As Christmas approaches, all sorts of opportunities arise for making use of your calligraphy skills. It’s great to enjoy the freedom of creating things that perhaps only have a short life: table names, menus, envelopes for cards, gift tags. They...
So you’ve finished a piece of work, and you’re pleased (or at least not displeased – we’re rather good at the self criticism, us calligraphers!) Getting the finishing touches right can elevate a piece of work into something special, so...
Sometimes it’s good to reflect on the wisdom we’ve built up over the years, and if that can be shared with others to their advantage, that’s great. Although these are from a calligrapher’s experience, they probably apply in any creative...
Almost all our calligraphy is done on paper, so it’s a material we really care about.This article offers advice, but in the end it’s down to you because even the “best” papers don’t suit everyone. The best tip is to...
It’s likely that as a calligrapher you have an interest in (or even an obsession about!) paper. In the article of the qualities of paper it was suggested that you should be observant and critical, and learn which papers work...
Calligraphy is likely to be better if we’re writing words that matter to us. The fact that the words are meaningful to us somehow translates into better rhythm as we create the piece on the page. While alphabet sentences have...
Even after many years of practice, I still look at a “finished” piece and see flaws particularly in spacing between letters. Do you have any tips for correcting this? There are two issues here. The first is that I don’t...
Professional calligrapher Janet Smith shares some of her favourite tips from sitting comfortably to having a break from your calligraphy! If you’re of a certain age, you may recognise that phrase, from the start of Listen With Mother, a 15 minute radio show...
So far, all the Copperplate minuscules we have studied were based on a combination of the 8 basic strokes although in most cases these strokes had to be modified. There are only seven letters left to study, but these are...
