From yesterday’s pointed pen practice, cleaned up a bit and added color. I am learning with a broad-edged pen, but I always go back to pointed. I definitely feel more comfortable with pointed pen at the moment.
And this is definitely something to keep in mind as I boldly venture into the world of calligraphy!
I just started watching Game of Thrones and couldn’t resist writing this for practice! I’m working on getting the hang of Pointed Italic Hand and thought this would be a good phrase to write.
Of course, there hasn’t been too much calligraphy spotted in the scenes other than a few letters and a leather bound book of genealogy which looked amazing – I think it’s written in Uncial? It’s been such great fun watching the show!
Photo credit: National Geographic, Waikawau Bay, New Zealand. Photograph by Steve Burling
Some fun with calligraphy tonight.
I spent all afternoon at my desk practicing Casual Pointed Pen. This is the first time I sat down to concentrate and practice since the workshop with Jane Shibata a week ago. After trying out different penholders and nibs, I think I found a combination I like. I’m also just using Higgins Eternal ink. Next time I will try gouache.
After feeling a little more confident, I decided to write the Pie Day menu (March 14th) from one of my favorite eateries in Downtown LA, The Pie Hole. I was pleased with how it turned out, so I posted the photo via Twitter and got a response from them. It totally made my day!
Mike Kecseg’s Casual Pointed Pen from a to z
I braved traffic from the LA Marathon and drove out to Santa Monica to attend Jane Shibata’s Casual Pointed Pen mini-workshop last Sunday. It was my first time attending a workshop coordinated by the Westside Regional of the Society for Calligraphy and it was definitely worth the drive cross-town.
The Community Room was nice and bright, with great natural light. There is a small park nearby that offered a nice quiet atmosphere for a Sunday afternoon. I was really looking forward to the Casual Pointed Pen class with Jane because I wanted to try a more casual script with the pointed pen after having learned Copperplate and Spencerian.
Jane Shibata talks about Casual Pointed Pen
Jane gets ready to show us the letterforms
Getting ready to start the Copperplate workshop. Pat is standing in the far right.
I had a wonderful opportunity over the weekend to visit beautiful San Diego, which is about a 2-hour drive south of Los Angeles, to attend a two-day workshop with Pat Blair, Master Penman & Chief Calligrapher of the White House. The San Diego Fellow Calligraphers invited her to teach the workshop, and extended the opportunity to members of the Society for Calligraphy. I heard about it through my teacher in mid-January and emailed Rose Smutko, SDFC’s Board of Directors Workshop Chair, to ask for more information. Lo and behold, she told me there were only two spots left! I signed up as soon as I could – how could I miss the chance to spend two days doing nothing but copperplate with a room of calligraphy enthusiasts, and most of all, with Pat Blair!
Starting with the basics
We began Day One by doing the basic strokes for miniscule (lowercase) letters. It’s been a while since I really did Copperplate, so it was great to warm up and get re-acquainted with the beauty of this classic style of pointed pen calligraphy. Pat would demonstrate the letters in groups that are similar, then have us practice on our own while she walked around to give us individual attention and feedback. She is a wonderful teacher who explained everything very clearly and showed us a lot of great tips.
Ready for Spencerian!
The Spencerian Script is an American style of handwriting, developed by Platt Rogers Spencer in 1840. It was gradually replaced by the Palmer Method and almost lost in history until it was revived by Michael Sull. Its elegant form and sublime flourishes truly make it unique and beautiful.
Thanks to my teacher, we found out about a Spencerian Workshop being taught by Master Penman Michael Sull, coordinated by Greg Minuskin and Janet Takahashi. What a great opportunity to spend a whole day with other Spencerian enthusiasts and to learn from the master himself!
Practice Practice Practice
It’s been a few weeks since I started my first real calligraphy class in mid-September, and I can’t get enough! Last year, after deciding to be more serious about calligraphy (and Copperplate in particular), I checked out a few books, went online for instructions, but just couldn’t really get my writing to look the way I wanted. I really wanted to learn it the “right way” with a professional.
After finding the Society for Calligraphy, I emailed a few local calligraphy teachers in February, and one teacher wrote me back. She told me she wasn’t teaching Copperplate at the time and suggested I email a few others (who never wrote me back for one reason or another). In August, she contacted me again about starting a Copperplate class, and so I began my Copperplate studies with Yukimi Annand. I was really glad my friend Winnie was interested in taking the class as well and decided to join me. It’s so much better to have a friend along on this great journey.