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Messages - Myles Ink Calligraphy

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1
Brush Calligraphy / Please Help ;(
« on: December 14, 2017, 12:12:03 AM »
Hey everyone.

I recently dipped my toes in the beautiful art of brush calligraphy. today, I bought a Pentel Aqua Brush, in Flat.

I expected for my flat brush to have an edge that would be almost like a square edge nib. Instead, the bristles were uneven, and far away from being "square".

Is this valid to request a refund? Or is this a sign of defection?


2
Broad Edge Pen Calligraphy / Fraktur A to Z
« on: October 09, 2017, 01:47:49 AM »
Hey, Everyone!

Here's a cool video of Fraktur script A to Z. This is my latest upload on my Youtube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKFUFp6QmRE-px9gbNiCgWQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVjEWORo3PI

Please share your opinions about my video, calligraphy or just leave me a kind note or a funny question. It all helps  :)

3
Flourishing / Re: Running out of ink
« on: September 06, 2017, 01:05:11 AM »


I hope this gives you a good visualization...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/idm3S25cxIrgIgZs1

@Myles Ink Calligraphy :  What??  Can you post a photo of what you are suggesting??

@JohnNealBooks :  I purchased your ink cage nibs & I am SO happy with them!  They hold so much ink & are a joy to write with!  I have an upcoming birthday & I'm hoping that I'll get one of the new Brause EF66 ink cage nibs that are supposed to be available soon!  ;D

Janis


4
Flourishing / Re: Running out of ink
« on: September 02, 2017, 06:23:52 AM »
Here's a gorgeous little trick. If you're really desperate, use scotch tape and tape across the shoulders of your nib. Dip the nib and you should have a reservoir of ink that will last very long graceful strokes.

5
Here's a short story of an experience I had this summer. I almost lost my writing hand! ;D ::) I wrote a short story for my own pleasure and practice but I thought it would be nice to share with all of you guys. Please leave a thought regarding the incident or the story. Thank you. ;D

I have been conserving the art of calligraphy for long as I can remember. I learned to hold a calligraphy pen before a crayon. I showed great prominence in this art. I was able to reproduce many traditional scripts and create expressive letterforms that were original. This art resided within me and I lived for this art. I felt like the art was something I could devote my life for. Something that my hand can carry to represent.

Then the summer of 2017 arrived at me. This season was promised with a very special 6 weeks of Drill and Ceremonial training at HMCS Quadra. Quadra is a heartwarming destination for Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. Selected cadets are sent to familiarize themselves with a military structure of the Royal Canadian Navy. Cadets would eat, sleep and train on base for a variety of 2 to 6 weeks to qualify for specific trades. The Drill and Ceremonial Instructor trade was a unique course that HMCS Quadra offered. I was one of the 28 privileged individuals to be chosen for the 6-week long training.

   One of the highlights for the DCIs were the Symphony Splash, which naval field guns would take part to fire shots in rhythm to Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture.

   The challenge of the Symphony Splash was that a naval field gun crew, or simply Gun’s Crew, had to fire a shot and have another one ready to go under 3 seconds. This was no easy job, but it had to be done to keep up with the vigorous tempo of the 1812 overture.

   A field gun is not a difficult machinery. It is set on wheels and brass shells are loaded on the back of the gun. A door named “breach” would chamber the shell. Then a cocking pin is cocked, then a striking pin triggered by a lanyard would execute the firing. There are 4 positions for each section of the gun. There’s the cocker-extractor; who cocks the pin and extracts fired rounds, the striker; who strikes a lanyard which triggers the firing pin which then fires the gun, the Breachmate; who opens and closes the breach to allow reloading of shells. And there are 2 additional positions: passer and receiver passes and receives rounds.

   And there was the loader, a position which they would fist the shell into the back of the gun and pull the hand out of the barrel before saying “clear!”. This was my position.

   Most evenings at Quadra was offered for recreation, or rec as we called it. When rec was given to me, my rec was devoted to writing calligraphy and penmanship. Unfortunately, a casual rec time was very rare to the DCIs, for we had to practice ceremonies and 1812 guns. 1812 practices were much more common than my hours of serene calligraphy hours.

