Calligraphy Means Beautiful Writing
Picasso Face Painting
In today's age of electrical typewriters and computerized typesetting, the concept of people glorifying the art of composing by utilizing pen and ink to form handwritten letters and words in the manner of the early scribes looks like an metachronism. Yet calligraphy, which indicates "beautiful writing," is being practiced by unexpected numbers of people‐all throughout the contry.
While lots of people correspond Italic writing with the word "calligraphy," the ability goes far beyond that to consist of such ornamental hands as Roman, Black litter or Gothic (more typically recognized as Old English), 18th century English Roundhand or Copperplate ( understood for its stylish swirls of thick and thin curling lines), and many other hands from different places and durations.
Alfred Fairbanks, a British calligrapher and author of a number of books on the Italic hand refers to this as "the dance of the pen." He discusses: "How excellent that handwriting can provide an outlet for skill and esthetic sensation, especially where the capability to draw is doing not have. How rewarding when handwriting interests the writer and pleases the reader. How rewarding when something ordinary and commonplace is raised towards the lovely."
The Carolingian hand, the most widely used style of writing at that time, was followed by numerous Gothic hands. One of them, the Black Letter or Northern Gothic hand, was established because it used a more compressed letter which conserved area on the vellum that was used for writing-- vellum was costly and constantly in short supply.
There are 2 schools of thought concerning pens-- the fountain pen school and the dip‐pen school. The former favor pens such as the Platignum or Osmoroid pen (which feature assorted points and cost about $5-- both offered at numerous art stores). Users of such pens are warned to purchase water soluble ink due to the fact that an ink that is labeled " water resistant" contains carbon which will cake in the pen avoiding the ink from flowing.
Starting calligraphers are advised to obtain a sloping composing surface area, such as an adjustable drafting table; to prevent that expenditure, they can prop a board up at an angle to form some sort of inclined surface. Frances Manola's students at the Craft Students League I utilize basic homemade drawing boards approximately 16 by 20 inches in size. These have a hinged piece under the back edge which can be folded down so that the board slopes when rested on a level table. Miss Manola advises a cushioned composing surface on the board and for this she folds about 6 pages of newspaper over chip board with a clean sheet of paper on top, then tapes all sides to make a compact system. She also recommends that trainees keep close by a sheet of paper similar to the one they're working on to evaluate ink circulation and strokes, and likewise a container of water to wash off the pen points when completed. Such care preserves the points.
Although a lot of calligraphy trainees are anxious to discover the Italic hand, some instructors prefer not to teach it as a first hand because it is tough to find out and should be approached only after one is completely acquainted with the pen and has started to recognize easier structures. "After all," states Martin Oberstein, "a person studying medication wouldn't expect to do brain surgical treatment right off the bat." Hi his course, Mr. Oberstein, who does lettering for Tiffany's and also teaches at the Calligraphy Workshop, the art trainees league, and the School of Visual Arts, does not give Italic until after he has actually taught Roman, Black Letter, and Southern Gothic. Other instructors may focus an entire course mainly on Italic since numerous trainees are generally thinking about discovering that hand.
In today's age of electrical typewriters and computerized typesetting, the concept of people glorifying the art of composing by utilizing pen and ink to form handwritten letters and words in the manner of the early scribes looks like an metachronism. Yet calligraphy, which indicates "beautiful writing," is being practiced by unexpected numbers of people‐all throughout the contry.
While lots of people correspond Italic writing with the word "calligraphy," the ability goes far beyond that to consist of such ornamental hands as Roman, Black litter or Gothic (more typically recognized as Old English), 18th century English Roundhand or Copperplate ( understood for its stylish swirls of thick and thin curling lines), and many other hands from different places and durations.
Alfred Fairbanks, a British calligrapher and author of a number of books on the Italic hand refers to this as "the dance of the pen." He discusses: "How excellent that handwriting can provide an outlet for skill and esthetic sensation, especially where the capability to draw is doing not have. How rewarding when handwriting interests the writer and pleases the reader. How rewarding when something ordinary and commonplace is raised towards the lovely."
The Carolingian hand, the most widely used style of writing at that time, was followed by numerous Gothic hands. One of them, the Black Letter or Northern Gothic hand, was established because it used a more compressed letter which conserved area on the vellum that was used for writing-- vellum was costly and constantly in short supply.
There are 2 schools of thought concerning pens-- the fountain pen school and the dip‐pen school. The former favor pens such as the Platignum or Osmoroid pen (which feature assorted points and cost about $5-- both offered at numerous art stores). Users of such pens are warned to purchase water soluble ink due to the fact that an ink that is labeled " water resistant" contains carbon which will cake in the pen avoiding the ink from flowing.
Starting calligraphers are advised to obtain a sloping composing surface area, such as an adjustable drafting table; to prevent that expenditure, they can prop a board up at an angle to form some sort of inclined surface. Frances Manola's students at the Craft Students League I utilize basic homemade drawing boards approximately 16 by 20 inches in size. These have a hinged piece under the back edge which can be folded down so that the board slopes when rested on a level table. Miss Manola advises a cushioned composing surface on the board and for this she folds about 6 pages of newspaper over chip board with a clean sheet of paper on top, then tapes all sides to make a compact system. She also recommends that trainees keep close by a sheet of paper similar to the one they're working on to evaluate ink circulation and strokes, and likewise a container of water to wash off the pen points when completed. Such care preserves the points.
Although a lot of calligraphy trainees are anxious to discover the Italic hand, some instructors prefer not to teach it as a first hand because it is tough to find out and should be approached only after one is completely acquainted with the pen and has started to recognize easier structures. "After all," states Martin Oberstein, "a person studying medication wouldn't expect to do brain surgical treatment right off the bat." Hi his course, Mr. Oberstein, who does lettering for Tiffany's and also teaches at the Calligraphy Workshop, the art trainees league, and the School of Visual Arts, does not give Italic until after he has actually taught Roman, Black Letter, and Southern Gothic. Other instructors may focus an entire course mainly on Italic since numerous trainees are generally thinking about discovering that hand.
