Diane von Arx Anderson
A108 Dancing Versals
If you’ve ever wanted to put some motion or life into text and have tried all manner of Italic, these bouncing Versals might be just what you like. We’ll work with gouache on good paper to get the feel of the texture on the page. We will be working with chisel edge pens and emphasis will be placed on traditional Roman capital proportions and we will create exercises in monoline and thick/thin variation. We will explore the texture created by these majuscules and contrast their weights and sizes as we enjoy the freedom of making them dance on the lines. Students should bring a prepared text of approximately 75 words in length and should have a basic working knowledge of the Roman capital letters.
Supply List
- Pen holders
- Speedball B5 and C0 through C4 (or same size comparable nibs)
- Ink
- Gouache
- Mixing containers and filling brushes
- Layout pad (Diane uses Borden & Riley #37)
- T-square
- Water container
- Slant board
- #2 or F pencil
- Eraser
- Scissors
- Several sheets (14" x 17") of your favorite “good” paper
In her studio DIANE is a letter-maker and designer, producing expressive lettering, developing corporate marks, and creating unique resolutions and documents of recognition. She has taught in Minnesota for over 45 years and for the past 40 years she has taught workshops throughout the U.S. and in Canada, Japan and Australia. In 2019 she gave workshops for the Schreibwerstadt Klingspor in Germany and a lecture and workshops for the European Lettering Institute in Bruges. Her work is published in the 22nd and 23rd editions of the Speedball Textbook among many other calligraphic publications. Diane was part of the artistic team for The Saint John’s Bible and was responsible for the design, lettering and illumination of The Book of Honor, the donor volume for TSJB.