“Can I learn calligraphy online?”
Many people do! Maybe you’re in a small town in the middle of nowhere, or your job makes it hard to get away for a day on your own. Our online calligraphy courses are a great way to become a part of a calligraphic community while receiving encouraging guidance through every stage of the learning process.
We believe starting with a traditional foundation is a great way to build a long-term, goal-oriented practice that draws from the rich lessons of history. That’s why we created Dreaming in Script; to consolidate years of practice into an easy-to-follow curriculum aimed at turning you into an exceptional penman.
What is Dreaming in Script?
Dreaming in Script is an online learning program that teaches the various disciplines of traditional American Penmanship and calligraphy. We’ve taken great strides to ensure it is entirely accessible to complete beginners and comprehensive enough to provide value to those who have been writing for years.
Dreaming in Script is built around a pathway framework. Pathways are areas of study in a specific style of writing or pen art. Each pathway begins with a foundational Intro to Calligraphy course, which provides a feel for the quality of our instruction, the depth of our explanations and knowledge, and a bit of guidance on what type of study you may be best suited for. Subsequent classes build upon that knowledge and introduce students to more advanced concepts, new challenges, and exciting achievements.
When you register for a pathway, you gain access to the prerequisites required for your area of study at the time of your registration. This allows you to go through all of the classes in a pathway in a progressive sequence at the same time as your classmates.
Here’s our upcoming class lineup:
Throughout 2023, these programs will be expanded to include the topics of:
- Offhand Flourishing
- Engrossing
- Business Penmanship
- Ornamental Penmanship
Earn your certificate
Students who complete each of the classes in a specific pathway qualify to graduate with a Certificate of Completion during the first year of their enrollment. This certificate highlights the student’s accomplishment and serves as a professional endorsement from the DIS staff and David Grimes. The class rubric is designed primarily for students looking for an academic/personal development environment.
Everyone is welcome, but the DIS curriculum aims to be the most thorough coverage on each topic that has ever existed. These classes are structured to get results. They’re designed to turn you into an exceptional penman.
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How are the courses paced?
Courses in DIS are designed to support all kinds of students. The lessons “drip” at a prescribed pace so that you can’t rush through the program, but if it takes you longer than that to get around to each lesson, that’s totally fine. The real reason to stay abreast with a course release schedule is so that you’re able to speak with your classmates about lessons and assignments as they unlock.
The whole experience tends to be pretty collaborative. We slow down the pace of the class if students need a bit more time on modules and zip through content everyone feels competent in.
Certificates are only granted the July in the year following your registration. You’ll retain access to your courses for three years from date of purchase, so if you’re not interested in pursuing a Certificate of Completion or working closely with your classmates, there’s no pressure to complete the course content on anyone’s schedule but your own.
“Do I have enough experience?”
We hear from time to time that potential students are unsure of if they’re ready to jump into something as involved as Dreaming in Script. Words like “traditional” and “formal” can be intimidating when you’re just dipping your toes in the water. Studying calligraphy in the way we present it in these courses will give you a whole new perspective on some of the scripts that you might have seen or studied elsewhere. We guarantee our approach is different, but that’s a good thing! At the bottom of this page, you can read from past students to get an idea of what you will walk away with.
We aren’t dogmatic. We’re not closed-minded. In the Dreaming in Script Community, we encourage thoughtful discussion and perpetual curiosity. We support the differences in each of our classmates. We lift each other up in ways that emphasize our individuality and lead us to become the best version of ourselves we can be.
On that note, DIS isn’t just about learning to make great calligraphy. At the beginning of each class, students agree to a Code of Conduct that clearly outlines what we expect from our incoming students. We’ve found that getting everyone on the same page at the very beginning has helped us to build one of the most progressive calligraphy learning communities in the world.
