Photo by Vichana Suon
I have always loved “beautiful writing.” My first exposure to calligraphy was in the sixth grade. My home room teacher had the most beautiful handwriting and taught us basic Italic Hand. I was so inspired by her that I would sit at my desk after finishing my homework and practice my cursive over and over. Since then, I have continued my love of letterforms by studying graphic design and typography, then working as a web designer and graphic designer.
I am a member of the Society for Calligraphy guild in Southern California and volunteered as the Lead Designer for the guild’s Calligraph journal from 2017-2022. I have studied with master calligraphers and take as many classes and workshops as I can to improve my skills.
After attending various workshops and conferences, the best takeaway is that calligraphy is a life-long learning experience. There are students who are already very skilled, yet still very humble and want to learn from the best. I find that extremely inspiring. I am a perpetual student and truly believe we should never stop learning to improve our craft. I have learned so much, but I have a lifetime’s worth of studying to go. Here I am documenting my learning process along the way.
Calligraphic Training
I studied with Yukimi Annand from 2011-2013.
- Copperplate – September 2011
- Roman Capitals – March 2012
- Foundational Hand – September 2012
- Italic Hand – February 2013
- Blackletter – August 2013
Workshops and conferences attended
- Spencerian with Michael Sull – February 2012
- Copperplate with Pat Blair – March 2013
- Casual Pointed Pen with Jane Shibata – March 2013
- Pointed Pen Magic with Barbara Close – September 2013
- Roman Capitals mini-workshop at Letters California Style with Alisara Tareekes – February 2014
- Lettering 101 with Drew Melton at Poketo – March 2014
- Spencerian online course with Harvest Crittenden at Acorn Arts – September 2014
- Pointed Pen Bootcamp with DeAnn Singh – October & December 2014
- Contemporary Pointed Pen Scripts at Letters California Style with Jane Shibata – February 2015
- Uncial with Jane Shibata – April 2015
- From Pointed Pen to Pointed Brush with Mike Kecseg – January 2016
- It’s Not a Foundational with Christoper Haanes, A Show of Hands International Calligraphy Conference – June 2016
- A Flurry of Flourishes with Pat Blair, A Show of Hands International Calligraphy Conference – June 2016
- The Passionate Pointed Brush with Julie Wildman – November 2016
- A Sharp Pencil and a Keen Eye with Amity Parks – January 2017
- Fabulous and Functional: Certificates and Scrolls Design at Letters California Style with Robbie Saslow – February 2017
- Florals, Foliates & The Flourished Envelope online course with Phyllis Macaluso at Acorn Arts – March 2017
- Pointed Brush with Yves Leterme – June 2017
- Masterclass with Sheila Waters and Julian Waters – August 2017
- Mastering Italic with Carrie Imai – August 2017 & September 2017
- Formal Italic of the Renaissance and modern variations with Julian Waters – November 2017
- Fraktur: Historical sources and modern variations with Julian Waters – November 2017
- Art of Chalkboard Lettering at Letters California Style with Cora Pearl – February 2018
- Retro Deco with Gemma Black – February 2018
- Italic Textures and Variations with Diane von Arx, Seattletters International Calligraphy Conference – July 2018
- Italian Hand: The Poetic Pen with Heather Held – September 2018
- An Abundance of Books with Diane Reiter – September 2018
- Pointed Pen Flourishing with Nina Tran – October 2018
- Concertina Book with Joke Boudens – November 2018
- Drawn/Built-up Roman Capitals with Yukimi Annand – January 2019
- Stitched Bindings: Showcase Your Lettering in handmade books with Ginger Burrell at Letters California Style – February 2019
- Roman Capitals – from Formal to Informal with Elmo von Slingerland, Rendezvous International Calligraphy Conference – July 2019
- Intense Italic with Annie Cicale – January 2020
- Madarasz Lettering with Schin Loong – January 2020
- Decorated Floral Envelopes with Schin Loong – January 2020
- Brush Discipline: A Lighter Touch and Longer Texts with Carl Rohrs at Letters California Style – February 2020
- Italic + Variations online workshop with John Stevens – July-August 2020
- Romitalic with Randall Hasson at Letters California Style – February 2024