South London Letter Association regularly hosts events for its members. From social events, exhibitions, and other outings, to workshops and courses our events are a great opportunity to get together and share creative ideas about lettering. Most events are free for members, so join SLLA today.
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November 2020
Manuscript Book Design with Josie Brown
This workshop will begin with a short overview of historical MS page design and then examine a range of contemporary hand-written books in terms of the bindings as well as what they have inside – to open up the box of possibilities. This will be followed by a couple of small group activities to enlarge on the working process of designing MS books and then explore a range of stress-free processes suitable for use within already-bound books, since many of…
Find out more »January 2021
‘Say it in Styles’ with David Simons
This class will go ahead as a zoom class, starting at 10am with a 2 hour link up, then a 2 hour break, followed by another 2 hour session. The workshop will be an introduction to the limitless possibilities of ‘Hand Lettering’, a form of drawing to create decorative letters, experiment and have fun. Learn how to create styles of lettering to convey the message of your words. Don’t worry about perfection!…The beauty is in the imperfection…
Find out more »April 2021
Archie Proudfoot
Archie Proudfoot is an artist and sign writer whose work utilises the techniques and the aesthetics of traditional signage to explore the relationship with language. He now splits his time between creating bespoke signage for businesses across London and creating his own personal pieces. Members will probably be familiar with his work, including his Alphabet mugs, which are sold by the Tate.
Find out more »June 2021
The Art of Illumination with Toni Watts
This is a repeat of the 2 day workshop with Toni in 2020, to accommodate those who could not get a place on the course, first time round. It is full again, but you can add your name to the reserve list. During this two day workshop we will explore a variety of ways of adding gold leaf to a design, using both simple and more challenging techniques. Starting with the application of gold leaf flat to the page using…
Find out more »Large Italic using Automatic Pens with Rachel Yallop (via ZOOM)
This workshop will be a zoom class with 2 two hour sessions beginning at 10am and breaking for lunch. Writing letters at a large size increases calligraphic confidence and enhances hand skills. Using the larger sizes of Automatic pens is a great way to achieve this. In this class we will: Practice a rhythmic texture of lines as a way into making letters. Look at pen manipulation and how to make an easy transition between thick and thin strokes. Develop…
Find out more »September 2021
Robert Dunn: Walk in Central City of London
This year's London walk for the SLLA will be on Tuesday, 14 September and is called Bermondsey Riverside. There are few areas of London that have changed in recent decades as much as the dockside area of Bermondsey. Almost the whole of the riverside was once devoted to the loading and unloading of goods from ships that arrived from all over the world, to be stored in gigantic riverside warehouses. Our walk tells the story, following the riverside from London…
Find out more »Ewan Clayton: The surprising story of Calligraphy in the eighteenth century
‘Research in progress: The surprising story of Calligraphy in the eighteenth century ’ Traditionally this century has been assumed to be the domain of the copperplate engraver but calligraphers were writing a wide range of scripts that were far more than imitations of engraved or typographic forms. In this talk Ewan shows that far from being on the margins of the world of lettering and type form development they were central to the new shapes that the eighteenth century…
Find out more »October 2021
Finding The Right Words: SLLA Annual Calligraphy Exhibition
SLLA Annual Calligraphy Exhibition 2021 Finding The Right Words The Gallery 101 The Salvation Army International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4EH UK Date: Monday October 18 until Friday October 29 midday (excluding the weekend) Gallery 101 is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm The Private View: 6-8pm Monday 18th October Everybody is welcome.
Find out more »November 2021
Paper Cut Christmas Cards with Sharon Shaw
Discover how to create a calligraphic cut paper Christmas card. In this workshop you will learn how to embed a letter or a word within a cut paper design create a Christmas card from a sketch to a final design. Workshop Fee £30: SLLA members £35: non-members We welcome everyone to join our workshops, but offer priority booking for our members until 8 weeks prior to the event. If you are a non-member, you can register your interest for the…
Find out more »Tim Noad: The Istanbul Illuminations, inspiration from Islamic Art
In his talk Tim Noad will show how Islamic lettering and illumination, encountered in museums and exhibitions as well as trips to Istanbul, have proved inspirational for his work over the years. They include the decoration of a Royal Charter and more recently the layout of a poem. He has also tried out Arabic lettering and learnt authentic techniques of gilding and illumination. Members: Free Non-members: £ 3
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