Topics

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / If you could have...

« on: February 07, 2016, 09:15:23 PM »

If you could have any one calligraphy-related item, what would that be? Cost doesn't matter, rareity does. So it must be able to be something that is at least obtainable.

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Brush Calligraphy / Zen Calligraphy

« on: February 06, 2016, 10:23:53 AM »

I assumed this is the best category for this question. I'm curious if anyone practices zen calligraphy. I know it's very different from the calligraphy general talked about here on Flourish Forum but I've been thinking a lot about how calligraphy (in my case, copperplate) is as much meditation as it is art. This led me to think about zen calligraphy. So, purely out of curiosity, do any of you practice it?

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Oh no, oh no, oh no!

« on: January 04, 2016, 11:55:32 PM »

My new (to me- it's from the 1930's) fountain pen. The one I just had repaired. The one that was writing beautifully and smoothly. The one that I fell in love with. The one with beautiful colors and dainty little details that made all the difference.

I broke it.

Snapped the nib. I can't believe I did this. I knew it would happen. Just looking at it, in all it's glory, it was bound to happen. The worst part? I just got it back a few days ago from being repaired. I can't pay for yet another repair in such a short time. I feel silly.

I feel sick.

I've asked elsewhere on tips or suggestions to see if it's even fixable but here, I am just complaining. The thing just snapped. With a "crunch" a yucky, punch in the stomach crunch.

Either I repair it or hunt down a replacement nib.

Okay. I'm done. I'm sure it will all be okay.

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / If you only have one holder...

« on: December 22, 2015, 11:17:36 PM »

If you only have one holder but want to switch out nibs, do you wait until you've essentially "used up" the nib you're currently using or do you switch it out, setting the partially used one to the side so you can switch back and not mix it up with your fresh nibs?

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Everyday Handwriting | Penmanship / What happened to my cursive?

« on: December 18, 2015, 10:23:18 PM »

I suppose this goes here since I am writing about my regular, everyday penmanship. I know there is a similar top on signatures but I'm wondering more specifically about the everyday writing.

I'm not sure what happened but ever since I started learning Copperplate, my cursive writing (which is many times my regular, everyday writing) has gone very far down hill. A main problem I'm having is I am not able to just let the letters flow out. I'm forming them as if they were Copperplate letters. I had tried to start learning Spencerian with the Spencerian Penmanship books that were recommended to me on here but then started running into problems between learning Copperplate and Spencerian, shortly after which I found out many people suggest not working on the two at the same time.

So, what am I to do? At what point can I learn some kind of everyday penmanship and not confuse it with Copperplate? Will I need to learn something like an Italic calligraphy in-between? Or is there a point one might reach with Copperplate where it won't be so confusing to work on both at the same time?

Thank you!

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Kind Critique / A bit of practice

« on: December 18, 2015, 09:58:03 PM »

After asking for some help on a few letters I decided to go back and redo the lessons that Erica created. I'm not really doing these in any particular order other than by which letters I feel need the most work mixed in with some of the ones I find fun.

There are a couple errors that are more prominent such as a couple letters where I ran out of ink and one "d" that the stem didn't get connected to the oval. Any further feedback you can give on the image posted below would be great!

Thank you!

Edit: I should also mention that a few of these aren't exactly as Erica has them in the lessons. I've seen variations that I've tried out at random.

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Find a Pen Pal / Pen Pal Take 2: German Edition

« on: December 15, 2015, 06:20:49 PM »

I was once fluent (ish) in German. It was my first language before moving to the US. I have forgotten a lot but started lessons a while ago to pick it up again. Is there anyone out there who'd be interested in writing in German? My skills are basic but I think it be fun practice.

P.S. This idea came from elsewhere on the Internet but I thought it would be fun.

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Copperplate, Engrosser's Script, Roundhand Calligraphy / B, R and E

« on: December 15, 2015, 01:13:02 PM »

B, R, and E. These three letters (capital) are my enemy. They dislike me very much. The tend to be too tall and skinny. They flattened and funny. How can I work on this? I'd very much like to perfect these three difficult letters but my attempts have failed.

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Tools & Supplies / Fountain Pens

« on: December 14, 2015, 04:17:23 PM »

Today I stopped at this tiny little antique shop in town and found two fountain pens. One being a Windsor pen and pencil set. The entire pen itself is bent and the lid doesn't stay on. There's also a couple dents and one hole but the lever worked. For $10 I decided I'd go ahead and get it to see if it functioned especially because it has a (semi?) flex nib on it. When I got home, to my surprise, it worked! It actually writes very smoothly. So I have my first flex nib fountain pen.

I also found a Wahl/Eversharp fountain pen. It appears to be beautiful but the lever was jammed or something. I got it anyways because I intend to get it repaired. It too came at a great price.

I just wanted to share because I'm excited but also to say, if you take a look at antique shops you just might find a surprise, even if hidden within a bent, dented, cracked, or damaged pen.

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Tools & Supplies / Specialty Paper

« on: December 05, 2015, 12:48:37 PM »

Where do you get our specialty papers such as textures or handmade paper? I want to experiment but I also don't want to actually make my own paper right now though I've done that in the past.

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Show & Tell / Framed Calligraphy Gift: Take 4

« on: December 01, 2015, 10:23:33 PM »

Fourth time's the Charm. If all of a sudden this post appears three times I am really sorry. I'm not overly-enthusiastic about this. I kept getting an error when posting and then everything would disappear. On to the fun stuff.

I made these three framed pieces as a Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years gift for my husbands aunt who hosted the celebrations this year. The style of flourishes come from a video posted on YouTube by Schin which I watched and practiced until I got them nice enough for these pieces. I think they turned out fairly well with the exception of "Thankful" that is a bit wonky towards the top.

Photos will hopefully be in the comments. I am having issue uploading them at the moment.

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Drip

« on: November 21, 2015, 11:58:01 PM »

How convenient I should be writing the word, "drip" when I suddenly hear a "drip." Umm...oops. Any chance someone here knows how to get Moon Palace ink out of carpet...

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Tools & Supplies / What nib do you suggest?

« on: November 21, 2015, 11:24:09 AM »

I have been using a Nikko G nib recently. I only had one and today it gave out on me. I have a Gillott 404 that I've switched to which is a bit too flexible for me. I also have a Brause 66ef. It's nice but I don't like to use it for letter writing. Back to the Nikko G. For the most part I like its qualities but would like something just a bit smoother. What would you suggest?

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Open Flourish | General Discussion / Signatures

« on: November 17, 2015, 03:41:11 PM »

The post on here about losing your identity and your signature changing got me thinking. How do you do your signature? Do you use calligraphy for it and make it something beautiful? Do you scribble something up resembling sort-of-ish letters? Do you make it legible?

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Tools & Supplies / When to use what ink

« on: November 15, 2015, 08:45:30 PM »

There are a variety of inks and I'm curious if there is a proper time to use each type? I've tried a couple different kinds mainly because that's what I've found locally but I started wondering if certain inks are to be used on certain papers or anything like that?