On Loving Words – and Now Letters

I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. “I love to play with words.” Whether it is as a writer or an editor, I love to move them around, delete them and bring them back again. It’s like a puzzle. When a sentence is wrong, the words need to be arranged to make them a perfect fit. Once the entire puzzle is complete, only then do you see the true beauty of this particular collection of words.

It only goes to follow that a person who builds worlds with words, would also love the letters that build them. Getting to know letters intimately only deepens our relationship with words. And so begins my journey into hand lettering and a bit of calligraphy.

I am truly enjoying getting to know the alphabet, one character at a time. Only after you trace and draw a Bodoni A and B at least fifty times, do you really see the construction of each letter. When I can draw the letter without tracing or peeking, then I feel we’ve been introduced. Do I have the stamina and the commitment to make my way through several alphabets? Or even one? We will see.

The beginning of the journey –

This is my first page of what will someday be calligraphy.

This is my first page of what will someday be calligraphy.

My new ink dip pen with a pointed nib. (I think I got all those words correct!)

My new ink dip pen with a pointed nib. (I think I got all those words correct!)

One of many pages of A's

One of many pages of A’s

Some of my AB and soon to come C's

Some of my AB and soon to come C’s

Capturing the curlique. After writing the word Joy a serendipitous moment occurred. This little tail was perfect.

Capturing the curlique. After practicing the word Joy,  a serendipitous moment occurred. This little tail was perfect. But how did I do it?

I did pages of Joy before it finally hit me. Same principle I'd been learning all along - pressure on the downstroke, lift on the up.

I did pages of Joy before it finally hit me. Same principle I’d been learning all along – pressure on the downstroke, lift on the up.

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2 Responses to On Loving Words – and Now Letters

  1. Pearl says:

    Beautiful! Love your calligraphy and appreciate the writing tips. Really enjoy your blog!

  2. Karen Saari says:

    Thanks Pearl! I have so much fun with my pen and ink. One day I wrote a letter (snail mail) to my mom using the pen and ink method. It took me about an hour to write a simple letter. No wonder we email! 🙂

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