Beautiful Words

 

                                          

 Calligraphy PRACTICE, like playing a musical instrument, is necessary. It's the thing you can get lost in for long periods of time as the ink flows (or not) smoothly on the paper. I don't practice enough. It's something I'm working on rectifying.


Tools. So many choices. You have to try them out. Papers, writing medium, nibs. See what works for you. If something isn't working try changing any or all.

                                   


What to write? It's nice to have words set before you when it's time to practice. Poetry is a great choice. Song lyrics, your own thoughts.

 I saw this poem in Poetry Magazine at my local library the other day. An Explanation of Doily by Gwyneth Lewis. Another favorite is The Jabberwocky from Alice Through the Looking Glass, just the first & last quatrain. Mike Gold taught a class in Kalamazoo and had us use it over & over. Get lost in the letters without worrying about the meaning. Ran across this site, Hello Poetry. Has everything from classics to newbies trying to break into the literary world. I copy & save words of interest I find in my internet wanderings into a word document. If I'm headed to a calligraphy work shop or just need inspiration I print out the one's I want to work from. 

A few of my favorites for ink are seen at the top. Higgins Eternal is a nice wet smooth flowing black. Walnut ink is earlthy, somewhat transparent depending on how thin you apply. MCaffery's Ivory is nice for a light on dark paper. Got mine from Wet Paint. No mixing necessary with those 3 so you can keep the momentum going.

This stuff is gorgeous! Fine Tec metallic water color. There are other color choices as well. An example of the far right color below.

Have a great week end!