WHAT STUDENTS SAY
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Quotes from students in the Roman Capitals Workshop, spring 2021:
‘I have thoroughly enjoyed our Romans class and have benefited greatly from it. You are such an amazing teacher, providing such wonderful demonstrations, talking through your process, and making sure we all understand your techniques. You remind us that learning Romans is not not a quick process and that we should be happy if we see progress in just one letter. What an amazing workshop with such helpful feedback!’ Ann Cobb, [Nashville Calligraphers Guild and IAMPETH 2nd Vice President]
‘Terrific class, and both informative and practically helpful. I especially like the emphasis on making the letters freehand, getting the proportions in your hand, rather than something that relies on the training wheels of measuring proportions. I am looking forward to the next class taking foundational to antiqua’ Seamus Cassidy
‘This was a wonderful class. I would encourage any student who seriously wants to achieve good results with Roman Capitals to take this class. Christopher presents it an a logical manner and encourages people to work at their own ability level until they are ready for the more complex subtleties of Roman. He presented us with a wealth of background information, backed up by the information in his book – Calligraphy and Lettering.’
Olive Bull
I personally loved the class. It’s detailed, informative and takes you step by step into the difficult process of constructing the Roman Capitals. I also loved all the history lessons, our detailed workbook and your feedbacks. I believe you have given me a solid foundation to continue studying this ancient but essential letter form on my own. I have fallen in love with the rhythmically swelling stroke of the Trajan letter form and would continue to practice it step by step. Thank you so much for this wonderful class. Parul Gupta
Quotes from Pen to Print to Pen workshop,
June 2021
Another wonderful class from Mr Haanes. I think this class is an absolute must especially for graphic designers interested in type and it’s origins. He reveals the influence of the pen in old style typefaces and unravels the mystery of the construction of the lettera antica while showing us the to and fro exchange of type and calligraphy in the Renaissance. But the best part is that he hand holds you step by step from Carolingian minuscule of the 8th century to Edward Johnston’s foundational hand to the stunning littera antica of the Renaissance. I personally found the class extremely informative and relevant to my work and would definitely recommend it to my friends. Parul Gupta
This was my first online course. A great experience that motivated me to practice and continue to practice the foundational. I have appreciated both the general advices on calligraphy and the more specific advices on this ductus. The demonstrations and the availability of videos for 2 months allow a real evolution. A strong point of this course: the feedback on the posted homeworks. Anne-Françoise Bouillon
Quotes from Get Gothic workshop,
August 2021
Thank you Christopher for your inspiring lectures and extensive comments on homework assignments. It was my first contact with Gothic letters and I`m glad that I could learn it from a master. Aga Sztark
Christopher is able to convey not only the basics — ‘foundational strokes’ for beginners — but also to motivate us to aim higher by demonstrating wonderful advanced techniques and by showcasing and commenting a lot of examples from the masters. He is able to provide a ‘sense of a school of writing’, always attentive and respectful to other colleagues and teachers. And, while interacting with us, is gives us a no-nonsense, direct feedback, being it good or bad. Sometimes is painful to read, but the ‘no-bullshit’, ‘forget-the-likes’ commentaries are very much appreciated. Being able to see how other colleagues have their work commented is also super-insightful. The online sessions and recordings are robust (and priceless) teaching methods (as they allow us to rewind and review—please maintain these in the future!).
Pedro Amado
Mr Haanes, I can’t thank you enough for teaching me how to write with a broad edge pen. From not knowing what a reservoir on a broad edge nib is ( during Roman Caps ) to being able to feel confident enough to try more advanced techniques, it has been a wonderful journey with you. My eye has been sharpened so much to detect high quality (even if my hand has a long way to catch up).I thank you for your generous teaching and guidance. Parul Gupta
Quotes from Italic workshop,
October 2021
A really interesting, well-thought out and worthwhile course. While I feel I’ve made significant progress over the last 4 weeks I now have an incredible amount of work to do going forward. The impact of the course will last me years! Annie Jamieson
Anyways, as always it has been extremely grateful to be able to attend this workshop (even if I couldn’t do it live most of the time). I was not sure in the beginning… Being Italic not my favourite hand and all… But seeing the amazing demonstrations and all the work and progress being made by everyone just made me fall in love with it. Now I really want to push harder and practice some more italic hand and variations! Pedro Amado
Quotes from students in the Skeleton Caps to Ruling pen Workshop, November 2021:
This is my first time taking a Roman Capitals class. Christopher’s method of introducing it using gestural movements is very interesting and this makes the capitals more accessible to a newbie like me. I also like that he incorporated some breathing techniques and even Qi Gong in the course to help with the gestural movements. I am surprised that the Chinese Qi Gong comes into play in a western calligraphy course. We always know that breathing IS important when writing. But no one has really taught us how to breathe correctly during the process. I find this method especially helpful. Claire Tan
