After a brief obsession centered around finding hand-lettering and calligraphy done for advertising purposes, I decided to apply my efforts to improving my penmanship. A search on Amazon revealed a few fascinating-looking books on handwriting....but this amazing site actually teaches one the art of wielding the pen through various exercises!From posture to hand movement (fingers vs. entire arm); the proper slant of letters to amazing flourishes (the bird piece to the right illustrates a popular exercise in the late 1800s), the tips and tricks of the trade are illuminated.
This is certainly a lost art, but one that could be reclaimed with a good pen nib and a pot of ink. Those elegant swirls and tails look extremely difficult....I wish there was a way to capture them with a Micron 08 felt-tipped pen!
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That's fascinating. I've always been self conscious of my handwriting, I may have to get this book and some free time!
ReplyDeleteyou are ahead of the curve! martha's latest issue included a section on penmanship/calligraphy - like this... :)
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