Workshop with Michael Sull, Master Penman

For my birthday I attended master penman Michael Sull's Spencerian Script and Offhand Flourishing workshop sponsored by the Calligraphy Guild of Indiana. The chance to take this workshop doesn't come up everyday, so even though it meant being away from my family on my birthday, I reserved my place early.

Michael Sull is a master penman, and is well-deserving of the designation. Not only has he mastered the pointed pen, but he is also an excellent instructor. He could answer any question thrown his way, and he clearly explained every step. He made every step seem simple - just building blocks to get to the amazing finished piece, in this case fantastic name cards that he made for each participant. In addition, he has a very generous nature. He graciously gave me permission to use any photos or videos I took, saying he believes the information should be shared. In the spirit of sharing, I hope you will enjoy the following photos. I took videos as well. I hope I can learn how to upload a long video (about 12 minutes!) I took of him lettering my name, including bird, plume and color.

He added cunning little birds and color to many (some color was added after these photos were taken), plumes to most, and flourishes to all. A few of the cards included cartouches - small stand alone designs.

Here is a photo of Michael at his apparently infamous chalkboard, demonstrating gorgeous flourished capital Cs. Click on individual photos to see them slightly larger.

Happy November birthday to Tina Gianfagna also!