The Letter "b" and I needed another round

I made the right decision to give myself another week to learn the letters (a-g). Today, with the letter "b" it made a huge difference. As you see in the practice sheets from last week to this week is a huge difference. I feel more confident about moving on to learning the letters (h-n). Now, was every letter "b" perfect, no but about 80% of them were, and that was just with today's practice.  I will keep practicing each letter for the rest of the week. On Sunday, I will write the letters (a-g) together and post for all of you to see.  

When I made it to the last row of my practice sheet, my hand was tired and I should have stopped. I normally only write about five rows, and I could tell my hand was getting tired. I don't like to quit in the middle of the row or in the middle of the worksheet if I don't have to. I pushed through it again. I talked about this in another blog post. If your hand is tired, if your eyes are tired, please stop and rest. Don't be like me and continue. Take a look at the slide show and you will see what I mean.

This is what happens when you don't listen to your hand. If you go to the last three "b's" on the last row are horrible. I wrote that note, so that you will be much wiser than me. Listen to your body. If your hand is getting tired, stop. If your eyes are getting tired (blurry) please stop. You always come back later to do another practice session. Calligraphy is supposed to be fun but not detrimental to your hands or eyes. 

Calligraphy is a practice, not a test of endurance. - Felecia Scott

Back at the letter "a" Again

(Left) Above is my letter “a” practice sheet. This was all done freehand. No tracing. (Right) is my practice sheet from Aug 10th.

Apologies! I thought I posted the letter “a” blog post yesterday, Aug.17th but I didn’t. Yesterday, I decided to continue practicing the letters (a-g) instead of moving onto the second set of letters (h-n). I felt I wasn't ready to write the next set of letters in the alphabet. As I was rewatching the video on how to write the letter "a", my instructor Becca advised, don't move onto the next set of letters if you're not ready. I am not ready, as you can see from the sheets.  

I have a lot of practicing to do and I'm up for the challenge. I checked a few that I wrote correctly but there are a lot more that I didn't. Sometimes it's best to let the video show why I made this decision and for me it was the right one. Watch the video and tell me what you think in the comments. Should I have moved forward and learned the next set of letters (h-n) in the alphabet, or did I make the right decision to stay and keep practicing letters (a-g)?  

Okay G… don’t make this difficult😂

I'm not going to say "g" was difficult, but I felt good practicing it. This letter consisted of three foundational strokes (upstroke, ascending loop, and another upstroke). I felt comfortable writing the letter, even the the top part of the “g” makes the letter looks like a bobble head. I definitely need more practice, but I'm confident that I will be able to get this stroke down.  

I also realize that the tracing paper isn't your friend. It's not as clear as you think because it's tracing paper. Also, the lines in the book aren't as pronounced as they were in "Show Me Your Drills", learning the foundational strokes of calligraphy, I noticed. Those two things aren't the reason why, my "g's" looked like bobble heads. It's because this was my first time doing the letter "g" and I NEED MORE PRACTICE. 😂 

I'm going to end this post here because I still must write the week in review of what I learned practicing minuscules. I have my outline ready to go. I will leave with this. We are building more than calligraphy skills. We are building patience, confidence, and resilience. Every challenge we overcome becomes part of our creative foundation. Keep writing, keep learning, and keep believing in yourself.

Let’s see if “ f ” plays nice today

(Left) My practice sheet for the letter “f” (R) Letter “f” workbook practice sheet (Credit) Becca @ The Happily Ever Crafter

I wasn't sure if the letter "f" and I would play nice together, but we did. The beginning started rough but the more I practiced the strokes to make the letter "f" the calmer and more comforter I became. I still need more practice, but I feel a lot more confident that I will be able to write this letter correctly.  

I really liked doing the letter "f" and yes, it may have something to do with that it is the first letter of my name. Doing the loops part of the "f" is so much fun. Today was a great practice day. This letter and I clicked. In calligraphy I have great practice days and then I have some okay practice days and then some days are tough, like yesterday with the letter "e". It was brutal. I struggled hard with it. I refuse to give up. I will keep practicing until I get the letter right. I'm listening to my instructor's advice. Don't move on until the next group of letters (h-n) until we get comfortable with the group of letters we are practicing. This is solid advice.  

