As fairly civilized and literate people, we use letters every day. We see them, we read them, they embody an æsthetic that is deeply ingrained in our lives, our worlds, in the way we perceive.
Understanding that æsthetic allows the artist-blacksmith to tap into the perceptions of virtually every person that sees their work.
The pursuit of calligraphy and letter design develops and calls upon knowledge of positive and negative space, curves and straightness, rhythm, weight, balance, repetition, consistency... all qualities to be sought in forged ironwork.

We will be learning to draw the Roman alphabet. First as what my calligraphy professor, Arnold Bank called "Simple Hand"; an un-serifed version of the letters you are probably reading right now. The focus will be on shape and spacing. Then if time and class progress permit, we will move on to serifed Roman.

The Roman hand is deceptively simple-looking and plain. It is perhaps the least forgiving of any calligraphic hand, you cannot hide mistakes with fiddly gew-gahs. Being able to do it well is no small achievement.
Know this ahead: It will be frustrating, you will make a lot of ugly letters. It's OK.

There will be homework. If you do it, it will show in the quality of your work, both at the board, and at the anvil.