This is my second entry about my new hobby, calligraphy. Calligraphy has been an art (for me) that somehow helps me express myself even more.
Calligraphy 102
There are five things that I realized during my first few weeks:
- I was still copying the way others did calligraphy.
- I really needed to practice since a mistake (smudge or blot) could literally and possibly destroy the whole work that you may have been doing.
- Things could get messy and you must be prepared to endure those ink stains and ink blots. Cleaning and preparing the pens is really tricky sometimes.
- You really have to save money for the nibs, inks and other supplies. Paper maybe an issue since there are those that easily tear. (I suggest that you use acid-free papers with at least 90gsm. I use Canson.)
- PATIENCE! Literally lots of patience!
Honestly, I follow users on Instagram and have talked to some that are lefties and do calligraphy.
My fellow lefties are:
- Aileen (@theleftieadvantage)
- Kim’s Art Adventures PH (@kim_artventures)
- Laura Pappada (@laurapappadacreative)
Other accounts that I follow for inspiration:
- Daily Typography Inspirations (@thedailytype)
- Type Kita (@typekita)
- The Word Affair (@thewordaffair)
- Chavelli Tsui (@idrawletters)
Why pursue calligraphy?
The reason I decided to pursue calligraphy is that I could not let my creative side down. It is extreme that I pursued law and sometimes, I just feel that the creativity in me is slowly fading. When that moment was felt, I decided that I should pursue a hobby that would be very easy for me. Music is never a hobby but it is my first love and even though my ukulele is in Manila and I sometimes play it during study breaks, it is still different when I try to use the skills I got when I was still studying how to play the piano. I really do not want to lose it so I decided that I should have another hobby that would keep my hand and creativity live.
The photo is supposed to show my desk as a whole as my calligraphy desk but it seems to be lost. To name the items present:
- Lamp – to see things clearly
- Tissue paper or paper towel – to clean blotches, smudges and stains
- The two Canson pads (one watercolour and one sketch)
- Scribble Kit which practically includes everything from @thecraftcentral
- Cardboards – to test the ink and wipe off
- Paint brushes – 1 for putting ink in the nib and 1 for cleaning the nibs
For the Scribble Kit, check out the page of The Craft Central for more details or you could try to check my previous post here.
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| (c) The Craft Central |
Generally, I really had a hard time looking for tutorials for left-handed calligraphy. I had encountered some that would say that lefties cannot do calligraphy well unlike those who are right-handed. A part in me felt crushed that time so I really decided to practice and do better. My first few weeks were really tough since preparing the pen and the ink was tricky. Let alone practicing the alphabet. I just needed to be patient. Well, I stretched my existing patience some more and it was really a good thing to do!
In my previous post, I found Aileen who posted something about lefties using oblique pen. It may sound odd but I really looked thoroughly (in layman’s term: stalked) on her feed since she was the first person I knew who is a leftie and does calligraphy. I really followed her tips and did great.
Side note: I knew through research in Instagram and not personally. ☺
Using the oblique pen holder has been tough to almost all lefties but I really disregarded that and proceeded into using one. And now, I use it more than a straight pen holder which they say, is easier for lefties. I usually use Nikko G, Brause No. 361 (or aka Blue Pumpkin) nibs. For finer writing, I use Hunt 22, 66 and Hunt Imperial 0. I recently found out that the Hunt 513L is also good for lefties.
This June marks my second month of practicing calligraphy and I know there are improvements and still there’s a lot of work needed but here are a few of my latest works:
Btw, the photos were taken through my phone. My desk is pretty messy because I practice almost everyday so I do not keep them like the way I keep them when I am in Manila.
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