Level: Beginners / some experience, 18+
Tutor: Mark Frith
Dates: 14 – 18 July 2025
Time: 10:00 – 17:00
Cost: £605 / Early Bird: £565
SHORT COURSE OVERVIEW
Welcome to this rare opportunity to experience the art of letter carving in wood. You will learn to carve incised lettering and look in detail at choosing the right chisel for each cut and how wood grain direction affects carving. Learning to draw Roman letters is an essential part in the design process. The mornings will be spent drawing both sans serifed and serifed letters, whilst we develop carving skills in the afternoons.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The art of carving letters and symbols surrounds us both in historic and contemporary contexts. At City & Guilds of London Art School, we believe in lettering by hand and the skills we teach can be applied to a variety of materials. This course offers an intensive week of tuition to introduce you to or improve your drawn and carved lettering in cherry or beech wood.
Learning the construction of letters is an essential part of understanding bespoke letter forms and to how to carve them successfully. Combining the drawing and carving helps build your skills in tandem, clarifying how each process complements the other.
Our experienced tutor will explain and demonstrate all the processes involved in carving and the understanding of the characteristics of different types of wood and some whilst also keeping a close eye on your progress at every stage .We will also look at some alternative approaches to letter carving in wood, where to purchase tools and materials, how to sharpen chisels, different wood finishes and avenues of interest to further your knowledge of all types of lettering beyond this course.
By the end of the week, you should have a finished panel of letters carved in wood to take away with the skills you need to continue drawing and carving your own work.
This very special opportunity to spend a week learning the essentials of this historic art form at our unique institution only comes along once a year. Grasp it while you can!
What’s included: all teaching, and your tools and materials for the letter carving.
What isn’t included: your meals, and bring a 300 or 600 mm steel or plastic ruler, an automatic pencil 0.5 mm and/or 0.3 mm, with leads, eraser , and a large plastic set square. Please wear old clothes you don’t mind spoiling, or bring a pair of decorator’s overalls.
10% discount available for City & Guilds of London Art School undergraduate, postgraduate and foundation students and alumni, and staff. Contact summerschool@cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk to receive the discount code.
Please note: in accordance with Eventbrite’s Terms of Service, Eventbrite’s fees are non-refundable. Any refunds made for Summer School bookings will have Eventbrite’s fees deducted, unless we cancel the course. For more information, please see our terms and conditions.