I apologize for not uploading the practice videos with the blog posts. I will have them all uploaded Sunday, Aug. 15th. I'm new to creating social media content in this way. I know how to post to Instagram and other social media sites. This is the first time that I'm running a blog, creating content for Instagram, YouTube and posting consistently every day. I have a job. I'm going back to school (college) on Aug. 29th while learning calligraphy. 

I've only been doing this for almost six weeks. I know this is a calligraphy blog, but I wanted to keep everyone in the loop about what I'm doing. I do have a life outside this blog that I do love and enjoy. I will show you that too. I'm starting to get the feel of this now.  

I have some ideas that I'm going to start implementing shortly. I am excited to share them with you within the next two weeks. I'm finalizing them now. A practice sheet filled with mistakes is a practice sheet filled with learning. Every uneven compound curve, shaky downstroke, and crooked connection helps your hands understand what to do next. Nothing we practice is wasted. 

“I need more time, and I'm allowed to take it.”

I just finished my week learning to write the lowercase letters (a – g). On Monday, I was supposed to start the next segment of the alphabet (h-n). That is not happening. I will be taking this extra week to focus on (a-g). I've uploaded this past week's practice sheets into a gallery for you to look at. I'm not ready just yet to move on to the next group of letters. I don't feel comfortable or confident. I need more practice.  

I'm taking an extra week. I will be one week behind everyone. Thank goodness this course is at your own pace. This doesn't mean I'm going to be taking a month to get the letters (a-g) right. For me, one week isn't enough time for me to be able to write letters to the best of my ability.  

When I made this decision, I felt bad. Yes, even a little depressed because I felt like a failure. In class, I see other students getting it and here I am needing more time and practice. Then I was like,  

"Wait a minute. I've spent last month learning foundational strokes. This week, I LITERALLY just started learning the lowercase alphabet this past week. Girl, calm down, grab my laptop and write this blog post about what I'm going through."  

That's exactly what I did. I had a little meltdown, talked myself off the ledge, and realized I don't actually have to hurry. A beautiful letter takes time, and so does becoming the person who creates it. Enjoy the journey instead of racing toward the destination. There is no rush when you are creating something meaningful. We all (including me) must give ourselves the freedom to enjoy becoming. 

I’m rolling with "e"

(Left) is the letter “e” practice sheet / credit to Becca @ The Happily Ever Crafter (R) My practice sheet with the letter “e”.

I thought the letter "e" would be easier, in fact it rolled right over me. That is the beauty and challenge with calligraphy. It will humble you if you overestimate your ability. It will humble you get too confident or if you did like me, "Oh, this letter "e" looks pretty easy. I got this." Clearly, by the practice sheet no, I don't.  

Instead of getting angry or frustrated, I laughed at myself and the deformed "e's" that I made. I thought to myself, "Not yet." I realized that the most encouraging words that I can say during practice is "not yet." Why? I may not have mastered that stroke back then or this letter today or that word tomorrow, but I'm still learning. "Not yet" leaves room for tomorrow's progress.  I do two practice sessions a day for 30 minutes. I know that I will get the "e" right. I'm not an expert. I'm a beginner but the most important lesson I've learned is calligraphy is about practice, patience, and perseverance.  

Practice: You have to stay consistent. Every day for at least 15 minutes. It builds muscle memory, gets you familiar with the strokes, and better dexterity with your pen. There is no substitute for practice. 

Patience: Be kind to yourself, especially in the beginning. For most of us, we've never picked up a calligraphy pen. Getting the upstrokes and downstrokes right because they create the foundation of every stroke we practice.  For example, the Compound Curve begins with an upstroke, then curves into a downstroke, then curves back into the upstroke.  

Perseverance: Your pen does not remember yesterday's mistakes. Sometimes the biggest lessons come from the strokes that don't go as planned. A mistake can show you where to adjust your grip, your pressure, or your patience. Every time we pick up or pen, it's a new opportunity for us to try again. 

