Calligraphy is my form of meditation.

I have a very active mind and have always struggled with mind-calming techniques – until I began studying the art of Calligraphy.

When I discovered my passion for Calligraphy, I was on a general search to find those things that bring me great pleasure. I approached my search in a very methodical way, where I tried many things and then recorded the amount of pleasure that I obtained from the activity, and how quickly the hours went by.

Calligraphy requires the artist to breathe in on the up-strokes, and breathe out on the down-strokes. I’m sure that others can do it faster, but I become so entranced with the flow of the ink off the nib, that before I know it, the hours have flown by and I find myself surrounded by pages and pages of beautifully flourished script.

I know there are a lot of different script styles. My favorite is the more traditional Copperplate script with flourishes. It is not a forgiving style of Calligraphy, as modern scripts allow for a looser hand. However, when it is done well, it looks spectacular!

Every week, I write a card in my calligraphy to my Dad. Of course, I put silly Dad-jokes on the back of the card, and usually address it to someone silly, like Mr Jerry Atric, or Mr Hugh Jass. 🙂 It gives him a smile, and it gives me a smile to have someone appreciating my learning process.

It is amazing how much work is involved in using different inks, and different nibs. For example, I am really struggling with learning how to get white ink to flow smoothly off the nib. It either stays on the nib, or comes off in one big blob.

My objective in being a student of Calligraphy is to work in completing Wedding Invitations and Envelopes. I live on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia, and it is a beautiful wedding destination. It would please me greatly to be able to be involved in such a special day, in this way.