Author Topic: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time  (Read 37799 times)

Offline JanisTX

  • Super Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1305
  • Karma: 65
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #75 on: January 28, 2015, 06:19:30 AM »
Don't forget the owls! They were everywhere!
  Oh, Schin, this made me laugh!  I was in a sorority in college & our "symbol" is a crescent moon (try finding one of those!!!).  My daughter pledged a different sorority in college & her sorority's symbol is an owl.  I have a sorority sister that I play a game with. - When we spot an owl (which, indeed, are currently super popular and are EVERYWHERE), we snap a photo and text it to one another with the caption, "Those damn Chi-O's!".  We're really just jealous that their symbol is popular, while ours is not!

Janis

Offline Perfectsettings

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 330
  • Karma: 13
    • View Profile
    • Perfect Settings
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #76 on: January 28, 2015, 01:59:11 PM »
I have nothing more to add other than I'm glad I never got that chevron tattoo......
Daisy
Lover of all things beautiful.

Offline Lori M

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 519
  • Karma: 20
  • Calligraphy will prevail!
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #77 on: January 28, 2015, 06:36:09 PM »
Don't forget the owls! They were everywhere!

Anyone wondering what happened to all of those owls that used to be so trendy? They're all at my house now:



I know their moment is over, but I can't bring myself to get rid of the little guy.
« Last Edit: January 30, 2015, 01:24:41 AM by Lori M »

Offline Jakmo1935

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Karma: 4
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #78 on: January 29, 2015, 04:31:18 AM »
Anyone wondering what happened to all of those owls that used to be so trendy? They're all at my house now:

I still have a macrame wall hanging owl I made in 1976.  It's living in my basement now.

Jack
a voice, crying in the wilderness.

Offline Blotbot

  • Super Hero Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1106
  • Karma: 37
  • Follow your bliss.
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #79 on: January 29, 2015, 10:17:44 AM »
Anyone wondering what happened to all of those owls that used to be so trendy? They're all at my house now:

I still have a macrame wall hanging owl I made in 1976.  It's living in my basement now.

Jack

Move that owl upstairs-- they're coming back in fashion!  One thing great about living long enough (and have good storage) is that you  can recycle!  Now if only I could still fit into the clothes I wore in high school.

Offline Jakmo1935

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Karma: 4
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #80 on: January 29, 2015, 11:30:11 AM »
I also have a owl ring that I have wore every day since 1968. I saw a publicity photo of Elvis Presley  wearing it and had a jeweler in St. Louis duplicate it.  It has diamond eyebrows and tiger eye stones for the eyes.  The gold band has been cut to resemble feathers. Over the years I've had to replace a few diamonds. It has been off of my hand but a few times over the last 47 yrs.
Thanks for listening .

Jack
a voice, crying in the wilderness.

Offline Jakmo1935

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Karma: 4
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #81 on: January 29, 2015, 11:32:53 AM »
Wow! Did we wander off subject?
a voice, crying in the wilderness.

Offline supertank

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 15
  • Karma: 2
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #82 on: February 04, 2015, 01:20:48 AM »
Jumping on the train late but, as a calligraphy newbie that intends to seriously attempt copperplate in the classical sense (6+ months and counting), it even annoys me when my other friends just give up and do modern without respect to the history, fundamentals etcetera and take it so easily. Where here I am furiously trying to learn everything right! Hahaha and they're always looking at me weird/discounting my serious attempts and trivializing calligraphy somehow. It already makes me so mad also on behalf of the serious masters and calligraphers who put their lives and years into this.

That said the variety makes me happy though, and when I dabble in modern when I'm frustrated at my lack of progress and want to just run free, I think it enables me to study seriously in the long term more.

Offline Sharon

  • Junior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 84
  • Karma: 3
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #83 on: February 16, 2015, 08:31:50 PM »
Count me in on the late train too but I've found it fascinating the resurgence in interest in calligraphy. In the classes I took when I started in 2000, I didn't see a lot of women in their 20's and 30's that now seem to account for much of the students in workshops (at least those that I see posted on Instagram). 

I hope that it does continue and is not a trend (no owls, chevrons or arrows for me, I remain a cat person or I should say my cat's person!). My lessons have always been in traditional letterforms, so much so that I just can't get the hang of modern calligraphy with it's looseness. My arm refuses to do what my eyes see!