Every shaky letter holds potential. Inside every imperfect stroke is the beginning of a skill that hasn't fully developed yet. Practice is not about creating a perfect page every time. It is about building a relationship with our pen, understanding our movement, and discovering what our hands are capable of. We must always give ourselves room to learn.  

The letter “d” didn’t want to work with me either

As you can see on the last line. One of my “d’s” separated. I wasn’t going to post this practice sheet but this is part of the journey. I have to remind myself not to be so self conscious. Calligraphy is the “Art of Beautiful Writing” and I’m not there yet but with practice will be.

It's clear the I struggled with the letter "d" as you can tell by the practice sheet. One of my "d's" actually separated. 🤣You don’t always get right on the first attempt. I will be doing some intense practicing on this letter but the good thing about this, I’m no longer as hesitant to do what is considered one of the hardest, foundational strokes in calligraphy, which is the oval. 

When I'm writing the letter, I'm focused on creating the letter, not thinking about "Oh, no, I'm about to do one of the hardest strokes in calligraphy." Instead, I'm thinking "Alright, make sure the upstroke is connecting to the oval without crowding it. Did I space the ascending loop too far out that it doesn't connect to the oval?"  

Even though my letter "d" was far from perfect, just like my first oval looked like a black eye but with time it did improve. There is no wasted ink in a practice session. Every stroke teaches our hands something, even the ones that don't turn out the way you hoped. Learning happens in trying. Our calligraphy journey isn't measured by how many perfect letters we've written. It's measured by every time we choose to sit down, pick up that pen and believe we can improve because we do with practice.  

Are they ocean waves or the letter "c"?

I can say the letter "c" went better than the letter "b". "c" and I worked well together, of course it was an easier letter to do. It's an upstroke and what I would call an open version of the letter "c”. I’ll say this, I'm enjoying the class, but when I post my work to the chat group on the Circle app, I do feel a bit down. I see so many other students doing these letters like they've been doing calligraphy for years. Here I am posting and my letter "c" looks like little ocean waves. I'm like ...WTH.  

I keep reminding myself that "Felecia, you spent a month learning foundational strokes. This week, you just started learning the lowercase alphabet. You are literally on the letter "c". I need to calm down and get a hold of my intrusive thoughts." I'm so grateful to be learning this with other students. The support and grace that we give to one another really does help. I see other students who are struggling with a certain letter but do another letter amazingly.   

I'll be honest, there are times, I only want to post my best work and not the little ocean waves of my deformed letter "c" attempt, but that isn't realistic. I started posting as a way to hold myself accountable and show up every day to learn calligraphy. The good, the bad, the ugly and the fantastic days are a part of learning. I've wanted to learn calligraphy for 10 years and now I'm doing it. I've let a lot of dreams die because I became discouraged, talked myself out of it or gave up too early, but not this time. We are going to succeed in this creative journey of this time in our life and going forward.  

Since my month of learning calligraphy, I've learned that when we practice, it matters, even on days when nothing seems to click. Growth often happens quietly, hidden beneath repetition and persistence. Every practice page has something to teach us. Some pages build confidence, while others build patience. Both are necessary if we want to become calligraphers, painters, writers or whatever it is we're working so hard to become. 

Okay..."b" let's see what you got 👀

Well, "b" showed me what they got, and I definitely will be practicing twice a day for thirty minutes. This lesson kicked my butt. It was difficult and believe it or not this was the easy version. The letter "b" can be done using three or four individual strokes. See the pictures below. 

The first "b" can be done in three individual strokes (upstroke, ascending loop and upstroke). This is the version my instructor, Becca uses, and the one I chose to do. The second "b" has four individual strokes, (upstroke, ascending loop, oval and another upstroke). This way is the traditional calligraphy way to do the letter "b". 

You start with the upstroke halfway then stop leaving a little space for the ascending loop. This loop comes around and down to fill the space I left open. Then I start at the bottom of the ascending loop to start the curved "s" (is the best way I can describe this stroke) and finish it off.

*Editors Note: This practice sheet page is from Becca, The Happily Ever Crafter.

