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How to Master the Art of Calligraphy

Warming Up for Calligraphy

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Joanne Wasserman
Artist/Owner, Wasserman Design
http://www.wassermandesign.com  
301-589-3444

Joanne Wasserman has been professionally engaged in original art, custom art services, and graphic design since 1979, when she opened Wasserman Design in Washington, DC, as a studio business. Joanne was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design

Calligraphy, drawing, painting, and graphic design are bedrock art realms that Wasserman uses interchangeably to explore diverse subjects material and create original formations of content and imagery. Her intention for every work of art is the same: to communicate what is most intensely meaningful about the circumstances which shape a subject's identity.

Over the years, Wasserman has produced a singular body of works for business clients and individuals whose interests are focused on serious issues of life in today's world. Her testimonial art honors statesmen and leaders for their career achievements and dedication to public service.

Recently, two exemplary works of calligraphy and illumination were composed for Senator John Warner, of Virginia, and Former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Atlantic Council of the United States commissioned both of these works of art.

Wasserman's mural painting for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is a visual tribute to the school's educational mission across the entire field of nursing practice; the mural was named after an alumnus: The Leona Bowman Carpenter Center for Community Health Nursing.

Other works include several drawings and watercolors that were made to express the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation's advocacy on behalf of all countries in which landmines have been used against innocent civilians, causing the destruction of lives, homelands and national economies.

Wasserman's interests in current events, American history, and the development of writing systems and art traditions of peoples throughout the world are frequent catalysts for her choice of topics; moreover, through her work she cares to express the endearing aspects of living that are all around us.

Change Agents of Culture is an ongoing series of 27 works that address creativity and invention in American society from the late 19th through 20th centuries. The first seventeen of these calligraphy-paintings were exhibited at the Embassy of Japan's Information and Culture Center, in Washington, DC, where the artist gave a public talk about writing systems in the world, entitled, "Picture Writing Then & Now".

Warming Up for Calligraphy

Calligraphy is the art form of writing beautifully. The writing system of Western world history is presented through the Chancery Cursive Script, the 15th Century, formal, book hand, invented by Italian professional scribes. Viewers can increase their manual skills as well an artistic insights during the time in which they practice the writing of an 'italic alphabet' using a pen, hand-dipped in ink, on pages that are ruled, also, by hand.

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Writing

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Pen

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Nib

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Cursive

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Chancery

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Italian

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Calligraphy

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Joanne Wasserman: Hi! I am Joanne Wasserman and my studio is Wasserman Design and I am teaching you how to master the art of Calligraphy with the Chancery Cursive script and we had ruled our lines for writing the alphabets letters. But to begin writing with this pen, I wanted to show you some ways to warm up your hand and get into the groove and the flow of wet ink and a very wide writing instrument.

So, this is the C-0 Speedball pen in the generic pen holder, dip it in my ink which is not floating anywhere since I have taped it down and I use my tester which I have taped beside my table or my paper, so that I can get a sharp line, that is all. I will be using this a lot and then just to get a flow, I can pick anywhere on a blank sheet of paper. So, the middle is fine and just wick over the pen on the surface of the paper to make sure that the ink is flowing and then you can just move the pen, so that you can get it to keep on writing.

Now, I took so we can do it again and go further along and it is an exercise to just loosen up your hand to get the pen to flow as you are moving it, not to let the pen get run away from you. You can just make up all different kinds of doodles that get the pen moving, that is does not break up or that break up the line, so that your ink is not clogged or that you know how much pressure you have to push to get the ink to flow out of the pen. You could setup the whole page, you can do straight lines and run them parallel to one another, so that they have a rhythm and that gives you a sense of control that you can write different shapes and marks and have them be uniform.

Pushing the pen vertical, vertically across the paper is another effort, the pressure that you apply to your pen to get the ink to flow, you could do zigzags and then you can start making curvy shapes as if. Just do this for a while until your hand is relaxed that the ink is flowing and you feel ready to write. Now, here is an example of doodle warm up exercises that I had done earlier that fills the whole page. So, now we are ready, our hand in warmed up for ready to begin writing our alphabet letters, we will start with the small letters of the alphabet of Chancery Cursive script.

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