Copperplate with watercolored flowers and gold leaf decoration. 

It's National Heritage Week once more! And I was delighted to be invited back to the lovely Ashford Heritage Centre, Co. Wicklow to teach two calligraphy workshops to both children and adults. We focused on Ireland's very own script, the Irish Half-Uncial, or Celtic style, and despite the rain pouring down it was excellent weather for scribes!

Many thanks to all participants. Plus to Wicklow Heritage Officer, Deirdre Burns  and to Sheila Clarke of Ashford Heritage Centre for organising. It was great Sunday of scribing!

Invites, envelopes and RSVP envelopes in blue/grey ink for a September wedding. The card and envelope stock was of really fine quality and a pleasure to write upon.

I was visiting Buckingham for an important family event and, with two days to spare I discovered the fairly new (one year old in fact) Buckingham Summer School. I had to take the Copperplate Calligraphy course, delivered by the talented Joy Daniels of Northampton Scribes, CLAS and the Copperplate Special Interest Society.

As Joy said and I always thought, Copperplate was a hand that many calligraphers avoided because of its complexity, unique tools and direction. I steered well clear of it for years...until about 2012 when a wedding commission demanded it and I quickly taught myself. Seems I was doing a number of things incorrectly and Joy's tuition was very valuable.

These images from the class from all three of us student scribes;
Thank you Joy and Buckingham Summer School!