Calligraphy

Calligraphy

Calligraphy – the art of artistic, stylized, or elegant handwriting or lettering.

I found out that Monday January 23rd was National Handwriting Day, so in honor of that I thought I'd write about my new obsession with handwriting.

In my quest to know how to make everything, and my normal style of seeing something and thinking, "I want to learn how to do that." I have this new obsession with handwriting. This interest started on Saturday January 21st when I came across this custom stamp:

Stamp by Besotted Brand
Calligraphy by Debi Sementelli

Debi Sementelli is a very talented calligrapher, who does the lettering for the stamps at Besotted Brand, and also designer of this fantastic and very versatile Belluccia font, done in the Copperplate style.

Seeing this font turned me onto Copperplate calligraphy, which is a style of writing that was very popular during the 19th century. Copperplate calligraphy uses a pointed metal nib that, when pressure is applied, opens up to allow for a wider stroke. Hence the varied line with.

I have dysgraphia, so I have never enjoyed writing by hand, and being able to type on a computer was a godsend for me. Because of the frequent mistakes, when writing by hand, I always tended to do my handwriting with a pencil. I also stopped writing in script when it was no longer required of me (ninth grade). So all of this would pose an even greater challenge in trying to learn calligraphy, especially the beautiful and elegant Copperplate.

But this stamp, and this font, got me thinking about the value of the handmade (wait, I'm in grad school for craft, so aren't I always thinking of the value of the handmade), and more to the point the value of the handwritten in our computer age. Although Belluccia has many variations so that it can have that handwritten look, I prefer the look of the stamp above. Not the perfectly beautiful, but the beautiful because of its imperfection. I appreciate the raw irregular quality of it. It's also interesting to me that in a time when even my two-year-old niece can type, although she can spell or write, that we need to pay someone else to sign our name for us. (that said, I'm totally going to buy the thank you stamp)

So, I'm going to give it a go – the craft of writing by hand. The art of artistic or stylized lettering. I made a journal (with one of my first attempts on the cover) to practice my handwriting in, and acquired a few fountain pens, ink, pointed tip nibs and holders. We will see how it goes. I'm open to any tips and suggestions that people have for this.