Calligraphy Tools and Resources

Since I've been sharing more of my calligraphy work on my instagram, I've had several people ask me about supplies and how to do calligraphy, and while this is a practice best learned in real life and with lots of practice, I figured putting all my favorite resources in one place might be helpful for those getting started. 

I get my favorite pens from Charvin Arts in Paris - I'm not there often but when I am I stock up on like 10 of these pens, they're 5 Euro and they are on the counter at check out, they're not listed online and I haven't found any like them anywhere else, they do bend or break after many uses hence why I get a stash.

This one looks like a nice similar straight nib, which is what I prefer.

This pen looks like it has a good comfortable grip that might be nice to hold when learning how to write in calligraphy.

And this pack of assorted nibs looks like a good place for a beginner to start.

I haven't tried this fountain pen but I'm into the idea.  I had one leak in a bag in middle school and I guess I'm traumatized from that, but having one really nice pre-loaded pen would be convenient. I prefer to dip and write as it's more calming, soothing and mediative to slow down when I'm writing in this style.

This book, Nib + Ink, looks like a good resource for modern calligraphy. although I simply use my own personal handwriting to calligraphy in.

For ink I prefer;
Winsor & Newton Drawing Ink Bottle Gold
or Dr. Ph Martin's gold
Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Ink
Liquitex Professional Acrylic Ink
and this one is my favorite color changing ink; J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor Ink - 1670 Anniversary 

Just note that any iridescent or gold with shimmer or particles will need to be closed sealed and shaken regularly during the drawing process, which will require more patience but be totally worth the shimmer effect.

     

Moira Ink Calligraphy Workshop {no. 2 Scottsdale, AZ}

Last night I attended my second Moira Ink Calligraphy Workshop.  I have to say, while the new challenges of the materials might have been frustrating it was relaxing to focus on my creative skills without kids climbing on me.  I wanted to share a few photos and a bit of what we learned...

The best part of these workshops is that we get to keep the supplies!  A few of those nibs and a pen are from the last workshop but we got guasch and gold metallic ink along with 3 new nibs and an oblique calligraphy pen.

Jenny was a wonderful teacher as always with her calligraphy demonstrations and explanations of various techniques and fonts.

We were all excited to start creating!

Our first assignment was to create our own guasch "ink" by mixing the guasch with just the right amount of water to make it flow on our pens.

It took a few tries, but eventually I got the right consistency. Which then led me to the more challenging assignment; using the oblique pen.  The pen is so different than what I have been using, it took almost the whole night to finally "get it" and even still I need lots of practice, but that's what I love about these workshops.  There's time designated just for calligraphy and with other like minded people you can really become inspired by the penmanship of others.

Once I started to warm up, I decided to start on a few quotes suggested by friends, this one by my friend Brad, his favorite band, Lucero; "There's no finer mess to be found." Pretty much summed up my night's efforts.

If you're in the Phoenix or Portland areas, keep an eye out, Moira Ink's workshops are definitely worth attending.  You can also follow along with the Design House of Moira Blog if you need more calligraphy inspiration or find Jenny on instagram.

Hello March! {Freebie Friday}

Drew up a little March poster for you all.  You can download this and use it for a background on your phone, desktop, or as an image on a digital calendar.  I was practicing variations of "M"s and think I like the "Mars" one best.  What do you think? Happy Downloading!

You can simply right click the .jpg above for that format OR download the .pdf here from my google drive. Feel free to use for ANY purpose, but please, link back or cite if used for any professional (PAID) design work. And don't forget to follow along one of the many ways to the right, once the audience is a bit larger I'll be hosting some pretty great giveaways!

p.s. March is English, Marzo is Spanish, Mars is French, Marcius is Hungarian, and März is German, look at that you also got a free language lesson.  Happy Friday.

Calligraphy Workshop with Moira Ink

Last night I attended my first Calligraphy workshop with Moira Ink!  The event was hosted in downtown Phoenix's boutique Cleo & Clementine.  I've never taken a penmanship or calligraphy class but I love the lettering and as an art educator I firmly believe in continuing education, so I signed up for this workshop!

I've been looking forward to this for weeks now!  I'm so excited to address postcards from Europe with my newly acquired skills!

Jenny from Moira Ink was the sweetest, and totally made calligraphy look easy {even though it wasn't}, she's extremely talented and I love following along on her instagram, such pretty daily inspiration. 

My workshop mate {and boutique manager}, Anna was instantly amazing, look at her "Bacon"

Everyone was doodling away...

And another talented classmate.

And here's mine...

I didn't even realize I spent 2 hours on letters before starting on words, it's addicting.  And probably not the best drug for a perfectionist, once I got it right I'd keep trying to get it again, which didn't help.

At least I got my and Hubs. name down.

Everyone had a great time, and I was so impressed with everyone's work!

Jenny demonstrated white ink on envelopes and while it looked amazing, I couldn't handle the challenges of the white ink, that stuff is for the pros!

I tried with the girls' names but I defiantly need to practice, hello new nap time activity!

And finally my favorite envelope from the night, not sure who I'm going to send this lovely package to from Paris, or if I can make a few more, but keep an eye out for your lovely Schutsky Greetings from Europe!  

**If you want a postcard please send me your address hello@JenniferLindSchusky.com before December 10.**

For more calligraphy you can find Moira Ink's Blog. Instagram. Twitter. & Pinterest here.  I know more workshops are in the works, which I'll post about as soon as it's announced, but you can also keep up to date by following along with cleo & clementine for more Phoenix events.

Happy Handwriting!

xoxo

Jenn

You can also follow along on my Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Tumblr!