Living in a country where calligraphy guilds are unknown, I must say I cannot see online learning etc. in that negative light only. Without the internet and the possibility to connect (and to learn) online, my interest in calligraphy, especially pointed pen, would probably have waned or at least, learning would have been much harder. Like this, I had the possibility to learn from international reknown teachers like Harvest Crittenden for example. I cannot at this point in my life travel to the US to attend conferences and classes. So these online communities and classes have been a huge benefit for me!
Furthermore, while I do not organise a guild, I have organized calligraphy meet-ups here where I live, and just last week I attended a meet-up in Berlin that a collegue of mine organized! It's not as formal as a guild (as far as I understand) – just a group of people meeting to write together and getting to know each other. We had people there from many different countries so my friend held the meeting in English and German – it was quite amazing honestly, and also this would have been impossible to organize without the internet
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Also I plan on offering online classes. Even inside Germany people cannot always travel half around the country for workshops, and I have been asked … so I will.
I do understand that you live in a very different situation,
@JERRY TRESSER – and I understand your frustration. But in my experience, some people that start out only being interested in fancy modern stuff will get hooked on the more traditional styles and I am sure some of the guilds will be revived!!