In 2012, I officially became a calligraphy beginner. Filled with the unique type of excitement that results from a Pinterest binge, I lit off to a big box store, and I bought a random calligraphy kit and some ink. Like most calligraphy beginners, I expected to pick up a pen and immediately be able to create cool things! When I got home, though, I tried writing on some printer paper. Surprise! My “calligraphy” looked terrible.
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I started offering calligraphy workshops in 2015. As someone who isn’t a natural-born public speaker (even if it’s a tiny group of 12), I didn’t expect to like teaching! I quickly found, however, that workshops are just another platform by which to connect with creative people and get to “geek out” over a shared passion: calligraphy. This year, I’m pleased to offer six beginner’s modern calligraphy workshops on various dates sprinkled throughout the spring and summer!
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One of my big goals for this year is to create a video course to accompany every TPK calligraphy worksheet set! I mean, I know that there are people out there who can read something and immediately understand how to do it. Then, there are us mere mortals. I’ll be the first to admit that YouTube is my go-to if I want to learn how to do something, be it how to make injera (Ethiopian flatbread … if you’re looking for a nearly impossible challenge, give that a shot) or how to change color modes in Photoshop. There’s just something about videos that helps a concept to stick!
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For several months now, I have intended to make a short video tutorial over how to learn and create modern calligraphy. There were plenty of days when I should have filmed the tutorial, but I kept putting it off. I mean, I wanted the video to be perfect: engaging, inspirational, and informative! I knew it should include a worksheet, and I hoped to spend a lot of time editing the video. Calligraphy is my thing, the activity I love to do, and I needed to reflect that with the quality and thoughtfulness of the How to Learn and Create Modern Calligraphy video!
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Today, I want to focus on a question that I often receive via email: “How do you know if you’re ready to sell your calligraphy?” The answer is that you will probably never feel completely ready, and that’s okay. If you fit the following criteria, however, selling your calligraphy is certainly worth a go!
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Halloween has always been very big in my family. We love decorating the house with the macabre (I’ve got my Frida Kahlo skull on display) and — more importantly — getting to decorate ourselves! It’s freeing to step out of your comfort zone and be a little bit silly.
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If you’re a lefty, you are already aware that you’re in the minority. That has, unfortunately, probably led to frustration in your left-handed calligraphy learning endeavors. Hopeless as it may seem, I promise you that anyone — right- or left-handed — can create calligraphy! For this blog post, I decided to go to the source, and I asked south paw newsletter subscribers about their experiences with writing left-handed calligraphy. I received quite a few responses discussing issues and struggles when writing, tips and tricks for improving lettering, plus some examples of work. This blog post is a compilation of the most important takeaways.
In January 2017, I wrote another article that was also titled “How to Learn Calligraphy in Two Months”. The response was interesting: beginners were encouraged, but a small handful of seasoned calligraphers were outraged — I remember one fellow on Facebook got angry and vowed to stop following TPK. “You can’t learn calligraphy in two months, and furthermore, not just anyone can learn it!” he scoffed before his exit.
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I first picked up a dip pen in 2005. At that time, it seemed to be best suited to making squiggles because it was tough to write letters with! Fast forward a few years, though, and I saw other people using these mysterious instruments to create modern calligraphy. Flowy alphabets with a beautiful contrast abounded, and I wanted to know how to do that myself!
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I think that every soon-to-be parent has at least one goal that he or she wants to achieve before the baby arrives. For me, that goal was to re-do the Kaitlin Style calligraphy worksheet and its accompanying video course. When I first released the set in 2014, I thought it was pretty amazing! At the time, I’d designed the materials to the best of my ability. However, I’ve learned a lot about teaching since 2014, and it was time for an overhaul.
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