   For many recs, we practiced the speed and precision of our firing. I was dutiful to my job as a loader. I loaded the shells and they would respond with a cling. I liked my simple job, although it was very risk-taking. It was much simpler than other positions which required more force and precision. In exchange for simplicity, my hand had to be occasionally millisecond away from being shut in the chamber by the breach after yelling clear. My hand never considered the breach a threat, he was too fast and cheeky. Sometimes I called clear when my hand wasn’t fully out of the breach to compensate for the reaction time that my breachmate takes.

   The technique of calling “clear” prematurely was a quite a popular method by many past loaders. This technique is a very narrow tightrope. The loader must exactly calculate the reaction time of the breachmate and the time it requires for the hand to release the shell and leave the chamber. If a loader makes an incorrect calculation and the breach shuts on the hand, a disastrous consequence would follow. First, all the bones of your metacarpals would snap like toothpicks, then its tendons would rupture like stretched gum. Internal bleeding would follow and the ability for all precise motor skills operated with your hand will be lost. Simply put, you lose a hand.

   A Petty Officer, a superior, once told me a story of a girl who was bright enough to call clear with the hand fully in the chamber. Back in his year as a DCI, he was at a breachmate position with the girl as his loader. She accidentally called clear too early and he closed the breach with full might. Metal to the hand to the metal. Her hand was splat and her bones were crunched in all 4 spots. She was in need of immediate medical attention and she became an unfunctional cadet. She was sent home and she is not able to perform precise motor skills up to this point.

   His story didn’t really scare me. I was too arrogant. I kept calling clear early to compensate for the speed of my Gun’s Crew. Then it happened.

   We were called to our loading positions. The first few rounds glided into the barrel in a heavenly sound. The passer passed me rounds, I kept sliding her in the back of the gun. Then, a defective round with a loose primer was passed. I loaded the round and called clear, then my round lost balance and my hand took an extra millisecond to secure it.
   
   Then, the breachmate shut it.

   The acceleration of the metal breach jammed my hand. My spine was given a chill. I realized my hand would be lost. All my years of practice spent to conserve the beautiful art was about to be lost. My hand would drop the torch of the light of calligraphy. To lose the ability to beautifully express letters. To lose the art that made me. I would not be able to accept this loss.

I instantly reacted and pulled my hand out of the breach. The breachmate was aware of what happened before it was fully shut. He stabilized the breach and stopped it before my hand splat like meat and my bones were snapped like carrots. My hand didn't suffer any serious injury.

My Gun’s Crew was paused for a moment. My Divisional Officer, a big superior, stepped in to check if I was able to carry on. I signaled yes.

The Gun’s crew and I finished the session in success. At one point, we were the fastest out of the three guns. Immediately after the dismissal, I went to seek first aid for a check-up and possible treatment.

Luckily, there was no serious injury. The doctor explained that it was just a pinch. I was too over-dramatic. He gave me ice and candy and instructed me to drink water.

Later that night I was in shock. I had severe panic attacks. I realized how close I was to losing calligraphy, and calligraphy losing me. I was scared and traumatized. I sat on the staircase of my barracks sobbing few tears.

My teammates, my fellow shipmates of DCI, approached me. They gathered for me to ensure that I was safe. We assured each other of trust and courage. We learned that we are a team and a family. They encouraged me to continue excelling my position and carry on as the loader. I was the one that my team needed in this position, and I was sure as hell that I would not give it up for our Symphony Splash.

The day of the Symphony Splash arrived. We showed the city of Victoria the best 1812 Overture that they’ve seen and that they will see. In the midst of the orchestra, an enchanting realization came to me. We were family. We are the Gunners of Quadra. I would look at my calligraphy and always remind myself of the time I almost lost the art. But as much as my heart was shook, I realized how close and committed we were as a team and learned that we were there for each other. What a year it was to be a Drill and Ceremonial Instructor.

6
Coffee & Nib-bles / Re: Where in the World?
« on: August 28, 2017, 02:29:12 AM »
Surprised to not see Vancouver B.C. on the list :o Please add us! Thank you

7
Dear Flourish Forum

I am currently working on a youtube project that you may have noticed if you were following my recent posts.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKFUFp6QmRE-px9gbNiCgWQ

I am always looking forward to making improvements for my video production and I have faced a problem…

That is, what angle is the most optimal for making shots of my handwriting? Which angles allow the viewers to focus on my writing?

