Time’s rapid passage makes it hard to commit to learning anything new. There’s always something that comes up, someone who demands our focus, or a big project with a short deadline. Still, it’s important to allocate energy to the things we love and challenge ourselves with learning new things! If you struggle with making the time for calligraphy, this post will help. In it, you’ll learn five tips for consistent, condensed calligraphy practice.
1. Keep Your Supplies at the Ready
You’re less likely to make an effort to practice calligraphy if it’s not convenient to set up your space for writing. In the case of calligraphy, a few key preparations will make a big difference!
If you do the following, it will be easy to dive into practicing whenever you want to:
- Store your nibs upright in your pens – there’s no need to assemble and disassemble them every time you write.
- Keep water in your “calligraphy water” cup – if it evaporates out too much, replenish it.
- Store everything that’s calligraphy-related (paper, inks, etc.) in the same place.
2. Set a Time Goal
Calligraphy practice doesn’t have to take away from important tasks and obligations. To avoid derailing your day, decide on a chunk of time that you can realistically devote to practicing. Then, either keep track of the time with a watch or use a (quiet) timer on your phone to help you stick to your time goal.
As far as calligraphy goes, no time goal is too small! Even ten minutes is enough to add to your skills. After all, ten minutes every day for six days totals an hour.
3. Don’t Finish Projects All at Once
It’s human nature to want to finish things in one sitting. If you’re pressed for time, though, it’s better to get through a project one section at a time. For example, you might commit to filling out one section in the Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet, and then fill out the remaining three sections over the next three days.
Sure, it’s a little bit tough to get going again once you break momentum, but you get used to doing projects in parts. You’ll eventually get to a point where it’s easy to focus in right where you left off.
4. Fill Out Calligraphy Drills
In calligraphy drills, you focus on drawing shapes rather than letters or words. The drills help you to improve your strokes and pen control without the pressure of making the perfect “A” or writing impressive words.
Calligraphy drills are the perfect thing to allocate 10-15 minutes to. It’s very calming to create them, and, since drills are so informal, you can easily stop when you run out of time. If your hand is shakier when you go back to work on more drills the next day, who cares? Calligraphy drills are solely for practice!
5. Write Out One Envelope
Making envelopes can do wonders for your calligraphy practice! If you’ve only got a few minutes, commit to writing just one. If you’re stuck on whose address to write, think about birthdays that may be coming up. There’s nothing wrong with making someone a birthday envelope months in advance!
If you would like someone to make an envelope for besides friends/relatives, try creating beautiful mail for one of the More Love Letters requestors!
None of the suggestions for condensed calligraphy practice mentioned in this post are complicated. If you implement today’s time-efficient tips 3-4 times per week, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your progress! Like most things, calligraphy is a skill that is best honed with consistency. Make time for it, and you’ll be rewarded.
Final Janet Style Worksheet Update Announcement
As I mentioned a couple of blog posts ago, I’ve been working on a Janet Style Premium Calligraphy Worksheet Set update. The update will go live on Friday, August 11th, and features an intuitive layout, tons of practice opportunities, and crystal clear instructions.
If you own the current version of the Janet Style set, you will be entitled to the update despite the $5.00 price difference. The current version costs $5.00, while the updated version will cost $10.00. I believe in “grandfathering in” because I want to make sure you always have the best version of whatever you purchase from this website. But: make sure you order before Friday! On Friday, the update will launch and will sell for $10.00.
If you have any questions (or suggestions) about working in some condensed calligraphy practice, I’d love to hear them in the comments! Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your week, and thanks for reading TPK!
Warmly,
