a few posts back i mentioned the modern calligraphy class i took over at skillshare. the ink and nib above were recommended supplies, but didn't work for my roughshod approach. i'm not patient enough to ever get a real grasp of calligraphy and how i will actually use it remains a mystery, nevertheless i enjoy making letters on bond paper.
i ordered this book, recommended to me by sara, but i lack the patience to do the work it requires. however i love the different letter forms written in modern calligraphy inside. i don't doubt that someone with more fortitude than i would find this book extremely useful. for now i'm just having fun making the different letters & symbols.
look at all those pretty ways to make a "P"!
the flowers and oranges are unrelated to this post, but i like the way they look paired with the letters.
i made all of the letters with this pen:
which is the pilot parallel.
frustration with the inability to make thick lines with the more delicate pen/nib led me to try the pentel color brush. which was good, but more suitable for brush script, not pointed pen calligraphy. anyway all that is to say i DIG this pen. it was made for a dunce like me. i found it while scouting around over on amazon for calligraphy supplies. i just ordered 12 cartridge refills because it's totally reinvigorated my desire to practice.
i found a free modern calligraphy class HERE. you have to become a member to access the lessons & videos which are in the pointed pen nirvana board, but it's painless and not a hassle. i downloaded some worksheets for the first lesson there.
THANK YOU for all the birthday well wishes here and on facebook. i really felt treasured.
happy friday wherever in the big wide world you happen to be. i'll just be here making letters, petting cats, cooking, napping, reading, piddling. i hope the departure of the polar vortex is bringing you a little respite from the cold!
Hi!
Thanks so much for the link love! I am glad you are enjoying the lessons. You have a very cool site! I’ve enjoyed looking through it and seeing your beautiful work! Hope to see you at Flourish!
Mary Ann, what size nib it the Pilot Parallel? I love your lettering!
Wishing you luck tomorrow at school – I’ll be thinking of you!
Hi Mary Ann, Of course, I wish you a fantastic year ahead; a belated happy birthday! I have been thinking of you so often this past week, knowing that you would be moving into a teaching adventure very soon( perhaps, tomorrow ). You will be on my mind. Leslie
Happy Belated Birthday, Mary Ann!
I’m sorry I missed it, being out of town and away from my computer. So, in honor of you and #51 I am going to eat Stroopwafels that I bought at Trader Joes! Hooray!!! (oh, no, I’m not going to eat 51 of them….as much as I would like to) Have a wonderful year!
Mary Ann, I’ve been exploring your blog all afternoon – thank you for a colorful inspiring way to spend the last of this flu!
I use the Staedtler Calligraph duo 3002 – for me it is the cheats calligraphy pen. I just scroll it round and pretend I am clever when people say … Oh I didn’t know you could do calligraphy!
P.S. I cant really do calligraphy!
I, too, like the pairing of the orange images with the letters. Letters and words are magical… for the way they roll off the tongue, for their meaning and for how they look on the page. When done by hand they carry the mark of the artist just as brushstrokes in paintings do. I love their energy and individuality, and they can become design elements when painted or gessoed or collaged partly over, adding another layer of intrigue. Thank you for continuing to stimulate my creative juices. And belated, very warmly sent, birthday greetings. I am new to this blogging business, but you seem to have learned how to care for your soul and I applaud that.
I catch my breath at work by skilled and inventive calligraphers but I do not have the discipline to acquire that skill. I remember my father trying to teach me sign lettering of different kinds while I was working for him during high school. The principal thing I learned was to recognize good letter design. I can appreciate it, I can’t produce it.
Once again, you have turned a rather tiresome (in my vote) exercise into fun and joy.
What an admirable way you live.
I started reading this post and saw you were learning calligraphy and I thought ‘I should share with her about my Christmas present!’ Scrolling down I saw, you have it! I love my pilot parallel. I too got the 12 colors. My only complaint has been you can’t change out the colors mid cartridge as far as I can see. Dd and I stuck in a random color to try it out when I received it but then realized you can’t just pull the cartridge out to change colors. Or if you can, my cartridge is not cooperating. It’s permanently open. But I’m loving it. Im hoping it will be the pen I’ve been looking for, to write over paintings and textures. We will see. Thanks for the calligraphy link. Off to check it out!
Pilot Parrallel or Pentel Color Brush? I wasn’t sure which pen/brush you were saying that you really like. Please, maybe, make a note in your next post? Thanks.
Happy birthday! I read your blog posts all the time because I’m a fan/follower of yours. I also wish you the best when you return to the classroom on Monday. It’s been such fun following your adventures and travels over the past year.
Thank you for the link! Lettering is one of the things I want to get into more this year! Now I am following their blog first to keep me reminded.
Have a great weekend! – Irma
Thank you so much for that link – I signed up, ordered supplies, and started watching the first lessons. I have been a calligraphy dabbler but want to get better, and I love the look of contemporary calligraphy so much. I never would have found that forum if not for you! 😀
Hmmmmm you got me to thinking about that pen. I’ve been eyeing it since I seen it at a my local art hang out and I think you’ve just convinced me to give it a whirl. We’ve warmed up to above freezing today…doin a happy dance cuz in MN in Jan. anything above zero is a heat wave. Your practice is lookin’ mighty fine btw…enjoying the view over shoulder…following all those loopty loops and swirly gigs…best fun I’ve had all day. 😉
When I was in high school and took the advanced Commercial Art III class we learned calligraphy with brushes. It was pretty awesome! This was 1967-68! I then went on to take a lettering class in junior college in 1969. As I’ve gotten older my hand is not as steady as it used to be — but I still give it a whirl now and then. My normal everyday printing does look like a typewriter still, though 🙂 Tell me, do children still learn penmanship in elementary school? I always wanted to print instead of doing cursive and got in a bit of trouble now and then…eventually by junior high my teachers said they’d never seen such precise printing and stopped bugging me 🙂
Oh how I love my parallel pen! Did you know they sell several different colors of ink cartridges? And you can put one color cartridge in your pen and then dip the nib in another color of bottled ink and get a gorgeous mix of the two colors?!!
I’ve been an on-again, off-again calligrapher for many years. I have enjoyed making letters and I’ve also enjoyed looked at letterforms in appreciation of it’s scribe. (You can also try using that pointed nib with the bottled ink as a drawing tool. After it dries, it will be waterproof and you can watercolor over it.) Love your attitude.
I’ve always wanted to try calligraphy. I don’t like my own handwriting and thought maybe it might help. Thanks for the links, heading to check them out.
~hugs
Ooooo! I have one of those parallel pens. It’s buried in box in the garage and I’d totally forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder – it’s time to dig it out me thinks.
PS Orange & green nature + black lettering = awesome!
Oh Mary Ann, I admire you for putting in the effort to learn some calligraphy. I and a go also, but didn’t stick at it. I think th answer to it is practice. It is beautiful though. And worth the effort.
That looks like fun! I’ve never been a fan of my handwriting, so calligraphy isn’t on my to try list. But hey, free lessons! May give it a go. The Antarctic temps have gone, but left behind burst water pipes..my weekend is not looking so good since the backlog of work orders bumps us to next week! We’ll make it through though..just don’t stand to close;-)