Keeping in touch with students from my calligraphy workshops is the loveliest thing. Natalie has been to two of my calligraphy classes in Manchester, and seeing her beautiful lettering style develop is just brilliant for me. I wanted to share her progress to show you just how much you can achieve with modern lettering, in a short time!
Natalie’s first workshop was in 2016. She’d never written modern calligraphy before, and learned quickly in those first couple of hours. I remember her pen strokes were a little hesitant at first, but she soon learned how to put pressure on the nib and was creating really strong strokes and characterful letters in that first class. Her enthusiasm was infectious 🙂 and the class was one of my favourites.
Having a busy life does tend to get in the way of our hobbies, and Natalie is a busy mum, so finding time to write wasn’t easy! Understandably, after that first workshop she tucked her pen away safely in a drawer and promised herself to come back to it some day…
… back in May of this year I had a message from Natalie, happy she’d been able to book a space at another workshop! It was lovely to catch up, and Natalie surprised herself at how quickly she took to lettering again.
I’ve learned from Natalie that modern calligraphy adheres to the old ‘it’s like riding a bicycle’ cliché – once you’ve had a go, the movements stick in your mind and picking up a dip pen feels natural. Natalie’s lettering in that class was gorgeous, and the flowing words and quotes she wrote at the end were fabulous!
I wanted to show you the work of a real calligraphy student, someone who’s spent 2 hours total learning in classes, and a few hours practising at home. Natalie – I love how you write and I hope calligraphy brings you so much pleasure over the years to come! (I’m still working out a way to run that ‘extra’ session for projects, problem solving and calligraphy chat… it WILL happen and I really hope I’ll see you there!)
Join me for calligraphy summer school – a 90 minute informal class at Ziferblat Edge St – on August 18th at 2pm (tickets £35)
Or come to Manchester Craft & Design Centre for a full (2+ hour) workshop with personalised calligraphy kits for every student to take home – on September 7th at 1pm (tickets £65)