(4th in a series)

Calligraphy…an exercise in patience. Yes, I’m afraid it is so. In our age of instant messaging and microwaved meals, to learn calligraphy requires an exercise in patience. There are tools, there are foundations, there are building blocks. Let’s begin.

TOOLS: drawing board, T-square, masking tape, paper, pencil, eraser, calligraphic pen nibs, ink, nib holder (pen), paper towels or soft cotton rag, a 30-60-90 triangle, and a ruler.

This post is about gathering materials and setting up. Your drawing board is your work space. You will anchor your drawing paper onto your board with masking tape, using your T-square to get it on straight.

Your pencil, eraser, triangle and T-square, along with your ruler, will be used to pre-line your paper before you ink your letters.

Of course, your nibs and pen and ink will be used to form your letters. And your trusty soft rag will be used to deal with…blots.

One important note on pens nibs. They come in differing widths which are denoted by numbers. They also come with an angle to the part of the nib that contacts the paper. Right-handed nibs are cut with a slant to the right. The left-handed nibs are cut with a slant to the left. This is very important! Buy your nibs to match the hand you will be writing with. I am left-handed. But because I didn’t know this information at the time, I learned calligraphic lettering using a right-handed nib. It was possible for me, but very uncomfortable; I had to contort my hand to manage my lettering. It was a relief and a wonder when I found a set of left-handed nibs! And, yes, it did require me to “relearn” my lettering technique using a new angle of nib-to-paper.