HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL CALLIGRAPHER
Prepare for a second profession, build your future career

 

Come and learn new skills with Muriel Gaggini,
a French-born Swiss-Italian master-calligrapher,
and discover writing as an art of beauty that you have probably never seen before.
With more than 25 years of teaching experience, we will initiate you into the secrets of the Noble Art of Calligraphy.

 

1. ELEMENTARY LEVEL

Select a class in any order from 14 courses that introduce the historical scripts from Antiquity to the Present, and cover 2000 years of traditions. Study about history and learn a wide range of scripts and techniques that Master Calligraphers have used to create the most beautiful manuscripts of Europe. We are very generous in our training: you will receive a rich collection of class materials and learn directly from famous Latin manuscripts that are kept in the great libraries of Europe. How? Because for over ten years Muriel Gaggini visited many prestigious national and private libraries and worked as a Reader in the Department of Occidental Manuscripts at the National Library of France, accumulating more than 3,300 hours of research. In her quest for perfection she studied the best calligraphy works of the past and gathered unique materials that are available nowhere else. Our class documentation will greatly contribute to your knowledge and appreciation of Western Calligraphy and we will teach you how to work in different languages. You will progress step by step while gaining good notions of paleography. You will be able to recognize how letters are shaped, related and combined, and discover the rules of accentuation, punctuation and letter decorations.
Upon mastering five historical hands of your choice, you will receive the Elementary Level Certificate and gain access to all classes of the Intermediate Level.


2. INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

At the Intermediate Level,another exciting world opens to you. At this stage you will become acquainted with the world of the Scriptorium and the traditional tools of medieval and renaissance scribes. Discover the use of various animal skins, leather, parchment, vellum, their preparation and different applications; gain the knowledge transmitted under the reign of King Louis XIV of France on how to select and cut quills to suit different tasks. You will develop a sense of touch and sharpen your perception skills, and this will impart new life to your calligraphy work. The results will give you a feeling of confidence and encouragement and your artwork will impress not only friends, but also gain praise from other fellow-calligraphers and professionals in Japan and overseas. Many students produce excellent work at this stage; at the MG School, you have the opportunity to take part in the International activities, exhibit and travel in many countries. After passing the examination for the Intermediate Level of Calligraphy, you are ready to take the last step to become a full-fledged professional calligrapher.


3. ADVANCED LEVEL

With a solid foundation we take you much further: at this level you gain the ultimate confidence necessary to go into business, give expert advice to your clients or teach calligraphy. A good education and expert knowledge command instant respect. You will study and execute a wide range of projects. Commercial calligraphy will be covered through the acquisition of the Round Hand the script also known as "Copperplate" and you will complete the creation of a portfolio of high quality works for client presentation. If you wish to further deepen your knowledge of the past, you can take the courses titled “A visit to the Roman Tablinum” and “The Art of Replica Manuscript” and experience a new sense of smell and texture by working with natural materials, traditional tools and pigments. At the end of this training, you will feel confident to work with companies, universities, public libraries, designer offices and expand beyond these. The Diploma will crown your efforts and you will be a respected Master Calligrapher, Illuminator and Heraldic Designer.

 

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Copyright Muriel Gaggini 1998 - All photographs and artwork are the property of MG School