Penmanship with Lyric (No.3)

 Today's regular post is right below.

All of this conversation relates to the image that Lyric sent a couple days ago.  Skip to the daily post unless you are working on your penmanship.

At some point, all the penmanship lessons will switch to a different blog.

For now....

1)

I had formulated a response; hit some button and lost it all   

J: I compose my posts in a word doc - and then copy/paste into the forum - sometimes the posts just disappear - other times there are interruptions.

2)

Whole Arm Movement (WAM)

I have bookmarked a gentleman's site that is all about it.  Can not recall it this sec I thought it was www.wholearmmovement.com; but do not think that is correct.  After detailed explanation of what it is he goes on to discuss IF a person even needs to learn it.  He mentions knowing folk who have nice penmanship that do NOT employ WAM.  He admits it is difficult to learn.  And his bottom line is that it is important, LOL!

Writing with fingers moving = finger movement/writing; writing where my wrist moves = wrist writing; use of my forearm/shoulder = whole arm movement is my understanding.  WAM (not engaging the wrist) is excellent for larger letters, flourishing, majuscules.

My take on it:  I have a sneaky suspicion that I MUST learn, it; WILL learn it; but I don't wanna.      That is me being lazy.

@atvandenbosch stated my grip was okay.  Perhaps I should do a video and you can see.  Yeah, sounds like a plan.  Are you on Instagram, Jean?

J: it sounds like you understand how they work. Don’t worry about what different people recommend. You are open to trying things, so, it will be up to you to see what works for you. Obviously, when people try something new, and they like the results, they quickly forget whether or not they thought it was a good idea or a bad idea before they tried it.

It would be challenging to switch to whole arm all the time - but, it is a very natural movement for larger flourishing. The death grip and 100% finger-wiggling is not conducive to rhythm and gracefulness - so we try to nudge people away from those two things -bit-by-bit.

3)

@atvandenbosch stated my grip was okay.  Perhaps I should do a video and you can see.  Yeah, sounds like a plan.  Are you on Instagram, Jean?

J: Yes, I have an IG account, but have not actually done anything with it. I keep meaning to figure it out so I can have some real-time visits with pen pals. I don’t even know the name of those real-time exchanges — but have watched them and think they would be an ideal way to explain some of this stuff.

4)

Okaaay copperplate and business penmanship:

Uwww I wish my first reply had not been deleted.  Trying to condence what I initially said . . .  I began a calligraphy course in Jan., 2020 and very quickly found out 1)  I am not a fan of "modern" calligraphy my desire is engrosser's and 2)  I HAD to learn business cursive/business penmanship - whatever it is called.  The course was six months and I did not want to be a quitter so I persevered on with the thought that I would start american cursive/business penmanship in Jan., 2021; thereby giving myself one year with calligraphy.

Truth be told, had I known about business penmanship in January I would have begun with THAT.   But, here we are . . . my bottom line is that my penmanship is 1000% more important than calligraphy as I write letters every day . . . literally.  So, where do I go from here?  As in, do I hide away my oblique holders for years to come while learning business penmanship?  If I MUST calligraphy can go by-by (but boy is it lovely).

J: Don’t worry about starting, stopping, shifting gears, etc. There is a lot of overlap between styles and I disagree with people who suggest that there is one *best* way to learn. Yes, it helps to focus on one thing at a time - but some people thrive on a bit of variety. Trust yourself to gravitate towards the things that draw you in and feel good. Penmanship teachers earned their reputation of being rigid and inflexible and I'm happy to hang out at the other end of the spectrum - and let my student's work speak for itself.

4)

I am hoping you are seeing that I am old school . . . I have plans on paying attention to what you, my tip lady, says.  You are where I am trying to be so it would be counterproductive to butt up against your obvious knowledge (not to mention I am appreciative for the time your are sharing).  So, if my grip needs to change . . . done.  If I need to use larger gridlines . . . done.

J: Yup — old school appeals to you, so we can go that direction. You seem motivated - so I feel confident that we can achieve some lovely penmanship - and that you will enjoy the process. Do part of your practice large - and part of it smaller -- and see for yourself which looks best. We won't worry too much about the grip for now -- unless you have a death grip. I still have to work to loosen my grip at times. So, it's an ongoing process, to learn new habits and maintain them.

Looking forward to seeing your next page of work.