Learning Calligraphy

Since I've moved home my brain has gone to sleep and my practical side has awakened. I've tidied gardens, decorated rooms and done DIY inside and out. I've done most of the stuff on my 'to do' list and my creative side has been looking for other outlets until the spring arrives and I can get out into the garden. 

I've had a passing fascination with calligraphy for, well, forever. We've had a book on calligraphy in the family for years and I've often thought of learning but never got round to it. Well, I've run out of excuses and so I've decided that this is the year when I'm going to try my hand at this ancient art-form.

The first task has been to get some calligraphy pens. This might not seem very difficult; type 'calligraphy pens' into Amazon and see all the options at all budgets. But I'm left-handed. Try typing 'left-handed calligraphy pens' and see the options vanish and the prices escalate. This has been the main reason I've never bothered before, but this time I decided to take the plunge. I went for a 3-nib set from Manuscript. (But just to complete my moan about left-handers getting shafted, look at the right-handed set on offer. Over £1 cheaper and it comes in a tin to keep the nibs safe. All I got was plastic wrapping and I have no idea how I'm going to keep the nibs in good condition long-term.)

Here are the nibs:

 

I went into Bristol today and was near Harold Hockey, so popped in. Harold Hockey holds fond memories for me as it was where I bought my first ever fountain pen and I around that time I also got a thick, calligraphy-type nib which has unfortunately been lost for many years. I asked if they had anything for left-handers and the reply saddened me. They didn't have any left-handed fountain pens, let alone calligraphy pens and they said that fewer suppliers were making products for left-handers any more. But they did sell other supplies so I bought myself some calligraphy paper, lined to help guide letter heights:

The final thing I needed was some instructions. As I said, I have one book on calligraphy which may be sufficient but a chance encounter in a charity bookshop this afternoon led me to purchasing a second book, so now I have two!

New book on the left, old on the right

With just the little bit of play I've had with the nibs already I'm coming to the sad conclusion that being left-handed will mean it's unlikely I'll be able to replicate precisely some of the scripts. The way the nib is shaped and the angle the pen is held means that the shape of the lines, moving from thin to thick and vice versa, does not always correspond to right-handed patterns. I may be wrong and it may be possible to replicate them with practice, but to avoid too much disappointment I'm aiming for the spirit of the letters if not the precise form. 

I'm really looking forward to trying calligraphy. In an age where pretty much everything is on computer and my handwriting has devolved so much that there's times I can't understand what I've written, it will be nice to try and make handwriting that is not only clear but beautiful.