Seastones:
A Masterclass

with maria helena hoksch

Class Description

Since its “birth” about eight years ago, Seastones Script has become Maria Helena’s signature style. It is instantly recognized and admired around the world, but taught by her rarely. It fits into Maria’s overall life mission of researching various historic hands (and decorating techniques), then offering her version of how to use them in today’s world, in a fresh and perhaps unexpected way.

“No one has ever invented a script,” she repeats Edward Johnston’s wise words. “Herein lies the wonderful interest in Calligraphy; the forms previously used have always formed themselves by continuous process of development, from one hand into another.” And Maria has claimed her spot in this progression. “Without change, historic hands will eventually be forgotten and die”, she believes. In Seastones, she has taken on Copperplate, and made it into something she calls “controlled freedom”, abandoning many rules while carefully keeping others, creating a script that will look appealing, optimistic, fresh, and fun. It will undoubtedly take your spacing and flourishing skills on the next level, in any hand you use. 

Maria’s curriculum will be peppered with tips on contrast and spacing, the mood of Seastones, how to achieve optimism, movement, and energy in lettering in general, but also how to the keep an even rhythm and calm steady pace.

Class Details

Suggested Materials

STRONGLY SUGGESTED:

• Sharpie Pen (says the words “Sharpie Pen” on a marker)

• Oblique pen holder

• Hunt 101 nibs (about 5…7 for the whole series)

• Moon Palace black Sumi ink

• Canson Marker Pro Layout Pad (it is slightly see-through very smooth practice paper)

• tiny containers, 2 (deep enough to dip the nib in)

• water container for rinsing/cleaning nibs

• cleaning tissue (lint free)

• mixing brush

• Payne’s Gray Watercolor in tube

• water dropper

• cigarette lighter

• light weight see-through plastic ruler

• pencil (HB or 2B)

• soft eraser

OPTIONAL:

• smooth black paper pad (like Canford Black Paper, or Artagain coal black drawing paper400series)

• Dr. Martin’s Bleedproof White in a jar

• white mechanical pencil such as Fons&Porter

• slight slant board (such as Plexi Tabletop Easel from John Neal)

• sheet(s) of Frankfurt Smooth paper white

• sheet(s) of Stonehenge paper Black

• tube of gouache, like Yellow Ochre

• gum Arabic

• gum sandarac (ground)

• your favorite pointed nib for the last class of the series

• your favorite ink

• blotting paper (for cushion)

• journal for taking notes

***NO Fountain Pen Inks or Colorful inks for in-class work or homework

The Teacher

Maria Helena’s calligraphic Journey spans four decades and two continents.

She started her lettering studies in her native Estonia while still in high school. She went on to attend three year public university calligraphy course, founded by the world renowned penman Villu Toots.

After gaining a bachelor in Literature and History of Books, Maria Helena was employed as an artist-designer for various cultural events and festivals, doing some stage design and large scale lettering. She was a contributing editor to several periodicals, writing about art. Maria was proud to be the only female member of her county’s cultural endowment, a board nominated to more fairly allocate government funds between various cultural projects.

Following her move to the United States 27 years ago, to join her American husband, Maria Helena’s first job in her adopted home was lettering elaborate prayer cards for a religious retreat home. Soon, however, she founded her private calligraphy studio in tradition-rich New Orleans. Her days are currently spent with exclusive southern clientele with the most discerning tastes. Maria Helena has provided calligraphic art for countless weddings, Mardi Gras balls, debutante parties, and honorary diplomas. She also has long term corporate clients.

Maria Helena has kept at studying calligraphy regularly and extensively throughout her long career, as she believes that learning should never end. She claims some of the most renowned calligraphers in the world as her long time mentors, some for well over a decade – (the late) Sheila Waters, Michael Sull, and Reggie Ezell, among others. Maria was well on her way to completing the Master Penman Program at IAMPETH, until the program was cancelled in 2015. She has not joined the new more recently created one.

Maria feels equally comfortable with broad edge pen and pointed pen. Her skill set includes numerous historic hands, engrossing, illuminating, gilding, illustration, painting, etc. Her extensive portfolio also consists of many pieces of lettering/art on vellum, which is her favorite media to create on, and on which she is considered an expert.

Maria Helena has been invited to teach in London, Mexico City, Sydney, Singapore, Jakarta, and numerous American cities. Some of these teaching trips were interrupted by covid, and carried out online instead, with great success and participation. Maria was the first to teach live, and the first to teach full online course, for The European Pointed Pen Collective. She has been beloved teacher for six IAMPETH conferences.

Maria’s other notable courses, besides this crowd pleaser SEASTONES, include Swinging Copperplate, The Wandering Line, ROMANtiCAPS, and CALLIGRAPHY ON VELLUM: Taking Your Lettering Beyond Paper.

Important information

Terms

Your place is secured once your payment has been processed. As the workshop recordings will be made available to students for a limited time after the event, no refunds will be offered for non-attendance.

DATA PROTECTION

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Contacts

Email: info@pointedpencollective.com (managed by Kate)
Instagram: @learnpointedpen (managed by Cecilia)