You start with the upstroke halfway then stop leaving a little space for the ascending loop. This loop comes around and down to fill the space I left open. Then I start at the bottom of the ascending loop to start the curved "s" (is the best way I can describe this stroke) and finish it off. My instructor, Becca made it look easy. It was anything but. By the end of the practice sheet, I was mentally exhausted, a bit frustrated and yet smiling like a proud mama because I made it through.  

I bought this cut plushie. Anytime I feel upset or frustrated, I grab my plushie. No more ripping up practice sheets for me. Don't worry, I don't abuse the plushie. It's for emotional support and the occasion firm hug. 😂 

I'm about two days behind in posting this video to Instagram and YouTube. I work full time and get ready to go back to school (college) on Aug. 29th. I've been running around campus getting my books and other tasks completed before classes begin. My goal today is to upload all the videos to Instagram and YouTube. I'm trying to get the videos shorter. The video I recorded today was almost four minutes long.  

Be patient with yourself while you become the artist you want to be. Learning something new takes courage, humility, and a willingness to start again. Give yourself credit for every step forward. Success in calligraphy is created through thousands of small choices: practicing when it's easier to quit, trying again after mistakes, and believing improvement is possible.  

Welcome to Chapter II – Minuscules

The intensity of this next chapter of calligraphy, I thought I was prepared for it but not even close. I'm learning now how to write the alphabet in lowercase this month. I'm using all the foundational strokes I learned last month in "Show Me Your Drills" (Intro to Calligraphy 101. It's pretty intense, a bit overwhelming, yet I'm looking forward to it.  

I cheated a bit and watched the first video (which was the letters A-G) and seen that my instructor, Becca used two different colored brush tip pens. One was pink and the other was light blue. They're Zeba Funwari brush pens. She said using the pens is helpful in remembering to think of this as individual strokes as opposed to one letter. The pens are helpful for her to show us and to teach.  

I purchased a set of seven Zebra Funwari pens for $9.99 a few days ahead of class from Amazon. You can also buy them directly from their website @ Zebra Funwari. This is for information purpose only, if anyone is interested in buying these pens. 

Let’s get to the lesson breakdowns:

Week 1: Letters A-G 

Week 2: Letters H-N 

Week 3: Letters O-U 

Week 4: Letters V-Z 

We learn one letter a day. Today was the letter "a". It takes three individual strokes to make the letter "a" (upstroke, oval and underturn stroke). Per my instructor, Becca when writing the letter "a" don't think of it as the letter "a". Instead, think of it as I'm writing three individual strokes to create the letter "a".  

I have a lot of mixed emotions right now. Happy to have made it through "Show Me Your Drills". I was feeling good about going into Minuscules until I started. I feel like in some ways, I have gone back to square one. Learning something new but it's familiar because I have a good foundation on the basic strokes but these new strokes, I'm slightly intimidated by, but I know I will learn them. This helps bring my anxiety down a bit.  

I know it's only the first day, but my instructor Becca put this course together so well. Her explanations really compliment the Minuscules workbook that I feel ready and after writing the letter "a", I feel much better.  

*Blogger’s Note: I’ve uploaded the “Welcome to Minuscules Video on You Tube. You can watch it here.‍ ‍

Review: Show Me Your Drills

Credit to Becca @ The Happily Ever Crafter

Yes, I have decided to purchase the Basic Calligraphy Course. It's six months long but since I've already pretty much completed the 30-day free class to learn the calligraphy strokes, it should take five months or so. I don't feel comfortable just yet, starting the course. I want to give myself an extra week. Work on getting better on a few strokes, Underturn Stroke and Descending Loop. From there, I can move on confidently.  

Becca, the instructor, her course book and videos are very clear. They are easy to understand and follow. She gives visual examples of the common mistakes beginners make with each basic stroke. There's so much help available. You can tell she really put her time, energy and serious thought into this course. She also has a video for people who are left-handed, which I thought was fantastic.  

There's an extra bonus video on how to do Calligraphy on an IPad and Apple pencil with Jillian @ loveleighloops. It's a fourteen-minute video. She gives a step-by-step tutorial to get your iPad all set up with the Show Me Your Drills workbook. You can go to their website and enter your email. They will send you a FREE brush for Procreate calligraphy.  

