March to Jessica and Jackie - Skill level 2

 

Jessica's is one of the earlier ones and Jackie's is one of the last ones.

It would have been fun to do Schwessinger in the same style as Jessica, using a finer pen and not coloring it in. I wish the Jessica was larger.

I'm happy with Jacqueline's. I think this is the first time I went with *Jackie* and it probably won't be the last. It's a nice set of letters.

***

We have established that the exchange started because I had a blog for my students and then we decided to exchange envelopes. As I said, since the 90s, I have been running with calligraphers and participating in all kinds of exchanges. Most of the time, they were people who were seriously working on their skills.

I had learned very early on when I was teaching that lots of people sign up, with the idea that calligraphy is fun and pretty. They had no idea how tedious it can be. So, right out of the chute, I started to introduce some very alternative styles of lettering to show people who were not cut out to be traditional calligraphers that you can have a lot of fun with the alphabet and Crayola markers. You do not have to stick to the traditional styles. You can have fun and you can wow people with the DESIGN aspect.

There was one person in the first exchange who had done a ton of mail art. She was very good a collage and rubber stamping. There was nothing about traditional calligraphy that drew her in. She'd been having fun exchanging mail with people who were not calligraphers. So, from the very beginning, my exchange was open to non-calligraphers.

Then, people started posting envelopes on Pinterest and that's how non-calligraphers found the exchange. Finnbadger was one of the very first people who found me and sent me an envelope out of the blue. I think it was even before I had started the group exchange - so we just started exchanging on our own.  His whole *thing* was making handmade envelopes - but he had a very good eye for design and the choice of stamp was an integral part of the mailing. He worked the name and address into the composition - but it was always his everyday penmanship.

His penmanship was just penmanship. Not stylish - but not awful.

One day - he tried an actual lettering style - and I still remember how excited I was when I pulled that envelope out of my mailbox. A non-calligrapher had been inspired to try his had at lettering. I could hear a chorus of angels in the background. It was like that time Alexander Graham Bell made his first phone call.

So, part of me keeps thinking I can inspire non-artists to bust out of their penmanship and try lettering. I don't think anyone needs to go all the way to traditional calligraphy. But, I do think it's fun to mess around with the 26 shapes that we all learned when we were five years old.

While I think it's *fun* - it's fine with me if people shun the whole concept. Seriously - the only thing that is required is some sort of embellishment. So far - nobody has sent an envelope with a stamp and just a name and address in very ordinary handwriting.

More tomorrow.