Advice, please! Best way to introduce 12 yr old to calligraphy?

[JessicaC]

My best friend's little girl just turned 12 and I want to get her into calligraphy as a (belated!) birthday gift.  She loves arts and crafts, and her mom told me she'd love to do calligraphy.  I'm not sure what to buy though.  Do you think starting her out with a broad nib script is best?  Such as foundational?  If so, should I get actual nibs and ink, or just go with chisel tip markers?

Also, any recommendations for a good instructional book for tweens?

Thanks for any help and suggestions!

[Brad franklin]

Only my opinion, but i think starting off with calligraphy markers are the best way. Dipped pen will be a ultimate goal from the start. But markers first. Like I said only my opinion, for I am only a few months in myself. 

[garyn]

Either marker or fountain pen.
- The marker would be easiest, as she does not load ink. 
- Cartridge fountain pens are rather simple to load, I used them in 5th grade.  And I use the old Sheaffer calligraphy pens right now, but just casual calligraphy.

I would hold off on the dip pens for later when she gets more into it, as it can get rather messy to use and clean up. 
If you would, she can graduate up to the dip pens.

Oooops
But it also depends on what style she wants to learn.
I am starting off with Italic, as I think that it is the easiest.  And for that the italic nib fountain pens (Sheaffer, Lamy, Rorting, etc) would do fine.  The neat thing about the Sheaffer and Lamy (don't know about the others) is that you can use an ink converter, so you can also use bottle ink, which is MUCH cheaper than cartridge ink, but potentially more messy.
I have an old Sheaffer Calligraphy set that I got at a garage sale, and it does the job for me, for beginning italic.

[Erica McPhee]

She's in middle school so could probably learn a fountain pen with no problems. I would recommend Eleanor Winter's Calligraphy for Kids.

Great gift! 

[Linda Y.]

I got my first calligraphy pen (a chisel-nib marker) when I was 12, and it made such a big impression that I kept doing calligraphy since. I loved lettering/letterforms/typography so much, I went into graphic design. I can say calligraphy changed my life.

What a wonderful gift!

[JessicaC]

Thanks everyone, for your responses!  I appreciate them all.

Brad- You're right, markers are the easiest to use.  Maybe I'll get her a couple different colors to play with.

Gary-  I totally forgot about fountain pens as being an option.  I think I was about her age when I got my first fountain pen and I felt so grown up using it!  Still have it, too.

Erica-  thanks for the book recommendation.  The price is certainly right! 

Linda-  One just never knows when a gift might have that kind of positive impact, especially on a child.  I'm hoping a calligraphy set will keep her interested in art and lettering, just as it did for you.  It so happens that this little girl's Chinese-born grandma is a graphic design artist and also amazing at Chinese calligraphy and lettering in general.  So artistic talent does run in the family!

[AndyT]

One thing which is a lot of fun and very educational as far as edged pen work goes is to tape two pencils together.  I'm not suggesting that this would be a suitable gift! 

[Moya]

I have to say (a bit late to this thread, I know, but my ultimate goal is to read ALL the threads ... ) - when I was 12 I was just getting into calligraphy, and a large part of the attraction was that I got to play with ink and dip pens.  Messy, yes, and I'm sure my mum had to put up with a lot, but it was so much more fun than using markers.  So if she's into arts and crafts and if she's not too terribly clumsy, maybe think about dip pens anyway?

[ultraQuiche]

Perfect, recruit them while they're young!

I find that for me, a big part of the attraction of an art form is the medium. I remember when I went to the store to get a nice ballpoint, the clerk showed me a fountain pen and it just rocked my world. Then I was all over the web looking up fps and thus my addiction to pens, and consequently calligraphy, began.

That was when I was 12! I think I was very impressionable then and was kind of taken aback by the grandeur of the calligraphy world. With any luck, this 12 year old will be, too.

I'd suggest getting her something that looks really cool. Dip pens and fountain pens do, markers not so much. Fps are pretty manageable too.

[Estefa]

I'd also go for dip pens. Girls love pointed pen calligraphy, I did a bit live-writing at a local Christmas fare last year, and I had 10 to 14 year old girls clogging up around my table ; D!! Also a friend's daughter was introduced to pointed pen in school, (it was an art project, I think), when she was only eight, and she was so happy writing little postcards to her grandparents, invitations to her birthday party to her friends etc. I don't know if she still does it, but it's a start. And if it will be a little messy – well, I wouldn't give her iron gall ink because you never get that out of anything, but a nice fountain pen ink will totally do (I think that's even easier than a pigmented ink), and there are enough that can be washed out .

I'd also give her maybe a pointed pen that's not so super sharp, that she doesn't get too frustrated, for example a Cito fein, which is similar to a fountain pen nib (a little bit round at the tip), and one really pointed pen for when she has learnt it a bit.