Currently, I do not have a desk rig and I only have a tripod and a Sony Handycam.

Please reply if you have a solution to this issue.

8
Open Flourish | General Discussion / Ink Academy's IndieGoGo campaign
« on: April 28, 2017, 02:32:05 AM »
Ink Academy launched announced themselves as a new school of penmanship through Indiegogo's crowdfunding.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/creating-the-ink-academy--2#/

I think a new wind is blowing to our calligraphic community. The internet, especially the younger platforms, such as Instagram and Snapchat, are spreading the art to many different audiences. Could this be a major revival of the art of calligraphy? I surely think so.

I am not associated with Ink Academy or IndieGoGo whatsoever, I just thought it would be a nice thing to discuss because we have a new powerful member that can spread calligraphy. But I do wish that Ink Academy fulfill their purpose of reviving calligraphy.

9
Please forgive me for being the first to reply and to sway off-topic, but I'm too curious not to ask. You mention neither students nor professors write in cursive. By "cursive" you mean that gorgeous sleek hand like in Michael Sull's book? Or do you mean they write in block letters? I'm not well acknowledged with American education system and not sure when and for how long children are taught cursive handwriting fo at all.

I meant that my professors and my teachers write in block writing or printing.

On a separate note, I am a Canadian student. I am unaware of the status of cursive in the US.

10
         I have a topic that may upset many calligraphers, but I have done a fact-based research and the following opinion is a very likely scenario. If you have an opinion that may add or contradict to my topic, please do leave a comment on your thoughts. All of your ideas are welcome to the discussion as long as they are constructive.

           First off, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Myles Kim and I am a student at Clayton Heights Secondary in Surrey, B.C. I discovered the art of calligraphy when I was buried under 6 ft of snow in Moncton N.B, a place where I recently moved from. I am young, but I am able to construct well-organized thoughts and conveyed them into words. I love contributing to this community and other calligraphic societies as well. I enjoy calligraphy as much as the dear reader does and I am always cognizant that we are one of a kind.

           As much as the art of calligraphy is unique, it has become sort of an endangered art. I always deny this description but as I have observed all of my peers, it is evident that there is only going to be a certain number of individuals that will carry our wonderful tradition. I personally never met a student whom can write cursive, or read cursive as a matter of fact. I have yet never seen cursive handwriting been commonly used at a public institution. The majority of my teachers can read my cursive, but they never have written instructions in cursive. It seems like cursive has joined the ranks of Latin, traditional Chinese and Sanskrit in the public education.

           Artistic handwriting in public institutions nearly vanish, but calligraphers remain as professions that we all love and enjoy. We are talented and able artisans who are able to produce works of beautiful handwriting. Our works are commonly seen in Christmas cards, letters, envelopes, wedding invitations, logos and wherever letters must be expressed in a delicate fashion. Calligraphy is special and unique. Our human minds have such creative ways to express certain letterforms and throughout history, we always have done so. Many different cultures across time and space have created handwritten documents which we have inherited.

   Today, we face a new threat to our inheritance. It’s not a printer or photoshop, they have already left their impact. It is Artificial Intelligence or A.I. A.I is capable of teaching itself in many different subjects. They have recently invaded what we used to consider our noble specialty, art. There are some A.Is that can paint, write poems and express artistic thoughts. Some A.I form Neural Networks and analyze myriads of information and teach themselves to beat human standards. This has already been proven with the Alpha Go Google DeepMind technology which played a game of Go with the best human competitor. Machine learning is more strategic than we expect and soon it will have capacities that will take over certain fields that we would never have expected to lose. I am afraid our beloved art of calligraphy falls into one of the fields that the A.I may excel. A.I can very easily analyze every scripts, exemplars, flourishes, style, etc… and mimic them to pen their own creative works. I used to believe that certain scripts like Spencerian and English Roundhand would be immune to replication by machines but I am afraid to say I am incorrect. As soon as the scientists code our creativity, A.I will be able to replicate every stroke that a master penman can write.