There's a group on the app Circle, where all the students post our drills each day. I've stayed true, focused and committed. I posted my calligraphy practice drills sheet every day. It's a great community. I get support from other calligraphy newbies like me. We encourage each other. It was a very positive experience for me. The mentors are fantastic. They were active, happily answering questions, giving recommendations and critiquing our work but not in a negative way.  

I don't know if I'm saying this right, but they were fair without being condescending. They shared and used their experience and knowledge freely, cheering you on to succeed. It was so nurturing. I was really impressed. I put my big girl drawers on and decided to invest in this hobby that quickly turned into more.  

I look forward to where my calligraphy journey will take me. I look forward to hearing where yours is taking you. I have to give a shout out to Becca Courtice, the instructor and founder of Happily Ever Crafter. This is her class, her course, and knowledge to help people learn calligraphy.  

You can learn more about calligraphy on her website: https://thehappyevercrafter.com/. I highly recommend taking her course. You see my 30-day journey and progress. I want to say thank you to the mentors for taking time out of their day and helping us learn the beautiful writing, which is calligraphy.  

My next class starts August 10, 2026. These are the lessons in order: 

• Minuscules: Lowercase Letters 

• Majuscules: Uppercase Letters 

• Connections: Are the the strokes that link one letter to another, creating a fluid and cohesive appearance in written words. 

• Bouncing & Styling: Techniques that enhance the visual appeal of lettering. 

• Flourishing: decorative elements added to letters to enhance their visual appeal. 

• Styling: the various techniques and artistic expressions used in the art of beautiful writing.   

I will end today's post with this. Every practice session adds another brick to the foundation of your confidence. You may not notice the difference after one day, but over time you'll look back and see how strong you've become. Trust yourself and the work.  

 *Blogger’s note: I completed this course on Aug. 2, 2026. I’m a bit behind in posting this review. On August 10, 2026, I started the five month Calligraphy basic course.

Day 28 — Back to the Descending Loop | Still a Work in Progress

I'm still having issues with the Descending Loop. My hand still shakes just as I finish the downstroke into the curve into the upstroke. I'm going to practice this one more. I've circled a few of them on my practice sheet. My final exam is tomorrow, Monday, August 3rd. Per Becca, my instructor,  

"The final isn't graded. It's for fun. We give one line of each basic stroke our absolute best shot. Nice and slow, remember the rules and see how perfect we can make each one. When finished, all students will upload our exams to Circle." (This is an app we've been using for the past month to upload our practice drills for each stroke for that day).  

Time went by so quickly. I can't believe it's already been a month and my free calligraphy class is over. It's been a rewarding and challenging experience learning the basic strokes. My instructor, Becca stated this will be her LAST LIVE "Show Me Your Drills" class. I've written my review for Show Me Your Drills Course. It will be up shortly within the hour of uploading this post.  

Just as I was wrapping up this post, I got a notification that final exams are today, August 2nd. I read the email wrong. This is my first time admitting that I attempted to do "Show Me Your Drills" once before and gave up. I got discouraged after the first week. This second time, I promised myself, I wouldn't give up and I finished it. Submitted my final exam today (. I’m so happy and proud of myself. 

Day 27 — My Favorite So Far | The Ascending Loop

There are a lot more checks (passes) than misses. Every week, I'm improving. The Ascending Loop, as I mentioned before, is my favorite stroke. No pun intended. If you look at the practice sheet below, I started improving midway on the sheet down. I noticed I started improving when I figured out exactly where the upstroke curves into the downstroke. I was able to connect it at a higher letter for a perfectly formed Ascending Loop. 

I only have 2 more days left with class.  Yes, I have decided to purchase the Basic Calligraphy Course. It's six months long but since I've already pretty much completed the 30-day free class to learn the calligraphy strokes, it should take five months or so. I don't feel comfortable just yet, starting the course. I want to give myself an extra week, maybe two, and have a solid foundation. From there, I can move on confidently. 

