Calligraphy: The art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or a brush.
Since I was just a little girl I remember my mother doing calligraphy. The patience she had with each stroke of the pen was something I could never imagine myself having. The perfection with which she executed each letter was something I knew I could never achieve. This penchant for perfection is something that I have always adored and admired in my mother's art. Calligraphy, with the bends of the lines, the thickness of the stroke and the height of the letters, is an art form that can truly express the beauty of perfection. I lack the patience for such perfection and that is why I was truly grateful that my mother could help me with this project. She was visiting from Wisconsin last weekend and we worked on this project together. I felt so fortunate that she could be there to steady my hand and point out where I needed thicker lines or a different nib. A mother's expertise is an invaluable resource in a daughter's life.
I wanted to make gift tags for the gifts I will be giving out this holiday season so we bought gift tags at hobby lobby along with a snowflake stamp, a calligraphy pen complete with a set of nibs and ink. Once home I started practicing each lower case letter in Ms. Stewart's book. We quickly realized that my mother's calligraphy was different from the one I was practicing. My mom never does up strokes in her calligraphy, only down strokes. We tried to do it this way but it was apparent that Ms. Stewart's calligraphy required up strokes in order to complete many of the letters. My mother, who has taken numerous calligraphy classes told me that she had always been instructed that upstrokes were forbidden. However, we adapted and the letters turned out beautifully even with the upstrokes.
The part that was most difficult for me was switching between the thick and thin parts of the lines. Those subtle changes are really what makes calligraphy so stunning. I practiced over and over again but I think ultimately it came down to the nib I was using, I think it was letting out too much ink.
Eventually, after a lot of practicing and pointers from my mother I was ready to start making gift tags. I tried a couple with the snowflake stamp and did not like the look of them so I switched to another more regal looking stamp I had. I think calligraphy demands drama so the stamp I ended up using was perfect.
We also made a gift tag for my cousin's new baby Gus. I think it turned out so precious with the little bird stamp.
Thank you mom for contributing so much to this project and to me. Love you.
