Materials and Tools Used

As mentioned above, the length of the workshop meant that brush pens were more suitable for the task than pointed pen calligraphy. We used Fudenosuke Hard Tip Brush Pens, which are flexible but easier to control than many brush pens. The calligraphy worksheets were printed on Hewlett Packard Color Choice 120gsm paper. I can only describe this paper that makes you say ‘ooooooo, that’s posh paper’ when you feel it! This is quite important as many papers make both brush pens and ink bleed through. 

Techniques Taught during the calligraphy workshop

When I teach calligraphy, I always start with basic strokes, and this calligraphy class was no different. If we begin with calligraphy letters straight away, it is impossible to know how to form the whole shape. Unlike handwriting, in calligraphy we lift the pen off the paper after each individual shape, which allows us to make space for the thick down strokes and give calligraphy the elegant look we know and love. For each letter on the worksheets I showed which basic shapes to put together. Our brain has very strong neural pathways where handwriting is concerned, which can be quite obstructive when learning calligraphy. This is something I mentioned during the calligraphy class and invited everyone to see calligraphy as drawing shapes that happen to look like letters, to help train their brain away from handwriting habits. This usually works!

We ended the calligraphy class by looking at turning the individual calligraphy letters into words. We make calligraphy look like joined up handwriting while still creating each stroke separately and lifting the pen off the paper each time. Everyone at the workshop practised the technique of hiding the end of each letter with the thick downstroke of the next letter to make it all look joined up.