   Calligraphy may be vulnerable to A.I, but if it is, what can us, calligraphers, do to ensure the survival of human calligraphy? A.I and automation will take over many different fields that humans excel and calligraphy may not be an exception. If so, what must my generation do to ensure its survival? What must I do to ensure that letters are still expressed by human hands? I sincerely hope that it is not a matter of time which machines are able to creatively express letterforms, I wish it is a matter of dedication and effort. I wish to deny that my generation possibly could be the last generation of efficient handwritten calligraphy.

   On an optimistic note, there has been a noticeable rise of calligraphy as a therapeutic hobby. Calligraphy is coming back to many who enjoy calm and tranquil meditative writing experience. Maybe the tradition will endure with humans as a therapeutic form. I would like to further my pursuit my calligraphy with the relation to therapeutic causes.

11
Myles, I'm sorry but I disagree on 2 of your 3 points.

As I understand your post on PRICE, you are basically saying that one has to spend lots of money on the holder to learn and improve their writing.

I contend that price is irrelevant. 

If the holder fits your hand and feels good when writing, then cost does not matter.  I have been using a $13 Peerless oblique since I started (thank you Erica), and I am perfectly happy with it, despite using various other more expensive holders.  The cheap plastic shaft of the Peerless oblique fits my hand just fine.  Saying that a $200+ oblique holder would make me any more devoted to practice than my $13 Peerless oblique is FALSE.  If I were going to slack off, I would slack off, regardless of the cost of the holder. 

This is a common incorrect assumption in many fields. 
There is a saying in one of my other hobbies "you cannot buy points."  After the basic requirements are met, spending more $$$$ on EXPENSIVE gear will not get you more points, YOU need to practice and improve to get the points.   
Example1:  Buying a $3,000 camera will not make you a better photographer or make you any more devoted than buying a $40 camera.  It is the person that makes the difference, NOT the tool. 
Example2:  Buying the set of golf clubs that a famous pro golfer uses $$$$, won't improve my golf game any more than it is.  Buying a cheaper set and getting coaching and practicing WILL improve my game.


Now for COMPATIBILITY.

As I understand, you are saying that the holder be adjustable for any nib that one would want to use, and that you would adjust the flange when you want to use a different nib.

In MY opinion is that is not practical.

I would not want to have to stop in the middle of a job and adjust the holder when I want to change to a different nib, then have to do that again when I want to change back to the first nib.  Secondly, once I have spent the time and effort to adjust a flange for nib and angle, I do not want to risk knocking the adjustment off by "adjusting" the flange for a different nib.  Going back and forth almost guarantees that you will not have a consistent adjustment for any one nib.

I would much rather simply pick up a different holder that is already adjusted for that nib and continue on.  And this is exactly what I do.  I have 2 oblique holders with different size nibs, and I use whichever one has the nib that I want to use.  And this is a benefit of not using an EXPENSIVE holder, I can afford to have multiple holders dedicated to different size nibs.

Thanks for the criticism, I genuinely appreciate it.
I never directly asserted the readers to invest a considerable amount of money to their penholders. All your examples are perfect comparisons in real life. However, my main focus was that they must make a decision if such penholders are worth the $, not that expensive penholders will enable the writer to reproduce the works of F.B. Courtney.

And for the second part, I wanted to emphasize the different types of flanges that are available. I agree that having multiple penholders which accompany different nibs is more convenient, but keep in mind that the audience of this article was aimed towards the writers that wish to dip their toes into our pool of oblique holders.

Once again, thank you for the criticism and your insight to this topic.

12
Eastern Calligraphy / Re: Arabic Calligraphy in a new style
« on: April 08, 2017, 04:07:29 AM »
Beautiful. I have never seen such beautiful form of calligraphy. The strokes look genuinely gracious. This is one of my favorite calligraphy on this forum.

13
Introductions / Re: Hello from rural Maine
« on: April 02, 2017, 01:56:05 PM »
Welcome to the forum Nathan! I'm glad to have you with us. My hometown, New Brunswick, is not too far away from Maine. I hope you can find useful information in our forum

14
Eastern Calligraphy / Re: Armenian Calligraphy
« on: April 02, 2017, 01:52:02 PM »
They're such unique letterforms that deserves recognition. Thanks for sharing with us Andrew.

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