Look at this very first attempt at “calligraphy” below.
Somehow the word “immortality” looks like it was strangling itself ’til it passed out.
This was two years ago.
Early this month, I got hooked on (a.k.a. addicted to) calligraphy after I took a class with Pauline of Happy Hands Project.
From blotted, scraggly pages during our workshop:
to this:
By the way, I get good writing days and some REALLY horrible calligraphy days as well. It took me around 15 minutes of practice to make this one look like that 😀 The more exhausted I am, the lousier the writing. Energy means everything to the way I write, it seems 😀
Just in a span of four weeks, I found myself quite active in the blogosphere of lovers of the hand-written word and calligraphers from all over. I’ve also been getting questions from Singapore and Manila regarding classes. So for those who have asked me about supplies and classes, let me finally list them down for you:
CALLIGRAPHY SUPPLIES
Though I haven’t personally tried buying here myself, these are some of the shops recommended to me by my teacher:
1. www.paperinkarts.com for nibs and holders
2. Popular bookstore for Chinese ink, which I use for daily practice. This shop is scattered across many branches across the island.
3. Straits Art Company for Nikko G and Leonard nibs, located at 420 Northbridge Road, SG.
UPDATE: I finally visited the shop and it is officially my favorite art store in Singapore!
This box does not just exist in our dreams.
That pretty detail which I only noticed when I got home. I love this nib!
4. Overjoyed for Brause nibs, holders and Rhodia pads, located in Golden Wall Center on 89 Short Street, SG.
5. Art Friend for a range of colored ink.
TIP: If you don’t want to spend so much buying different colors of ink, I discovered that watercolor works just as well! You can see that the paper I used is very heavy, grainy stock: watercolor paper from Daler Rowney.
Surprisingly, no bleeding and no snags 🙂
PAPER
Friends have asked me what paper I use for everyday practice. Since I’m just starting, I make a mountain of a mess and consume lots of paper per day. Say… 3 sheets per sitting until I get it right? I don’t want to spend for quality paper that I will just be used for errors and blotting
So what do I use for my daily drills? I have several:
1. An inexpensive drawing block that looks like this:
What’s important is the paper is not fibrous and has a very smooth, coated finish to prevent ink from bleeding. I tried using my other sketchbooks but because the paper was grainy, the letters just bled everywhere, regardless of the amount of ink I use.
This drawing book above can be purchased in Popular bookstore.
2. Bond paper
Now not all bond paper are created equal, I’m sure by now you know that. I have a huge supply of paper and went through the different kinds I’ve acquired over time. What I find useful and practical for me, without the guilt from creating a myriad of writing errors are 80-90 gsm premium bond paper, one that says is good for laser printing.
Another pack of paper I use simply goes by the name of “multi-purpose paper” . It indicates that it is good for laser printing so that works really well.
Writing on uncoated pages of ordinary bond paper
If you run your fingers over ordinary bond paper versus premium sheets, you will feel that the ones I use for calligraphy will let the skin of your fingers glide over like butter. The key is to find paper that does not cause your nibs to snag and/or ink to bleed.
3. Moleskine Artist’s Journal (not sure if what I have is the watercolor notebook or the sketchbook variant)
The only reason I own one is because I got it as a present from a very good friend 🙂 Otherwise, I keep holding out on spending for one. So this is where I ink only my final art (when I’m confident to do so without error). I specified artist’s journal because the pages of this particular variant is very thick and can be used for watercolors and other water-based paint. The paper, however, is smooth and stiff (around 160 gsm?). This has worked very well for my daily projects, thankfully.
I’ve seen a good collection in Kinokuniya.
CLASSES
1. Singapore
The one I took was conducted by Pauline Ibarra of Happy Hands Project. This was our class, hosted in our home 🙂
2. Manila
While I’ve never taken a class in the Philippines, my friend Regina was kind enough to list down a number of pretty good leads:
The Fozzy Book
La Bella Scrittura
Ink Scribbler
Craft MNL
BOOKS
I still do not own a single calligraphy book as I am still waiting for the postman to come by with my order at this very moment. But the book I purchased is “Modern Calligraphy” by Molly Suber Thorpe which is believed to be uber helpful to many calligraphers today.
Another one I wish I didn’t pull out of my shopping basket is the classic blue-cover “Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy” manual by Eleanor Winters.
UPDATE: Here is the book I was waiting for! I still don’t have the E. Winter’s book because I’m not sure if I want to do copperplate yet 😀
🙂
If you have any other books, classes, supplies, brands you’ve come across that you’re happy with, feel free to share this as I would like to know as well. Thank you!
Such devastating news to wake up to. I was hoping it was hoax, as there have been others in the past. I grew up watching Robin Williams through the almost-four decades of my life. Oddly, though, the films I remember most are not the funnies. “The Awakenings”, “Dead Poets Society”, “Patch Adams” and “Good Will Hunting” all made such an indelible impression on me so much so that these movies inspired me in my career choice(s).
The illustration challenge’s theme for 
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