Hanoi Calligraphy Retreat is an in-person event for calligraphy lovers in Vietnam and other countries to study lettering arts and illumination with 24 hours of class time (in 4 days) and one field trip to explore traditional craftsmanship villages near Hanoi. The Retreat is open to all levels of skill.

For thousands of years, gold has long held a special place in manuscript traditions around the world. Gold could be used to write the text or to decorate Medieval manuscript within a book or scroll made of parchment, or to adorn elegant Buddhism paintings, sculptures, architectures,...

The method of applying gold to the page is quite universal the same across continents: (1) attach the gold leaf to the ground or (2) make the gold to powder form and use it as pigment on brushes or dip pens. In this Retreat we will explore the both methods with mixed Medieval European and Asian techniques.

In four days, we aim to make comparable artwork panels with different techniques of using gold, then apply that to your personal calligraphy project.

• Making shell gold (gold powder)

• Making gesso

• Flat gilding with Japanese technique

• Writing on gold

Please prepare your own calligraphy text you want to try to gold leaf techniques otherwise a sample will be prepared in the class.