Calligraphy has been in the news lately thanks to Stephanie von Werthern-Gill writing 11,500 words of exquisite copperplate for the King’s coronation roll. I feel a faint coming on at the very thought of being asked to do such a thing! She must have nerves of steel. She wrote all those words without making one single spelling mistake!! I am in awe.
By comparison, here is a recent practice sheet of mine where I was recalling, from my poor memory, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116….
What the hell are impendiments????? And what is a Zeba??? And why, in the middle of trying to recall a Shakespearian sonnet did I suddenly feel the need to write Zebra – for that is what I believe I wanted to write – ?????
Let me not be too harsh on myself as this was most definitely a practice sheet where I was actually testing the nib/ink/paper combination – hence why I switched to black ink towards the bottom of the paper. [Hunt22B, Gouache, then Higgins Eternal, on Crown paper, for those who want to know]
Normal practice on a Rhodia pad looks like this:-
Normal practice, for me, is just about rhythm and flow, and making sure I can still hold a pen. Please note, my numerals are always a bit hit and miss – mostly miss.
Anyhow, I have now set myself a challenge to see how many words of calligraphy I can write without making an appalling spellinges mistake – my current record is 67.
There may well be another calligraphy post on Friday. Who knows. Maybe there will be more about impendiments and Zebas. Excituing!!
Wonky Words 
Oh lord! I couldn’t even come close these days, especilly (sic) in Italic. I even find it difficult to read, despite having reading specs.
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Dinah – Yes, that’s why I try to keep my hand in as I’m very concerned that one day I won’t be able to write calligraphy at all. 11,500 words though! My goodness, what an achievement.
Sx
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Zeba is Polish for tooth. To my best knowledge there is no tooth in Shakesbeere’s Sonetten.
Impedimenta are obstacles, and in military sense, the Tross.
I doubt that I can write ten words without a spelling error, be it German or English. But nowadays I happily ignore these rules, mostly, in private, German correspondence.
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If it weren’t for spellcheck I’d be all over the show, and my grammar is a little dubious, especially in German!
I know Europeans who can speak English better than I can. I have deleted my next sentence.
Sx
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Perhaps a zebra galloped passed your window as you practiced your calligraphy causing an “impendiment” to your flow? (I’m sure climate change must be the root cause of this, causing zebras to migrate north to Devon where it is just as hot as Africa, if rather more moist)
P.S. I laughed when I read this bit in the linked to BBC article: “The King, who has an occupational interest in signing things”
P.P.S. I am curious about the effete(??) magpie. I have a visiting jackdaw with rather a mincing gate – perhaps we could introduce them?
P.P.P.S. Congratulations on making it to Day 2 of 10!!!
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Mr Devine – Haha!! Yes, the BBC has a dry sense of humour!!
Sorry, not effete – I think this was my attempt at writing ‘Elephant’! I made an l instead of a p – that’s how bad I am. And then I tried to write magic, but ended up with a Magpie?!! The p turned up too late!
I am writing post 3. See my reply to your comment on the previous post. Perhaps I should delete and slap up a Youtube?!
Sx
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xoxox
iamafraidofwritinganythingelsebecauseofpossiblemistakes.
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Savvy – There’s no way you can make as many mistakes as I do!!
Sxx
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I’ve heard of Reba McEntire an American country singer, maybe you was subconsciously thinking about her. I picked up a calligraphy gift set in The Works a few weeks ago and thought of you I put it back down and bought myself a 1000 piece jigsaw of The Merry Wives of Windsor. I dread to think of the missives I’ll be scratching out, using green ink if I’d bought it. Do you write your shopping list in calligraphy for Waitrose/M&S visits and leave it on the trolleys clip board or facing upwards in the bottom of a hand basket for future customers to admire? Believe me, I would if I had your skill, but not in Asda or Morrisons.
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Mitzi – Ha! It’s my secret project! How did you know? I am indeed the calligraphic Banksy. Not only do I leave my shopping lists in trolleys, but I also write short notes to leave in pockets of clothes I try on but don’t buy. Sadly I am yet to achieve the notoriety and fame of Banksy himself.
I have another project on the go, relating to Scottish Widows – more on that in a future post.
Oh, you should have a go with a calligraphy pen, I’m always here if you need advice!
Sx
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I am in awe of proper calligraphy. Having splashed out on having an old writing-box restored, I made myself do some handwriting practice every day for a while, but it descends into scribble all too soon. Perfectly spelt (of course), but it has to be deciphered first. I just don’t have the patience to write slowly enough to do it neatly, however swish the paraphernalia (I can’t help clinging to the idea that this fancy notebook or that posh fountain pen will magically make the penmanship clear and what it says worth the reading – some hopes)
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Mr Auty – My normal handwriting is nothing like the fancy stuff. I write two sides of A5 every morning in my notebook before I do anything else, and I do it in my normal hand, even when I used a very fancy leather journal! Writing is a very good exercise for hand-eye coordination. I think we need as much hand-eye coordination as we can get as we get older, so I will encourage you to keep going even if you think it looks like scribble.
My current post has a photo of a collage I made – it features some of my dad’s scribbled writing, but it still looks great, I think. Scribbles are fine, better than fine.
Sx
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I haven’t the patience these days to write more than a shopping list on paper… My handwriting is so awful, even I have struggled to read it. Many moons ago, I took to writing in block capitals as it was quicker, and that was that. I had a typewriter for school and college work, and since the arrival of the “word processor” [remember when they were called that?] I have become even more lazy.
Hey ho – your talents are very impressive, AND you invented the Shakespearean Zebra! Jx
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Jon – You had a typewriter for school???!!! All pen and paper here. I generally have a pen and paper handy.
Yep, I remember the word processor – they took some getting used to – I always had an issue with formatting and tabs. Thankfully it’s more intuitive these days.
Sx
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