That’s one of the first things I hear from someone when I tell them I do calligraphy, and to be honest I can completely understand why that seems like a connection that should be made. While I don’t have terrible handwriting, I do think it’s interesting that my calligraphy or lettering scripts and my actual day-to-day handwriting look almost NOTHING alike.
There are probably a couple of key reasons for that:
Pictured here are just are just a few types of ‘nibs’ used in calligraphy. This picture is also a great illustration of an oblique nib holder as well as a several straight versions. As a left-handed calligrapher, I tend to have a harder time on my strokes when I use the oblique holders. I’m working on learning a new style of calligraphy (Spencerian) which I find is the exception to this rule for me so far.
Tools & Materials
When writing in a formal calligraphy style or doing a hand lettering piece, the tools and materials are VERY different than an everyday pen or pencil with which we typically write. For example, when I write envelopes (or other pieces) for a wedding, I use a calligraphy pen holder and nib that is dipped into a jar of liquid ink. There are different styles of pen holders and nibs; all designed to help the artist (yes, I’m calling myself an artist!) achieve a thickness of lines on both upstrokes and downstrokes. Nibs have different levels of flexibility, which affects how the ink flows onto the writing surface. Did you know there’s even a bit of a science associated with matching the correct nibs, ink and paper/surface to achieve the desired look for each piece? Each tool a calligrapher uses matters, and for me it’s been as much of a learning curve for finding and matching the tools I use as learning the stroke patterns and connections for the letters and words I write.
Calligraphy is not so much writing as it is drawing.
I realized this very quickly when I attended my very first calligraphy workshop in the Laura Hooper Calligraphy Studio in Alexandria, Virginia. In fact, today marks the 3rd anniversary of that fist ‘real’ class! I’d been fascinated with Laura and several other calligraphers on Instagram for ages, and I’d always had a bit of a hand for mimicking the styles I saw them demonstrate online. I tried my hand at placards and envelopes on my own, but taking that first class opened my eyes WIDELY to the beautiful, yet tedious world of calligraphy. Laura taught the basic strokes needed before we went into letters. Her recommendation was to practice those strokes and letters for quite awhile before even attempting to write words. She was right. Learning the basic strokes and practice drills are instrumental in helping your hands and arms learn muscle memory to create the desired effects on the paper as you write. If you don’t have access to a calligraphy instructor with the expertise of Laura, I recommend her online introductory program or hope you’ll find someone who does something similar- with an intense focus on learning the foundations first. Even ole Leo Davinci had to sketch before he painted his masterpieces, right?
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
When I first began learning calligraphy in earnest, I was working for a Bank and was on the road every other week for 5 days at the time. Long story short- I had a LOT of time by myself in a hotel. After those first few classes with Laura, I began packing my calligraphy bag for those trips. (I drove most places so packing inks, nibs, papers etc wasn’t as difficult for me as it would’ve been had I been flying everywhere.) I’d get back to my hotel room after work, grab something to eat, turn on Bravo and sit at the desk writing drills or practicing strokes for hours at the time. Sometimes I’d have to stop because my arm ached! I found calligraphy to be something that calmed my nerves after a stressful day, and I could almost immediately see improvement in what I was doing. Now two years later, calligraphy is a part of a business I’m building for myself with LetterJess. There’s not much I love more than writing an order of envelopes for a wedding or party. Am I a master penman yet? NO. I am still learning- and still loving the journey.
I still practice; and I don’t count writing the envelopes for an order as practice. I still begin each job with a page or two of drills, and basic stroke practice.
So there you have it, handwriting and calligraphy are two very different things. You can write amazing calligraphy with terrible handwriting or vice versa. I’m grateful for my calligraphy journeys so far and can’t wait to see what the coming years will bring as my skills continue to improve.
If you’ve ever thought about learning calligraphy, here are some of my favorite calligraphers and hand letterers. Many of them have online courses or books with great ideas for practice, and all of them are gifted artists who inspire me to continue on my journey! I hope one day a calligrapher new in his/her journey will have LetterJess on their inspiration list.
Laura Hooper Calligraphy (@lhcalligraphy)
Maghon Taylor (All She Wrote Notes) (@allshewrotenotes)
Crooked Calligraphy (Calligraphy with a twist of sass) (@crookedcalligraphy)
Kristen Henderson Calligraphy (@kristenhendersoncalligraphy)
Calligraphy by Carole (wrote my beautiful wedding invitations!) (@calligraphybycarole)
LeenMachine Calligraphy (@leenmachinecalligraphy)
Suz Cunningham (@SuzCunningham)