I have learned a lot in this workshop, not only from the subject itself, but also from all the comments that Christopher makes. I have learned about rhythm, pace, speed and braking. Warm-up and breathing exercises are excellent. I really like his musical and cinematographic metaphors and I laugh a lot with his particular sense of humor. I will continue practicing and it is possible that one day I will be able to make one of the strokes of an A similar to his. Chilis Cubeiro
In this workshop, I learned to improve the shape of my capitals. Not only with a pen but also with my breathing which is pretty interesting. You can consider it like a meditation exercise. I enjoyed it a lot. Pamela Espana
I have been taking classes with Mr Haanes for a while now and with every workshop I feel I have grown so much. Like all his previous classes, Mr Haanes generously shared his vast knowledge, research and experience with us even before we dived into actually writing the letters. He also shared key insights on often ignored preparation (in the form of correct posture, breath and Tai Chi warm up, pencil exercises on paper etc )for more expressive forms of calligraphy. Further, while we explored more “expressive/looser looking” forms of calligraphy it was humbling to know that it was still rooted in discipline and deep understanding of strict and unforgiving Classical Roman Capitals. Learning and mastering Roman Caps- strict or casual, will probably take a lifetime but I am very thankful to Mr Haanes for having trained my eyes to see better and higher quality letterforms and to constantly demand high standards from my own work. Parul Gupta
Quotes from Carolingian Workshop, February 2022:
Using manuscripts from bygone times and works by well-known calligraphers and type designers from recent history, Christopher teaches to perform modern interpretations of the Carolingian script. This combination of old and new makes his workshops excellent. It inspires me to explore old documents myself and to improve my calligraphy skills. Joost Nijssen
I want to thank you for your Carolingian workshop. Your historical information and your interpretation of the letters inspire me and I want to keep practicing. It is incredibly motivating to see a well written letter on beautiful paper. Katharina Ostenda
Quotes from the Fractur workshop, March 2022
The Fraktur class has given me a window into a new world and changed how I see letters. I feel inspired to have learned and received critique from a practitioner at the highest level of his craft. I enjoyed the class immensely and look forward to continuing the journey of pen and ink. Thank you! Nooni Reitig
I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of instruction and detailed demos presented in the class.. I personally love the airy elegance Mr Haanes brings to Blackletter which he also generously demonstrated to us in the workshop. From beginner friendly models to very advanced techniques, there is a clear pathway provided in the class for us to take which simplifies the process of learning the intricacies in Fraktur. Also I should mention that every time, I take a class with Mr Haanes, not only does it increase my understanding of the historical context of the concerned scripts but I also simultaneously learn about the relevant developments in Typography. There are so many designers whose work I discovered after Mr Haanes direction. This has definitely expanded my visual references and improved my thinking as a designer. Whether you are a calligrapher, graphic designer or type designer, there is so much to learn from Mr Haanes and I highly recommend his Fraktur workshop. Parul Gupta
Quotes from students in the Civilité Workshop, Fall 2022:
Having taken several of Christopher’s workshops, I highly recommend that you sign up for anything that he is offering to teach. Christopher is an excellent instructor who is very knowledgeable about his subject and is always well prepared. His Civilite class has been extremely thought provoking and inspiring. Thanks so much for offering this hand. Marta Legeckis
Civilite is again an enlightening and informative workshop as always. In every session by illustrating an extensive selection of historical manuscripts and modern interpretations from renowned calligraphers, Mr. Haanes enables us not only to survey the historical continuum of a certain hand but to inspire those who would like to evolve their own style. From the considerate demonstration you will know that he sincerely want to pass on his experiences and skills! I’m so lucky to have Mr. Haanes on my calligraphy journey. If you will like to elevate your skills on calligraphy, studying under Mr. Haanes is definitely my first recommendation. Tong Zhou
It was a wonderful workshop with lots of background information. The Civilité is such a beautiful hand and Mr. Haanes demonstrations are very instructive and always give a good insight into the handling of the pen. I always feel step further after his workshop. Highly recommended. Katharina Ostenda
What a beautiful sojourn into this gorgeous renaissance typeface with Mr Haanes!! As always, it was a very well structured workshop , going from basics to advanced techniques. We started off with understanding the historical background and then moved on to basic drills and exploring the relationship between different varieties of arches and branching. All this while also deciphering the alphabet exemplar created by Robert Granjon in the 1500s. Furthermore, we studied a beautiful, modernised version of Civilite based on Mr Haanes‘s interpretation of the Civilite type. While this was challenging enough for us, we were pushed out of our comfort zone further by Mr Haanes to explore Civilités modern interpretations by other scribes and typeface designers like Legende from Ernst Schneidler and civilite model by the legendary Hermann Zapf. Taking something which is this medieval and making it relevant for our times takes a lot of study and experience and I am extremely grateful to be studying with one such writing master of our age who has interpreted it sooo beautifully for us. He is so generous in sharing all his spells and trickeries with us. Not to forget all the well researched historical and contemporary knowledge he generously shares with us in each one of his workshops. With every workshop I get better and I am forever grateful for his guidance and teaching. Thank you so much. Parul Gupta
