This course is not open for enrollment

Roman Minuscules & Beyond

A deep dive into the Roman minuscules and variations

Course Description

In this 5-week course, we’ll begin with "Foundational," the teaching alphabet that Edward Johnston developed from his study of 10th-century Carolingian script. From there, we’ll delve into building both our calligraphy skills and our understanding of minuscules in relation to structure and capitals. Roman Minuscules offer tremendous potential: it can be refined or playful, serious or expressive, making it as practical as it is beautiful. We’ll also incorporate a cohesive set of pen-drawn capitals, giving us a flexible, workhorse style that can serve both functional and artistic purposes. Along the way, we’ll refine our pen techniques and and develop variations which extends the possibilities of our calligraphy.
I’ll ensure you leave with a deeper appreciation for this timeless script and the skills to bring it to life.

Dates of this workshop are five Saturdays: 
March 8, 15, 22, 29 and April 5 Time: 2pm EDT.
Each session runs for 90 minutes.  
Format: Live Zoom workshop Recordings will be available for 3 months. Until July 5.  
Level: Intermediate to advanced 
Cost: $175.usd Includes exemplars.  
Materials list will be available upon enrollment.

Course Curriculum

John Stevens

John Stevens is a well-known and accomplished letter artist known for a wide range of exemplary work. Beginning as a sign painter in New York, his insatiable inquiry into letters and their design led him into type, calligraphy, and lettering, learning to use various pens, brushes, and later computers. His clients are in publishing, packaging, advertising, television, and film. (Lucasfilm, Life, Time, Newsweek, Tiffany’s, New York Public Library are a few of them.) He also gets called on to create hand-written documents on paper and vellum, the calligraphers’ traditional work.

He has been invited to teach at many national and international letter arts conferences throughout the United States, Europe, Japan, and South America as an instructor of this art. His original works are included in the San Francisco Public Library, Berlin’s Akademie der Künste, La Casa del Libro (San Juan, Puerto Rico), and many private collections. John's calligraphy and lettering have been published and reproduced in dozens of books and publications about Lettering and calligraphy; in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States. His book Scribe: Artist of the Written Word was published in 2013 to critical acclaim. The new book, Mastering Broad Brush Roman Capitals, is now available @ John Neal Bookseller.

John was on faculty of Roman Holiday| 2024 International Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Conference

You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. Website: www.johnstevensdesign.com

Most Recent lecture: The Letterform Archive (2019)

Comments & Testimonials

I am very happy to attend the course roman pointed pen. it has been a wonderful experience and i look forward to attend in future courses. Thank you very much.🙏  MeryemTunca

 John shared key fundamentals of #gothiccalligraphy, his design experience and insights, discussed historical exemplars we can learn from, and possibilities for further exploration. I enjoyed the class, and grateful to John @calligraphile,–Bakhyt Kadyrova

John, your class as always is rich in subject & challenging in skill. Thank you for the generous sharing of your skills & knowledge! –Connie Posigian

Last upload from the final lesson of this incredible class. Master John Stevens always confirms himself as a source of great inspiration and with many useful ideas for learning to think outside the box.– Andrea Russo

Many thanks for another great course. Your instruction as always have been most illuminating and challenging. This plus the posting of of so many brilliant contributions has made this experience very special. –Isaias Zelkowicz

Course Pricing

John is the author of
Mastering Brush Roman Capitals available from
John Neal Books.com

© 2025 john-stevens-workshops