When I was a kid, I printed in block letters. Then I wrote in cursive because they told us we had to. I didn't resent it or dislike it. I just did it. Had no special interest in handwriting. Then I went back to printing, more or less, but for speed I did join up a lot of letters casually, with no special attention to beauty.
And in a way, I still don't. The examples of lovely handwriting all over this site...I can see how cool they are, but I have just about zero desire to produce anything like that myself. Some of the dip-pen drawings I might like to imitate in my own crude manner...but back to handwriting.
I have gotten interested in my own handwriting, however. Over the last couple years. It's gotten better--more expressive, at least. I can see how it's become my own thing, made up out of the elements of the script we learned and my old block letters.
And I have a couple fountain pens and like what a broad nib does for my writing.
I like seeing the difference between how it looks when I direct it more through my fingers and when I direct it more with larger muscles.
Anyway, I see that people do cool things with dip pens. They look affordable. And I like the flexibility. But I wonder...is there anything for me to do in this hobby that would make sense? I don't want beauty, I just want more expressiveness, more possibilities, in my everyday handwriting.
Does this make sense? Is there anything I could do with these nibs, any technique I could learn, that after practice, I could incorporate into everyday handwriting?
I know that dip pens are not so portable, I mean "everyday handwriting" that I do in a notebook at a desk at home...
Thank you for all the posts, and thank you for any replies you may offer!