I will give a full review at the end of the course, which is in three days. I'm already writing it up, just putting the finishing touches on it.  

Day 26 — Ovals: Getting Around the Curve

The odds are increasing in my favor. This week I jumped in proficiency from 20% last week to 50% this week. You will hear me say this a lot but it's true. Practice. Practice and practice. It doesn't have to be for 30 minutes twice a day like me. It can be 15 minutes. Just stay consistent and results will happen. 

I'm in my fourth week and I re-watched my instructor, Becca's videos on the Oval. I noticed today that after the sixth row of ovals, my hand started getting tired. I kept pushing through and noticed everything after the six row was getting worse. My hand really started shaking. My ovals were getting progressively worse. I did nine rows today and that was too much. I started going faster, really rushing to finish because my hand was getting tired. 

Moving forward, I will stop at the six row. Anything after that isn't productive. There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself to do better. At what point do you stop and say, "Alright, this isn't helping and now has started hindering my progress?" That is what happened to me today. It's about self-awareness. 

I remind myself every day, just like today. I'm literally on the 26th day of learning calligraphy, not my 26th month (2 years and 2 months). We can be committed to learning. Our creative journey is allowed to be fun. We don't have to turn every practice session into a test or every page into a performance. Sometimes the greatest achievement is simply enjoying the act of creating.

Day 25 — The Compound Curve Is Starting to Click

The Compound Curve is quickly becoming my favorite. The improvement from week 1 to week 4 still blows my mind. Last week I performed 20% of the compound curve correctly and 80% were incorrect. This week it was 50/50. It's been slow and consistent practice, re-watching Becca, the instructor's video on the Compound Curve that I was able to make progress and write this stroke correctly. See the practice sheet below. 

I still have some shakiness and remind myself to slow down, when I see myself going fast. I still practice twice a day for 30 minutes. There are no shortcuts in calligraphy. After looking at my practice sheet, a thought came to me. We don't have to have beautiful lettering today to become a skilled calligrapher tomorrow. Every artist starts somewhere, and every journey begins with patience. The paper is more forgiving than our inner critic. It doesn't judge our shaky lines or imperfect letters—it simply gives us another chance to pick up your pen and begin again.  

Day 24 — Still Figuring Out the Underturn

This stroke is still challenging for me. I'm having the hardest time getting this stroke right. I do well on the downstroke and when I make the transition between the downstroke and going up to the light (Up) stroke, my hand still shakes. It's so frustrating or should I say, I'm not making progress as fast as I thought I should be by now. I'm in the last week of class and the Underturn stroke still eludes me.  

But there is hope because I was able to do 2 strokes right, whereas last week, I didn't get one stroke right. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Even with that, progress is being made. Just ever so slowly, I mean at a snail's pace slow. I'm going to double down on my practicing of the Underturn Stroke. This class ends on Sunday, August 2, 2026.  

I still don't feel comfortable moving on to do letters if I'm not able to do all the foundation strokes correctly yet. I'm going to take an extra two weeks and see where I am and then make a decision if I still need more time.  Today, didn't go as well as I wanted but I do know this. A crooked letter today doesn't mean a crooked letter forever. Every uneven line is part of the journey toward steadier, more confident strokes. We all have to give ourselves the same patience we would give someone else who is learning.  

Day 23 — The Curves Have a Name | Overturns

This week has shown me how far I have grown in my calligraphy journey. I can say progress has been made. On Week 1, I couldn't do a single Overturn Stroke. Now, I did 60% of them right. What's funny is when I started doing them right, my mind would say, "You're doing it and then I'd lose my concentration and mess up." Looking at the sheet, I can spot where it happened.  

I threw out all my splitting pens. I still one brush pen that was still unopened but I ordered new ones for my upcoming Minuscules course. I'm more comfortable using a soft tip pen, my hand isn't as tired as when I first started. I have more control over my strokes, which is now reflecting on my practice sheet.

I will be doing a review of Becca's course, "Show Me Your Drills 2026" and let you know if I will purchase the "Show Me Your Drills Basic Course." It's six months long and this is where you start learning letters and words. Building on the foundation after learning the basic strokes. This free thirty-day class I signed up for ends Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. Becca, the instructor stated this will also be her last, show me your drills live class.  

