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I grew up in Raleigh at a time when the nuns taught at Our Lady Of Lourdes. They lived out back of the school and wore those imposing yet Holy Habits that commanded your adoration, attention, and, quite frankly, your fear. So, when they asked you to "sit up straight" with your "feet flat on the floor" and compose your letters properly according to the Palmer Method of Handwriting, you did just that! I believe it was at that impressionable age that I became infatuated with the formation of letters. When I was introduced to calligraphy in 1978, it was no wonder I fell in love with this beautiful art form. My first taste of the calligraphic world lasted no longer than one hour. The instructor turned a piece of chalk on its edge to form calligraphic works of art from A to Z on the chalkboard. That was that! But it was all I needed to fire the embers that had been sparked in elementary school. Watching the slow, rhythmical shaping of those letters was like listening to classical music. It was not until 1997 that I enrolled in my first formal calligraphy class. Boy, were my eyes opened! I knew I had a lifelong road of learning ahead of me. It's been 38 years since that white piece of chalk was laid on its side. I am still learning. Come learn with me!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Practicing Unflourished Italic Capitals


So, all last week and this week I have been practicing. Getting back to the basics. A few years ago I took both Italic online calligraphy classes that Martha Lever offers through CreativeWorkshops. I highly recommend beginners as well as anyone who has been doing calligraphy for a while to enroll in her courses.

I have been taking Italic lettering classes on and off since 1997. Martha breaks each letterform down to an easy, palatable, stroke by stroke way that is not hard to understand or practice.

I have not taken any of her art classes, but I feel pretty sure they will be just as wonderful, informative, and user friendly as the ones I took. 

I like using regular old school composition books in which to take notes. And trust me, I take copious notes. Even though this has been about the 7th or 8th time I  have watched her videos, and have previously taken copious notes all of those times, I still takes notes!

This page is part of what I did today, using double pencils so that I can easily see the stroke lines and how they meet up.

Tonight I will take my first full class to learn Spencerian!



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