COURSES

offered by Diana Bychkova, BFA, MFA, MLIS, PhD 

How does it work: to take a text and to convert it into a physical book object with pictures? What are the artistic principles in text-picture relations? The historic art techniques are taken as a powerful tool to create contemporary aesthetics in book design. This six-day course bridges theoretical background and practical methodology of intermedial (word-picture) translation to create art books.

Each day consists of one module: 2-hour theory and 4-hour in-studio classes. 

Theoretical materials will be taught through a series of short ppt presentations/video lectures (20 min each), alternating with Q&A sessions (10 min) after each presentation. Practical in-studio classes will be 4-hour long, in which the participants will learn how to use those methodologies discussed in the morning classes. The goal is to build the understanding of theories and methods and to apply them in practice the same day.  

The following modules will be offered during the 6-day course:

Day 1. Space of the book: formation of the book-object, its structural elements, typographic standards.

Day 2. Fonts and calligraphy: overview of historic and contemporary styles, font design within the book structure.

Day 3. Illustration making: how to read the text being illustrated; realistic vs. abstract pictures and design.

Day 4. Illustration making: differences in printmaking techniques; how-to-approach tutorials.

Day 5. Book binding and cover design: overview of book design development; methods of binding.

Day 6. Types of art books and the publishing market: types of publishing, approaches, methods in bookmaking.  

The course is addressed to those who have some understanding of visual art techniques and methods that have been learned at art classes, and who would like to deepen their skills specifically in bookmaking and art publishing. 

36 hours/1 week 

(from Mon to Sat, 6 days, 2-hour theory and 4-hour practice each day)

Two options, 1) in person, Weldon Library, London ON, and 2) online.

For the online course: both theoretical and practical classes will be recorded and available through a website that can be watched any time. Webinars will be conducted to provide the participants with feedback and answer their questions. 

Calligraphy is not just a set of letters written by hand but one of the methods of the visual language that can be used in any artistic expression, from art books to ornamentations on any objet, to theatre decorations, to cinema etc. 

This series of workshops is designed to train in different styles of handwriting by making copies of medieval, renaissance, and pre-modern manuscripts. The goal is both to master the appropriate historical techniques and to learn how to adapt them to create new art works. 

Without understanding the graphical and logical structure of the letters, the new calligraphic expressions may appear chaotic and missing the grammar of visual composition. This is why each workshop includes both the historical studies and practical exercises of styles – such fundamentals will allow one to create new artistic interpretations of contemporary design. The theoretical/historical lectures include my research in which I gathered and reworked Italian, Spanish, German, Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Russian, and English sources, while the in-studio classes are based on methods taught to me by my teachers in Ukraine and Italy and my constant practice.  

The Nord American artistic context traditionally focuses on the Latin and Gothic scripts, so I would like to fill in the gap by offering also the Greek and Cyrillic scripts, in which I have expertise, along with their stylistic influences to the West culture, so they can be used in modern art and design in large. 

2.1. Uncial script (4th - 8th cent): Latin and Gothic, Greek and Cyrillic (from history to contemporary design). 

2.2. Semi-uncial script (8th – 15th cent): Latin and Gothic, Greek and Cyrillic (from history to contemporary design).

2.3. Ligatures and drawn titles (12th – 16th cent): Latin, Gothic and some Gaelic, Greek and Cyrillic (history to contemp.)  

2.4. Cursive script (14th – 17th cent): Latin and Gothic, Greek and Cyrillic (from history to contemporary design). 

Each workshop is two-day long, presents one of the historic time periods, as above (uncial script, semi-uncial script, ligatures and drawn titles, cursive script), including 4 styles for each time period (Latin, Gothic, Greek, Cyrillic). The styles are grouped in two, Latin – Gothic and Greek – Cyrillic, and each group of fonts will be taught through 1-hour video presentation of theoretical/historical materials, including how-to tutorials, followed by 5-hour in-studio classes allowing students to write some pages in a given style. 

If one wants to learn all the historical styles and their use in contemporary artwork, it is highly recommended to follow the chronological order, starting from the early medieval uncial scripts and moving on to the cursive style.

The course is designed to those who have some understanding of visual art techniques, methods, and rules of visual composition that have been learned at art classes, and who would like to master their skills specifically in handwriting. 

12 hours, 2 days each.

Two options, 1) in person, Weldon Library, London ON, and 2) online.

For the online course: both theoretical and practical classes will be recorded and available through a website that can be watched at any time. Webinars will be conducted to provide the participants with feedback and answer their questions.