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« on: June 01, 2022, 08:26:46 AM »
Your comparison to music is excellent. One of my students was very stuck on practicing one letter at a time and one word at a time and I could not convince her to move on to sentences and to plan on doing an actual finished piece of art. She was so resistant - until one day she came to class and reported that she had told her husband how she was locked in a debate with me. He had been a concert violinist with the Chicago Symphony - and he said he agreed with me - he said it compared to a musician who was stuck on scales and finger exercises - and would never even try playing a piece. Voila. She moved on.
You said - "While I'm not at the level I'd like to be (is anyone?"
Once again - if we look to people who actually master any skill - (unless they are a savant) they all agree that they got to the (virtual) top, one step at a time - and that virtual staircase or ladder goes on forever. You don't stay at the *top* if you do not continue to practice. So, it is a waste of time to fret over which step you are on. If you can't appreciate where you are - you are robbing yourself of the joy of the journey. (Or as some teachers say - you are whiners. Peter Thornton even had a t-shirt - beautifully lettered - that said, "No whining." He wore it to workshops to remind people that whining was pointless. When people would say, "I can't (insert anything that one struggles with)." He would politely say - "...yet." to remind people that they were perfectly capable of figuring things out - and whining was a waste of time. There is nothing about moving a pen across paper that is out of reach for anyone. Sincere seekers of putting lines onto paper will get there -- if they care to find the path that works for them.
Letting one book or one teacher tell you that their path is *The One That Works* - is a huge mistake. Few books teach adults how to obliterate their bad habits.
My favorite way to convince people that self-criticism is a waste of time - is to require them to mail something to someone. It never fails - they get feedback - lots of oohs and ahhh. Another favorite story from my teaching years was a woman who had made a cute hand lettered card to go with a present at a shower. She was so excited (and encouraged) by all the oohing and ahhhing by the other guests. She was quick to tell me that her work was nothing like mine -- but that's the point -- I wasn't at the party - so, by default, she was the very best calligrapher in the room. We rarely run into people who are ahead of us on the learning curve - unless we are at a workshop, a guild meeting, or on a forum like this. It's pretty easy to be the person with the best penmanship in any setting.
And even if I show up at a party with a world class calligrapher - the two of us would agree on *who's best.* But if my work has more bells and whistles and glitter - there will be people who think mine is *better* - to their eyes. A great design can trump the skill level of the lettering. It's not uncommon to see people who have good skills - but they are oblivious to composition and design.
So, please start enjoying your progress - and put your new penmanship to use.
1
You will never obliterate your natural penmanship that has been etching itself in to your muscle memory for decades. So - don't expect that to happen.
2
Impatience is usually the avenue that your natural penmanship uses to sneak in. If you simply slow down - and be mindful - your Spencerian can remain in charge.
3
Feel free to toss out another word instead of *natural* to describe that stuff that we are stuck with - because of the length of time we used it. I don't like to use negative words - because it is a part of us - and I'm vigilant about refraining from self- criticism.
4
Rotate through all the different ways of writing with each practice session.
Warm up with some repetitive words.
Refrain from practicing the lower case letters one-at-a-time.
Caps often need some practice on their own - because there are so many cool variations.
Include some pangrams in your practice - to insure that you are covering every letter.
Chose some motivational quotes - to keep yourself from lapsing into whining.
Your wife's suggestion is one of my all time favorites: Comparison is the thief of joy.
Do some spontaneous writing of your thoughts of the moment - but they have to be positive thoughts - affirmations.
****
Have you ever done cross-drills? I highly recommend them.
Do you practice your Spencerian with a pencil?
Have you ever considered different proportions? Long ascenders and descenders take so much focus. Allowing yourself some easier ones can be a real boost to rhythm.
Are you opposed to morphing your penmanship into something that allows for some variation off what you see in the books? It is a radical idea for some people - but, the penmanship police will not come after you if you tweak things.
The number one item I tweak with people is to allow for a natural slant. Sheila Waters, and others, have agreed with me - that when people have their own natural slant - it's just fine to let them use that slant - to get all the other basics down. Once a person has all the basics - they can adjust the slant.
This is most evident in italics - no-slant italics can be lovely - and for some people - no slant is a much better *first step.*
I'll go back to the other 5 items from the other email -- eventually.
There was a lot of good stuff to ponder in your answers to the questions.
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