Fun With Handwriting Practice

[pmhudepo]

This morning I decided to practise my handwriting and started to copy a paragraph of text I'd just read. Nothing to difficult, so I could concentrate on letter forms rather than on the content of the message. I noticed however, that I was putting pressure on my hand, causing me to write with my fingers. This makes writing longer words without lifting the pen more difficult, and it promotes a death grip.

 

It occurred to me that I am more likely to 'finger write' when I'm writing actual words and not some much when I'm just drawing some shapes without paying attention to what it's supposed to be. I decided to 'draw' a few words on paper, consciously avoiding any death grip or finger writing. I think Ghost Plane wrote somewhere that if she could lean over and snatch the pen from your fingers, you had the ideal, relaxed grip on your pen. Well, this morning would have been a splendid opportunity for her to snatch a beautiful 146 OB

 

Anyway, here's the page I created:

 

 

When I reached the "just before Breakfast" part, I noticed I started to grip the pen again. Decided to have breakfast, go to work. Will have another session tomorrow morning.

 

Just thought I'd share this with you. Perhaps you can add replies with some of your own exercises.

 

PIP: Montblanc 146 from 1955 with a 14C OB nib (seems a bit dry at times), Private Reserve American Blue, old office stationery (we moved to a new building: loads of left-over paper with the old address)

[Moagy]

Can't give you an example of my own exercises at the moment (nothing to hand), but I have noticed when I'm practising my penmanship, as opposed to just scrawling along as usual, the death grip creeps in - which is a bit counter productive! I think it's because I'm concentrating so hard on getting the letters right, it sort of akin to gripping the steering wheel when I was learning to drive. What a pain - figuratively and eventually literally!

[pmhudepo]

This morning's session ended slightly less successful, but all the more colourful

 

[pmhudepo]

Soldiering on... first part of yesterday's session:

 

[pmhudepo]

This morning I read a post by Leo Babauta on his website Zen Habits. He writes about simplicity, enjoying the moment, minimalism. His posts are typically short, if not very short. I find it a nice way to start the day. After reading his "Do One Thing Well" post I thought I might use that text for my daily writing practice, so I simply started copying it.

 

Here is page one:

 

 

I continu to use the same pen, ink and paper for a little while, to reduce the number of variables while I work on my handwriting: a Montblanc 146 OB (14C nib from 1955) with Private Reserve American Blue.

 

 

Another view of the nib:

 

Edited July 17, 2011 by pmhudepo

[pmhudepo]

Yesterday was a difficult session. I couldn't stop putting pressure on my hand and I suppose I was either trying too hard, or was already thinking about work-related issues. The music was nice, though. I finally gave up and just doodled a bit to clear my head.

 

Edited July 19, 2011 by pmhudepo

[spiv]

1) I'm not sure Shostakovich is conducive to a Zen state

2) that ink shades magificently from your MB nib - the nib close up shot shows lettering that looks natural and relaxed.

3) i will cease throwing out my exercises after i am done to post one here as per your request... I do like your doodle to relax the hand theory and have started my sessions with that in mind... thanks

[pmhudepo]

@spiv: Thank you for your comments. I only played the Mendelssohn part of that CD -- Shostakovich certainly would not have worked for me. Today I played a Mozart piano concerto.

 

Here are two pictures from the session I had this morning.

 

 

 

Sofar, I've practised my penmanship every day, starting on July 14th. I think I will work on a nice, consistent slant and will try to write longer texts during the next few days. The only drawback I can see right now, is that I haven't written in my journal for a week or so.

[georges zaslavsky]

the vintage mbs have delightful nibs and you can indeed quickly improve your handwriting if you practise more and more. A good pen and a good paper help a lot.

[pmhudepo]

Definitely becoming a fan of older MB nibs. Not sure if a 1955 nib may be called "vintage". Anyway, the nib is 19 years older than I am, which I find adds a bit of charm to it.

 

I have continued my writing throughout the weekend. Saturday was much the same as the days before; Sunday was a personal letter. I shan't be posting pictures of either. While I wrote that letter, some of the old habits crept in, but there is some improvement I believe. I am certainly much happier with my current writing than with my 2008 - 2010 writing.

Edited July 26, 2011 by pmhudepo

[GhostShip Blue]

Is there room in this thread for a daily (or so) upload from a joiner? Thanks for your advice in the other thread, by the way.

[PAKMAN]

Now you need to try catching up your journal and see how your journal hand looks! I hate to call 50's stuff vintage (born in '56) but it probably should be considered vintage.

[pmhudepo]

Is there room in this thread for a daily (or so) upload from a joiner? Thanks for your advice in the other thread, by the way.

 

Yes, please upload your samples! The fact that I have enjoyed so many writing samples and photos of pens from others was one of the reasons for me to start this thread.

[pmhudepo]

Now you need to try catching up your journal and see how your journal hand looks! I hate to call 50's stuff vintage (born in '56) but it probably should be considered vintage.

 

 

Will try to catch up! My current journal is a Moleskine and it doesn't like broader nibs very much. It seems much more suited to finer nibs (Sailor 1911 F, Waterman Expert II F) and the "scribbly" writing I am trying to leave behind. But... there's a Rhodia waiting and a Quo Vadis Habana in the mail, so this should be interesting.

[Koshy]

I hate to call 50's stuff vintage (born in '56) but it probably should be considered vintage.

Totally agree with you. For me, born in 49, it is difficult to accept even Forties as vintage!

[GhostShip Blue]

Here's my first contribution to the thread. Photo is poorly focused, and the shadow comes free - working with an LG Envy at work. Not exactly the premier photography setup, I know.

 

I did adjust the histogram with Aviary, but did not try to sharpen it. Apologies for image quality.

 

[pmhudepo]

Here's my first contribution to the thread. Photo is poorly focused, and the shadow comes free - working with an LG Envy at work. Not exactly the premier photography setup, I know.

 

I did adjust the histogram with Aviary, but did not try to sharpen it. Apologies for image quality.

 

Great! Good to have more samples in this thread.

 

It felt like I was returning the square one this morning. Not entirely surprising since I hadn't spent much time practising during the past few days. So, here it is:

 

Edited July 29, 2011 by pmhudepo

[pmhudepo]

Today was a good session. A few days ago, I noticed that my "alright" looked like "abright", i.e., the l-r combination resembled a b-r combination of letters. So I started practising combinations of letters that I find difficult. There are many more, like "cl" versus "d", as well as "x" and "oe". I find the letter "e" difficult if the preceding letter ends at the top of the x-height (e.g., "b", "o", "w") and considerably easier when the preceding letter ends at the bottom of the line (e.g., "a", "m").

 

Well, can't learn them all in one morning, so I'll just keep soldiering on.

 

[GhostShip Blue]

The idea of working on the distinction between "cl" and "d" and working on a clear "br" all made sense to me, so here's a page of mostly that. Far from exciting or fun, but I am pleased that while uploads are spotty, practice has been consistent. Modern Parker Sonnet Fine nib, 1:1 Noodler's Bad Blue Heron and Bad Black Moccasin. Scanned rather than photographed (and it's a bit further off kilter because I didn't true it up after I scanned it)

[GhostShip Blue]

Today's effort. Still practicing the "br" and "cl/d" distinctions.