What Does Your Calligraphy Say About You?

I’m an introvert through and through. (You may remember that I’m an INFJ.)

I was always too shy to raise my hand in class. I’m afraid to speak out and stand out in public places. And my worst nightmare as a kid was my Mum leaving me at the supermarket cashier to grab “just one thing”.

These personality traits manifest themselves in my calligraphy & art.

(Well duh, that’s obvious. But it took me a long time to make the connection. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

For example:

• I don’t make huge sweeping and expressive movements when flourishing. My preferred flourishes are structured, neat and tidy.

• Modern calligraphy and bouncy letters are terribly hard for me. I find a lot of comfort in sticking to the guidelines and not veering too far off.

• In offhand flourishing, it’s uncomfortable for me to make large flourishes that extend boldly into white space. I’m more likely to stick close to the letters.

• When I paint, I prefer to build up colour in light layers. I hesitate to paint bold strokes of colour, and often mop them up to tone down the colour.

• I stick to complementary colours and muted tones most of the time. When I saw a reel of someone painting cobalt blue on top of a pink rose, I audibly gasped.

Not that there’s anything wrong with these of course!

But pinpointing your personality traits can help you to understand your natural tendencies (and limitations) in your calligraphy practice.

Maybe that’s why you find something extra challenging compared to others. Or especially easy!

This can be a step to finding the ever elusive personal style.

What if you can hone in on your tendencies to nurture your own style?

Or make a conscious effort to try something completely different?

Or find ways to work around (or embrace!) your limitations?

That’s why I always say that even though calligraphy has lots of rules and standards for consistency, there is room for variations and personal preferences. We may both write Copperplate, but our calligraphy work will look nothing like each other’s partly because of our personalities showing through.

Your calligraphy speaks for you, and about you.

This was first published in my email newsletter, 💌 Curious Letters, where I share tips and stories about calligraphy.

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