francisco — but it's the only Fort Mason class on the calendar this year.

"Katie is engaging! I never felt bored in class and felt like we were progressing each week. She’s also very kind in her approach to helping students improve. The class format and pace was also appropriate for me as a beginner.” —Darcy S., former student

Class starts September 8 and there are still spots available. Register at FriendsOfCalligraphy.org.

Brush Script
Katie Leavens, instructor
4 Tues. nights • 6:30 – 9 PM • In Person, Fort Mason
September 8, 15, 22, 29
$125 non-members / $115 FOC members
Register now at friendsofcalligraphy.org.

Class Description
Whether you are new to lettering or an experienced calligrapher, brush script is a fun and expressive style. It will bring ease and flexibility to your writing. In this class, we’ll explore a connected, casual script inspired by the italic hand—perfect for envelope names, cards, and bullet journal titles. Using a brush pen, you will learn to create lively, rhythmic letters that feel both natural and intentional.

Supplies: Tombow Dual Brush Pen (dark color), pencil, translucent marker paper (9 x 12”)

08/10/2026

Our featured member of August is Elena Caruthers:

I have studied calligraphy for over fifteen years and finally call myself a calligrapher, once in a while. Over the years, I have found that I love the process of making books, especially with content that I have written in calligraphy or composed myself. I love to hold books and page through them, finding it amazing that it is, indeed, possible to make them.

1-2 - Wisdom of the First People 2012
This is a small, single signature book on painted Arches Text Wove with quotes from various native Americans with hands taught by Carla Tenret in her “Little Hands” class.

3-4 - When I Go 2024
This is a single signature, hardbound manuscript book written in uncials. The text is a song by Dave Carter.

5 - School of Tears 2024
This is a two-signature, hardbound manuscript book of an original tale based on one of my experiences as a child in Switzerland. It is written in my favorite script, Cheryl Jacobsen’s gothic cursive.

6-7 - Change-made Book 2025-2026
This book is a work in progress on vellum. The primary script is Cheryl’s gothic cursive written in gouache. I wrote on both sides of an entire calf skin, cut it up and reassembled it as a book, savoring all of its flaws including holes in the skin.

.caruthers