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January 20, 2006
mhcc calligraphy: class 2
by gl. at 11:46 pm
i had a little epiphany about italic today: many of the letters are just one stroke! in most calligraphic hands, each letter is composed of multiple strokes: for instance, the "a" is three strokes, the "g" is four strokes. but in italic, the "a" can be done in one stoke and the "g" in two! doing them with reduced strokes not only makes them vastly quicker to write, but it immediately affects the counters & spacing and automagically produces sweeter, thinner upstrokes. it's completely counterintuitive, though, because ordinarily you're taught only to pull a stoke, never to push it (except maybe in copperplate).
i've been using zig markers because they're a lot easier to travel with, but i really miss the crisp flow of ink, so i think i'm going to try a fountain pen next week.
i was feeling restless today and left a bit early because i've already created the magic book twice and still have leftover bubble paper from last time. turning right instead of left puts you on the historic columbia highway, which i took all the way past horsetail falls. thanks to the all the recent rain, that whole network of waterfalls is particularly stunning and new ones are tumbling from the rocks in abundance.
posted by gl. | January 20, 2006 11:46 PM | categories: calligraphy, classes & workshops