THE CLAS CERTIFICATE OF CALLIGRAPHY

For more information send an A5 stamped addressed envelope to Judith Sitch, 45 Torrington Park, LONDON N12 9TB United Kingdom.

What is the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy?
The CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy is a first level assessment and certification for those who are starting out in calligraphy and for those who would like their calligraphy assessed against national standards.

Do I have to have several years' experience?
No. The CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy is for beginners who have been learning for only a few months, as well as those who are more experienced.

Do I have to be studying with a Tutor?
No. You can send in your work on your own, although it does help if you have a good tutor who can give you guidance and support. Tutors can also send in class or group sets in one envelope, as long as each candidate's work is clearly marked. (In this instance it is perfectly acceptable to send either individual cheques or one cheque for the whole group.)

What do I get from it?
The CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy gives you an opportunity to have your work looked at and assessed by those who are skilled in helping both new and more experienced calligraphers. They will study your lettering and suggest points to encourage you in your enjoyment of calligraphy. These comments are written on the Assessment Form, and will be sent to you when your work is returned. You will also receive the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Certificate.

How much does it cost?
It costs £10* for each entry. This covers assessing and commenting on your work and also the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Certificate. (*£15 for non-EEC countries – to cover return postage costs.)

When do I send in my work?
Send in your work at:
* the end of December or
* the end of March or
* the end of June

What happens then?
A CLAS Teaching Honoured Fellows or CLAS Accredited Tutor will assess your work and award marks and will also write down points to encourage you.

What will be looked at?
Five aspects of your calligraphy will be looked at:

1. Construction of letters – how well you write your letters
   This includes holding your pen at the correct angle for the writing style, well-constructed serifs, good, strong joins to the separate strokes.
2. Proportion and weight of letters
   Included in this section is whether your letters are the correct x-height for the alphabet you have chosen, and whether the ascenders and descenders go up and down to the appropriate lengths.
3. Consistency of family characteristics
   Here the assessor will be looking to see whether your letters in the o family have similar shapes, whether the arches for the letters n, m, r, h, p and b have similar arch formations, whether the diagonals of v, w and y correspond and so on.
4. Spacing and evenness of texture
   At this level, the assessors will want to see that your letter-forms look even in texture on the page, not clumped together and bunched, or with large spaces between some letters and not others. Also they will want to see that the spaces between words are about the same as the width of the letter o of that alphabet style.
5. Margins and use of space
   Calligraphy needs room to breathe, so before you start writing ensure that you leave good margins all round. Then plan your pieces so that the lettering does not start at the very top left-hand corner and finish tight at the bottom right. You should allow sufficient space between the lines so that ascenders and descenders do not clash but also so that your lettering has those good margins.

Is there a pass or fail?
No. There is no pass or fail. Everyone who sends in work will get the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy. In addition:

If your mark is between:
55–65% then your work is commended
66–75% then your work is awarded a merit
76%+ then your work is awarded a distinction.

What do I have to do?

1. Decide on the alphabet style that you do best from this list:
   
   • Foundational (or Round) Hand
   • Formal Italic
   • Angled Pen Uncial
   • Flat Pen Uncial
   • Gothic Black Letter
   • Copperplate
   • Pen-written Roman Capitals
   • Pen-written plain Italic Capitals
   • A chosen script which is based on an historical manuscript or study
     (in which case you will need to send in a photocopy of the manuscript you used for your study.)

   Then write out the following on 3 separate A3-sized pieces of paper (A3 is approximately 42 by 30 cm, or 16 by 12 inches). (Please see the Tips section for a note about pens, paper and ink).

   1. A complete alphabet in your chosen style written with a large nib, such as a Manuscript or a William Mitchell 1·5 nib, or a nib which has a tip of 2·5 mm or 1/10 inch wide. For Copperplate your letters should be a minimum of 8 mm or about 1/3 inch high.
   2. Eight lines of your own choice of continuous prose in that large nib as detailed in A.
   3. Eight lines of your own choice of continuous prose in a small nib, such as a Manuscript or a William Mitchell size 3 nib, or a nib which has a tip of 1 mm or 1/20 inch. For Copperplate your letters should be no more than 5 mm or about 1/5 inch high.
2. Write your name and address in BLOCK CAPITALS on the back of each of the three pieces of paper.
3. Complete the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Entry Form on the back of the leaflet; photocopy it so that you always have one for the next time you want to make an entry.
4. Write a cheque, Postal Order or International Money Order (if no UK Bank Account) for £10* (*£15 for non-EEC countries – to cover return postage costs) made payable to CLAS.
5. Enclose a self-addressed sticky or self-adhesive label (which will cover your address on the envelope) with your Entry Form.
6. Enclose also a stamped addressed postcard with the words Work Received written on it if you want to know that your work has arrived safely (no other acknowledgement will be given). NB Please do not use paper clips, staples or sticky tape to attach your papers together; these make the Administrator's and Assessor's jobs more difficult.
7. Put your three sheets of paper, Entry Form, self-addressed label, cheque/Postal Order/International Money Order into an A3-sized card-backed envelope (this will be used to return your work), and send it to the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Administrator whose address is on the Entry Form at the back of the leaflet.

Will I get my work back?
Yes. All work is returned to you at the end of the Assessment process. This can take more than 8 weeks so please be patient. Your work is first registered by the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Administrator who sends it off to the Assessor. The Assessor studies your work carefully, awards marks and makes comments to help you. All the entries are then sent off to the Moderator for the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy to be moderated. Once this is done the entries are returned to the Assessor who completes the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Certificates. Finally, it all goes back to the Administrator who records your mark on the CLAS database before returning everything to you.

Can I make more than one entry?
Yes, of course. You can make as many entries as you wish. You can send in entries for different writing styles so that you will have a range of CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Certificates, or you can look to improving your mark in one writing style. Each entry will cost you just £10*. (*£15 for non-EEC countries.)

Tips – read this through before you start

Although a calligraphy felt tip pen is acceptable for practice, the tip is not really fine enough to make beautifully crisp letter-forms. The thinner the edge of your pen, the sharper your letters will be. To get the highest mark possible for you, choose a metal calligraphy nib. Use also a dense calligraphy ink such as Chinese ink, or use calligraphy gouache or even ordinary gouache. Dilute a little gouache (5 mm or 1/4 inch squeezed from the tube into a saucer) with water until it is the consistency of thin, runny cream, and then feed it into your pen for writing.

Layout paper is good, too, for practice, but is not suitable for having your work assessed for the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy. Another type of paper to avoid, as the surface is too shiny for good letters, is 'pretend' parchment paper. This is ideal for printing certificates, but it is very difficult to get crisp letter-forms on it. Select a reasonable quality smooth paper, such as cartridge or a hot press (hp) paper, which is about 160 gsm or more in weight (twice as heavy as photocopying paper). You should be able to get more suitable paper like this from artshops.

If you would like information about good papers to use and useful books, please send a stamped addressed envelope to the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy Administrator (address above and on the Entry Form). There is also a helpful leaflet with more tips about the CLAS Certificate of Calligraphy which you can ask for as well.