fullscreen background
Skip to main content

Winter Quarter

Winter Registration Opens Dec 02
shopping cart icon0

Courses


« Back to Liberal Arts & Sciences

ART 53 — Calligraphy Design and Norse Runes

Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Ann Miller
Duration: 8 weeks
Location: Online
Date(s): Jan 29—Mar 19
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Wednesdays
 
Class Meeting Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $465
   
Refund Deadline: Jan 31
 
Unit(s): 1
   
Enrollment Limit: 35
  
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Quarter: Winter
Day: Wednesdays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 29—Mar 19
Unit(s): 1
Location: Online
 
Tuition: $465
 
Refund Deadline: Jan 31
 
Instructor(s): Ann Miller
 
Enrollment Limit: 35
 
Recording Available: Yes
 
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
After 2,000 years, the geometric forms and rich symbolism of the Elder Futhark runes continue to influence our daily lives—from Bluetooth to modern magic. We will cover the history of Norse runes, including Elder and Younger Futhark, Anglo-Saxon runes, and the Ogham alphabet, learning their names, meanings, phonetic equivalents, structures, and importance in contemporary design. Elder Futhark easily engages the visual artist with its angular and straightforward construction and sense of coded mystery. This course will offer an opportunity to explore diverse calligraphy methods while focusing on Celtic, Germanic, and Scandinavian cultural history relevant today. The Bluetooth logo, for instance, is based on the runes for H and B, which form a bindrune referring to Harald Bluetooth, the 10th-century king who unified Norway and Denmark.

Course activities include constructing the 24 symbols of Elder Futhark; designing runes as word, monogram, or repeated pattern; and creating simple to complex full-page layered designs. Classwork is geared toward the discovery of new tools and working with diverse media based on traditional drawing and painting techniques. Individual hand-lettered design projects using ink, resist, and watercolor techniques, as well as a wide variety of pens and brushes, will guide you to gradually build toward creating original artwork. This course is a unique opportunity to delve more deeply into ancient runes and how to use them, following basic design principles and a classic grid method that will help shape your artistic footprint in a fun, engaging, and inspiring way.

This course is open to students of all experience levels. Students must purchase their own art supplies for this course, the cost of which will depend on students’ individual needs.

ANN MILLER
Artist

Ann Miller is a fine artist, calligrapher, and designer working with figure drawing, painting, calligraphy, and illustration. She received a BA and an MA in art from Stanford, studied fine art with Nathan Oliveira and Richard Diebenkorn, and founded M2 Design for commissioned work. She has developed three courses as an adjunct instructor for the Academy of Art University and created 15 book arts workshops for San Francisco Center for the Book, exploring diverse areas such as African scripts, antique Secretary Hand, Bone script, graffiti forms, and cola pen gestural writing. Her work has been published in Letter Arts Review, Alphabet, and The Art of Language. Miller’s work can be viewed at pennib.com.

Textbooks for this course:

There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.