I started with a blank page and a question: "Can I really learn this?" Now, look at how far I've come. So, the answer was always yes. This is what Learning Calligraphy from Absolute Zero is about. Your practice pages are proof that patience creates progress. Every line you repeated and every stroke you refined helped build the confidence you have today. Never underestimate the power of showing up.

Day 22 — Finding the Rhythm | Upstrokes & Downstrokes

I'm in the last week of the 30-day free calligraphy class. I'm having the best time learning the art of beautiful writing. I feel very comfortable performing Upstrokes (light) and Downstrokes (heavy). The third combination of light and downstrokes, I can say that I'm getting there. This week I performed several strokes correctly. I was shocked and on the video, you can hear me gasp in delight. In my mind, I was screaming. "Yes, I did it!!! I FINALLY DID IT!!!  

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I paused the video and cried. I was so happy because this stroke really seemed to elude me. No matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't get it right. On my last week of class, it finally started coming together.  

I had another teaching moment. I switched up pens by accident. When I did three of the combination light and downstrokes, the pen started splitting while I was live on camera. I quickly switched back to the soft tip pen I was using (non-splitting) and finished my practice session. When I was done with filming, I made a second video about a common problem that happens with many beginner/novice calligraphers and that is splitting. You can watch the full video below.  

For those of us who are newbies to calligraphy or any new craft/hobby, our progress may feel invisible when you look at today's page but compare it to where you started. The difference between your first stroke and your latest one is proof that growth is happening. Never forget how far you've already come.

Day 21: Three-Week Milestone Unlocked

It’s already been three weeks. Each week I’ve had big and small improvements on my calligraphy journey, especially with the Descending Loop. For the past 2 weeks, I couldn’t do any Descending Loop correctly tracing and freehand. They went from deformed sperm to music notes and now slowly but surely it happened. I was able to do several Descending Loops correctly. No tracing. It was all freehand. I’m very happy about.

I can say without a doubt, the one thing that help me improve my calligraphy consistently each week was recording. If you can, I recommend everyone record themselves while practicing calligraphy. The camera catches what the naked eye misses. For me, it was: 

1. Coming down from the downstroke and as I’m transitioning into the loop, I started the loops to early.  

2. My hand was still slight shaking when it came the mid loop connecting to the hard stroke.  

3. I’m still going a little too fast. I need to slow down just a bit more.  

Going from having zero Descending Loops right to about 10% has given me the greatest confidence boost. Not in arrogance but building from it know that I can really become a calligrapher. I can learn the art of beautiful writing. Keep practicing every day, have patience with myself in learning something new. Lastly, the perseverance to keep going because it’s happening in real time. That is the really beauty of journey of Learning Calligraphy from Absolute Zero.

Blogger’s Note: Normally, I write two posts on Sundays. My daily post and then a week in review, Lessons Learned but I felt that this week really combined both. I will only be doing this one post today

Day 20: Small Wins Are Still Wins | Ascending Loops

My Little Practice Corner. The black marks all over the desk are from my regular pens and brush tip pens.

This one is my favorite. It's really fun for me to do it. I love starting out lightly with the upstroke going around into the loop and coming down with the down stroke. It reminds me of a rollercoaster. In week three, I really see the progress, especially from last week. I did one Ascending Loop correctly. Where this week, I did 25% right and 75% incorrectly.  

One thing I've learned is that there are no short cuts in calligraphy. It's about practice, patience, and perseverance. You must practice every day for at least fifteen minutes. Patience with yourself, the shaking lines and the I almost got it to line up with the oval stroke. Perseverance for the days, you want to give up. When it feels like nothing is coming together and start doubting your ability to do calligraphy.  

I felt the same, especially after last week's meltdown where I tore up the tracing paper, broke my pen, and cried for five minutes. I was ready to take all my supplies and chuck them in the dumpster outside my building but didn't. I'm still here and now on Day 20. Practice, patience and perseverance have me now getting better and seeing improvement each day.