Disclaimer: I was not paid to create this post but I’m explicitly and aggressively showing my support for ArtsyFancy so go figure.
Learning something new strengthens the bonds of friendship is what I like to believe in. As I have a couple of introverted friends I meet only a number of times in a year, I know that I have to make every moment count. Two months ago, I asked a dear friend, Tina of ArtsyFancy, to conduct a calligraphy session as part of an annual meetup, a birthday present, and a Christmas celebration.
Why a calligraphy session? In studying Japanese and in learning Kanji, I began to understand how one small stroke can alter the meaning of a character. I was thinking I could apply the basics of calligraphy in making my Kanji appear better –to increase my self satisfaction and to further identify myself to the anime Barakamon. Also, my friends are writers and educators and thinking how they’d use a pen or a marker in a different way brought a smile on my face the first time I thought about this.
Listed below are my takeaways from the said session:
Take all the time you need.
When speed is a big part of your professional and personal life, it is nice to be reminded to just chill and enjoy the process.
“You’re prone to committing mistakes when you rush things up,” Tina told us– until now I’m not sure if she was just giving me a personal talk but it worked as far as calligraphy went.
Imperfection is also part of the appeal.
Tina didn’t expect nor pressure us from getting things perfectly. In fact, she even shared that more experienced calligraphers deviate from so-called standards of calligraphy. One episode of Barakamon immediately flashed into my mind.
She also mentioned that we couldn’t expect to have the same results after the end of the session since we had different handwriting so we didn’t really need to force ourselves. It made sense to me when I started ‘drawing’ my letters slanted slightly to the right–it was sooo much easier.
Patience is key.
That was daunting for a person who was not gifted with a good amount of patience. Tina explained that as in any art, practicing consistently was the only way to improve one’s hand in calligraphy–not how expensive the tools were (although it is a factor)– and that could only be done with immense patience. Easily frustrated individuals wouldn’t be able to go far if they threw their pens the first time they made mistakes (I did not throw my pen. *smirk*)
Post Script:
Happy birthday, Tindugan.
The Viter-Ybasco University 