DIS Private Lessons
1:1 study of your choice
Get the specific attention you need to make big steps forward in your calligraphy practice. Private lessons allow for learning approaches of all kinds to be identified and tailored to. Make the most of the hours you have to dedicate to your study while remaining consistently challenged and accountable.
Courses of Study
Through DIS Private Lessons, you can study the following topics:
- Engrosser’s Script
- French Roundhand
- Offhand Flourishing
- Business Penmanship
- Engrossing
Some of these topics are already offered as standalone DIS Courses. Through DIS Private Lessons, you may receive alternative curriculum that is custom tailored to your levels of interest and ability. These lessons are not a direct replacement for the other DIS Courses, which are highly recommended.
How it works
Scheduling lessons
Private Lessons are booked monthly, in sets of four. Each lesson occurs at a regular weekly time established upon booking—Monday through Friday from 10 am to 5 pm PDT. Each lesson lasts 45 minutes and begins promptly at the scheduled time. Make-up lessons for schedule conflicts must be arranged at least 48 hours in advance.
Format of lessons
Lessons are taught remotely through Google Meets. I have a camera setup that allows me to show my face while speaking and my hand while writing. Your setup should be similar. A camera that can be repositioned is acceptable.
Each week, I will prepare a lesson plan based on what was covered in the previous lesson and the homework that was assigned. The lessons are friendly, relaxed, and conversational in nature. You are encouraged to speak freely and ask questions during the lesson. There are no silly questions!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these lessons right for me?
These lessons can be custom tailored to your skill level, goals, and learning style. While I do have a self-paced Intro to Calligraphy course available that I recommend for absolute beginners, I am happy to meet with you, no matter your skill level.
The real benefit of these lessons is that we can shape them to go wherever you’d like with your calligraphy practice. If you are interested in building skills to lead up to a specific project, that’s fine! Or, maybe you are a professional who’s just looking to hone and refine your preexisting abilities, that’s great too!
Who are these lessons not for?
These lessons are not for people who are trying to determine if they’re interested in calligraphy. If that’s you, please check out the Intro to Calligraphy course.
Additionally, I do not accept applications for other people, so these lessons don’t make a good gift. My thinking here is that I’d really like the person who I’m working with to have taken the initiative to apply, themselves. Hopefully, that means that we’re both invested in your success as a penman!
Alternatively, how many lessons will I need to get to [x] level?
Obviously, this is a tricky question. It depends a lot on your preexisting skill, your aptitude for picking up new information, your willingness to practice between lessons, and the overall nature of your goals.
The best way to get an idea of what kind of investment you’re looking at is to fill out the form at the bottom of this page while clearly describing where your skill currently lies are and what you’d like to accomplish. I’ll follow up to request some samples from you before making an estimate on the amount of work it will take to get you to where you want to be, and ultimately seeing if it’s a good fit for both of us.
How many hours of work each week are we talking about?
Each week, you should expect to spend at least two hours practicing the skills covered in your 45 minute lesson. If you don’t have around three hours to give to your practice each week (45 minutes in lesson and two hours practicing), I suggest checking out one of the DIS Courses that I offer throughout the year, instead.
As lessons are booked in sets of four, each time you choose to renew, you are committing to the next four weeks of meetings. If you elect not to renew for whatever reason, your spot will become available to someone on the waitlist and restarting lessons later will mean waiting until there is an opening.
Obviously, these lessons are not meant to continue in perpetuity. Some students have taken lessons for only four weeks while others have done so for more than a year. We can work together during the onboarding process to determine how long you might choose to take lessons and create realistic expectations around when our work together will be at a natural conclusion. 🙂
Required Materials
A comprehensive list of required materials will be provided once we determine your goals and Course of Study. For the lessons, you’ll need a camera that you can connect to your computer and a way to position it above your work.
