The Flourished Name

Ornamental Decorative Flourishing is one of the most challenging and rewarding skills that a calligrapher can acquire. But did you ever wonder how it’s done?
In this workshop, we’ll combine both history and artistry as we explore the world of flourished names. First, students will learn the simple, fundamental “rules” and techniques of flourishing, with its signature graceful curves, concentric ovals, and gentle direction changes. Next, in this step-by-step tutorial, we will examine the endless possibilities of flourished attachments using pencil sketches. The end result will be a finished composition rendered in pen and ink. Both decorative and useful, our goal in flourishing names and words is to achieve a balanced, harmonious and visually beautiful look, while maintaining the integrity and readability of the letterforms.


Please note: This is not a letterforms class. A basic knowledge of pointed pen calligraphy is necessary to fully benefit from this workshop.

Materials List:



• Straight pen holder AND oblique pen holder
• Your favorite nibs: Recommended are Nikko G, Zebra G, Gillott 303, Gillott 404, Hunt 22 or Leonardt Principality 
• Higgins Eternal Ink or Sumi Moon Palace Black Ink 
• Dinky Dip or ink well/holder 
• 12” clear plastic ruler 
• Hard Pencil 
• Kneaded eraser 
• Small dropper bottle 

Paper: 
• Tracing paper, 5 sheets
• Quadrille (graph) grid paper, 4 squares per inch, 5 sheets
I recommend Ampad “Gold FIbre” pad or Rhodia grid pad (orange cover)
• Borden and Riley Boris Marker Layout pad, 9 X 12 
• A few Viva paper towels 
• Scotch Removeable Tape