100 Things Number 5: Creativity: Calligraphy

[dreamflower]

Creativity: Calligraphy

Here is something I believe: of all the creations of humankind, there is one which eclipses them all--

Whence did the wondrous mystic art arise
Of painting speech and speaking to the eyes?
That we, by tracing magic lines
Are taught how to embody and to color thoughts.
William Massey

I'm a writer. As a writer, I "paint speech" and "speak to the eyes". The means with which I write is something most people take for granted. And yet, whether it is done with brush on papyrus, chisel on stone, pen on parchment, pencil on paper, or keyboard to monitor, all words are recorded One. Letter. At. A. Time.

More powerful than all poetry, more pervasive than all science, more profound than all philosophy are the letters of the alphabet, twenty-six pillars of strength upon which our culture rests.
Anonymous

And it is the letters of the Western alphabet for those of us here, and in other lands there are other alphabets and forms of writing-- but all of them have a single purpose: to trap thoughts and words so that they may be kept and shared. All of history and civilization depends on being able to communicate, not only with the person next to you now, but with persons far away in time or distance. And that communication was made possible by those little marks, those little symbols we so take for granted.

Writing is a system of human communication that works through the use of visible signs. The beginnings of writing are inseparably connected to those of art, and one must never treat them as different entities. All letters are
signs, and all signs began as pictures. The alphabet is the source.
Friedrich Neugebauer

The Greeks had a word for it “Kalligraphia,” meaning “beautiful writing.” The Chinese used two words for it “Shu fa” meaning “the system of method of writing.” Calligraphy in its abstract nature, represents perception. Its fast
execution depends on intuitive awareness.
Heather Child

Most writers don't think much about the individual letters they are using, whether or not they are "attractive" in and of themselves. For the most part a writer using a keyboard only considers how legible a font is, or how apt to their purpose it might be.

I'm a little different. I'm a calligrapher.

I know just when I became destined to become a calligrapher one day, though I did not even know the word then or what it meant. But I had learned that I could make letters beautiful and it was fun.

I was in the third grade, and in 1960, children were still taught "penmanship" or "cursive writing" and third grade was the grade it was taught. I gazed in awe at the beautiful loops and swirls the teacher made on the blackboard, and tried to see the forms of the letters I knew within the strangely different letters we were now learning. I started playing with letters and never looked back.

Throughout grade school and high school I experimented with my handwriting and my printing as well. I crossed my "t"s with long swirly slashes, and dotted my "i"s with little circles. I tried making my "e"s like backwards 3s. I went through many different styles of handwriting, from large and loopy to small and dainty. I printed things in all capital letters, and tried printing lower case letters to match fonts I saw in books. Of course, after reading The Lord of the Rings I set myself to learning those marvelous alphabets JRRT had invented. I worked hard on creating the perfect signature, not only with my cursive writing, but with printed letters as well.

By the time I got out of high school, I knew what calligraphy meant. This was still before calligraphy pens were commonly available though, so I had to make do with a normal cartridge pen. It was frustrating, because I knew there were better ways to make the letters.

My first year of college, I found the one and only calligraphy book in the library there. Fortunately it was a classic: Edward Johnston's Writing & Illuminating & Lettering first published in 1917. Edward Johnston was the father of modern calligraphy; part of William Morris' "Arts and Crafts" movement in the late nineteenth century, he rediscovered the techniques of the ancient scribes of the Middle Ages. I had finally found a set of calligraphy pens-- the old Schaeffer cartridge broad-nibbed pens-- and began my first experiments in "real" calligraphy.

However, it was not until 1989 when I began to play in the Society for Creative Anachronism that I got serious about calligraphy. I found books on the subject and began to spend hours practicing, so that I could design and make awards scrolls for my group; pretty soon I became the main scribe for it. I taught myself several different historical hands, as well as how to do illumination and Celtic knotwork and decorative capitals. I practiced enough that I was able to teach others, and when I began work at Michael's Arts & Crafts in 1999, I was the Calligraphy teacher there for the next six years.

I often told my students that calligraphy is easy to learn, but very difficult to be good at. In other words, it is easy enough to learn how to do the basic techniques, but it takes practice to achieve consistency and beauty. After years of practice, I still feel that I have much room for improvement. But as long as I have a pen and a bit of paper with me, I will never be bored.

What joy there is in hearing yourself think,
and to make that thinking into ink.
(John Olsen, Australian Artist)

Here are some links to a few of my calligraphy pieces:

Bilbo's Last Song
Hobbit Wedding Contracts (links to 5 pieces)
Lament for Boromir
Samwise at Cirith Ungol
Sting Inscription