Offline supertank

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 15
  • Karma: 2
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #84 on: February 17, 2015, 12:17:47 AM »
What sorority were you in Janis? I was in Theta, our symbol was a Kite, which are I guess, somewhat cute. Yeah Chi O's owls were a cause of envy for us too! Especially with those cute Lilly Pulitzer items

Offline idrawletters

  • Junior Member
  • **
  • Posts: 73
  • Karma: 8
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #85 on: February 20, 2015, 01:25:32 PM »
Janis you weren't by any chance a Tridelta were you?
NYC / HKG
Instagram @idrawletters

Offline LauraMB

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 14
  • Karma: 1
    • View Profile
    • The Sweet Life of an Accidental Photographer
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #86 on: March 06, 2015, 01:03:58 PM »
I am a complete newbie...in fact, this is my first day as part of this forum. I want to thank you all for this conversation. I have only recently re-discoverd my interest in calligraphy that started over 35 years ago.  I find it helpful that the expectation is not that one becomes a good calligrapher over night. I figured that it would take me a couple of years to be passable/good. I knew from my feeble attempts to learn calligraphy when I was 12 that it was HARD and took much time.  Now that I have a bit of life under my belt I realize the value of hard work and perseverance. I look forward to the day that I can look at my work and say to myself, "not bad".  As it stand right now practicing my letterforms is very meditative for me. I am sure my family thinks it boring but I do not. I love the way the ink flows on the paper, the black against white. Even in these early stages I see a beauty in the art even if my letterforms/lines are wobbly.
"The desire to write grows with writing." ~Erasmus

https://instagram.com/lolafalola/

sgast32

  • Guest
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #87 on: March 09, 2015, 02:41:07 PM »
On the flipside...because of the modern calligraphy boom, I found Flourish Forum and am in the process of delving into Copperplate! I hope many others new to the art of calligraphy feel the same desire to learn the letterforms and I am sure there are many others like me that have a new appreciation for the work and skill that goes into truly beautiful lettering penned by masters and those that have been calligraphing for years upon decades. :)

Offline theailahkathrina

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19
  • Karma: 1
    • View Profile
    • The Wandering Lass
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #88 on: March 11, 2015, 09:33:34 AM »
The very late train hopper is here! My interest for calligraphy was mainly because of ate Gail's (the_md_writes on instagram) Copperplate tutorials and videos. And yes, I am also guilty of not studying letterforms when I first started. Then I realized that I should put time and effort on studying letter forms. Now, I am studying Copperplate diligently every night. :)
Calligraphy Newbie.
Instagram: @theailahkathrina
Website: http://the-wandering-lass.tumblr.com

Offline arherbgm

  • Freshman Member
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Karma: 4
    • View Profile
Re: Modern Calligraphy, Skill, and the Test of Time
« Reply #89 on: April 04, 2015, 07:17:01 PM »
On the flipside...because of the modern calligraphy boom, I found Flourish Forum and am in the process of delving into Copperplate! I hope many others new to the art of calligraphy feel the same desire to learn the letterforms and I am sure there are many others like me that have a new appreciation for the work and skill that goes into truly beautiful lettering penned by masters and those that have been calligraphing for years upon decades. :)

I am a complete newbie...in fact, this is my first day as part of this forum. I want to thank you all for this conversation. I have only recently re-discoverd my interest in calligraphy that started over 35 years ago.  I find it helpful that the expectation is not that one becomes a good calligrapher over night. I figured that it would take me a couple of years to be passable/good. I knew from my feeble attempts to learn calligraphy when I was 12 that it was HARD and took much time.  Now that I have a bit of life under my belt I realize the value of hard work and perseverance. I look forward to the day that I can look at my work and say to myself, "not bad".  As it stand right now practicing my letterforms is very meditative for me. I am sure my family thinks it boring but I do not. I love the way the ink flows on the paper, the black against white. Even in these early stages I see a beauty in the art even if my letterforms/lines are wobbly.

My long story short...

Picking up calligraphy again after years entrenched in career, raising kids, etc., I wondered what on earth could I do with it except envelopes and way too many framed quotes on the wall!  So the "Modern" thing got my attention.  But know what?  That got me back into traditional, esp. copperplate.  Then, realizing it was going to take me the rest of my retirerment years to become anywhere near as accomplished as all you FFF's (Flourish Forum Friends), I let go of any agenda and simply settled into the pleasure of writing; dipping; mixing; ordering (JNB & PIA); reading blogs; googling calligraphy; youtubing calligraphers (some leave me breathless); looking at road signs and telling my wife to look at that lettering;  driving along and scrambling for note paper to jot down the flourished capital "B" on a Budweiser beer truck;  saving so many instagram & Pinterest sites to My Favorites that it is completely unmanageable now; continuing to add to My Favorites because I just don't want to lose the reference to someone's creativity or skill that has literally caused me to whimper in delight; hiding a new color of ink or paper from my wife because she already thinks I'm a bit "over the edge"; okay...I'll stop now.

Guess I lied  ::)...  that wasn't very short, huh?  My ultimate realization: sometimes one plays the piano all alone only to enjoy it; some run miles just because it feels exhilarating; many sing along to the car radio because it's therapeutic; my grandmother was so proud of the too many tacky afghans she crocheted just to have on hand for newborn family members.  None of this to plan a business, a website, or a wedding.  Perhaps a special birthday card envelope, gift tag, or labels for spice jars can be enough.  So...I'll probably never be featured in dasherie, but I'm having the time of my life!

Anyone need a well-used afghan? It would come with a gorgeous gift tag.

Arlen