Last week I decided to learn calligraphy. Why?
- It looks cool.
- I like doing things with my hands.
- I like paper and notebooks.
- I wanted to revisit what it’s like to learn how to write as our seven year old is working on his writing.
- I love learning new things even if I don’t take them up as life long hobbies or careers.
- I was in the middle of reading The Privilege of the Sword
and it seemed appropriate.
So here’s how I did it:
- I went to the library and checked out four books on calligraphy.
- I read the first couple of pages of each one to see what I needed. Complete Idiot’s Guide to Calligraphy
had a really good list with descriptions.
- I went to SuperWalmart and bought a 2mm calligraphy marker. (They only had one calligraphy marker to choose from, it was 2mm on one end and 5mm on the other. Luckily all the books said to use a 2mm one.)
- I bought some cool paper just because it was cool and writing beautiful letters on gorgeous paper sounded like fun.
- I taped a folder to a lap desk I had to create my writing surface. (You are supposed to prop a writing board up on your lap and a table. My lap desk was a bit too small of a surface and I soon migrated to my customary spot on the sofa instead.)
- I started practicing. The book I liked best suggested 30 minutes a day will get you there. It’s been about four days and I can write all the small (minuscule letters) ok but my capital letters need a lot of work.
So it’s been fun. If you are interested in learning calligraphy, I recommend starting with a calligraphy marker