Calligraphy envy ?

[Robalone]

Hi. Ok so I can write nicely………….but something I’ve run into nearly all my life is the feedback ,if you will, from almost everyone that sees my writing………” wow your writing is lovely, MY WRITING IS TERRIBLE “

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that, I could have stopped working years ago 🤣🤣.

In almost all instances of this it’s been accompanied by a light hearted laugh, and a shrug, and nothing more is said.

However, more so on this site than anywhere else I’ve encountered it , I’ve sensed some kind of ….embarrassment ?! Or shame ?
Seemingly from a sense of inadequacy???

I kinda understand the phenomenon…..I feel it posting any drawing / artwork , because there are folk here that are vastly better than me, and I sort of hate my drawings, but I shut my eyes and post them anyway….phew.

I would welcome thoughts from anyone that ….for example , has wonky and unstructured writing , and feels that sense of shall we say inadequacy? as to what it brings up for them .when they encounter someone that writes ….better, easier etc.

Just to put this phenomenon in perspective, I’m completely rubbish at music, I’ve wanted to play an instrument all my life, but even after many attempts, I’ve never managed to get this desire off the ground .
And there are many things that I’m crap at , that many others can do so easily.

Being an overly sensitive sausage, I tend to withdraw and hide my talent lest I encounter any form of hostility !

Rant over . Anyone else feel this or anything like it .

[RobJohnson]

There is a Scot called Ken Fraser, sometimes known as Caliken, his calligraphy is on another level and is professional in the sense of he is able to charge for his work, restaurants for example will have his hand written menus that are nothing less than works of art. This leads to the very nice problem that diners take away the menus, whether invited to do so or not!

I cannot post links but if you search for Caliken calligraphy you will have some flavour of his work. He used to post his work regularly and freely on Fpn until around 10 years ago but was accused by a Moderator of showing his creations for the sole purpose of developing sales.

Ken's handwriting skills were at the highest level, he would have given your shrug were you or I to applaud his work and we would also say that, by comparison, our handwriting was terrible.

I think that some schools continue to teach handwriting skills but it would be a pleasure to sit around the dining table with grandchildren, each with their notebooks and a fountain pen as we pass on our limited skills to others.

[Deb]

Your writing is such a pleasure to see, Rob. I'm fortunate in seeing yours and Hans's from time to time. For myself, while I enjoy seeing good calligraphy, I have no ambitions in that direction. I just want to write as I was taught long ago. Even that is difficult as I try to get rid of all the little changes that have crept in over the years.

[manoeuver]

I've been on both sides. For most of my life I engaged in and endured my own barely-legible left-handed chickenscratch.

In my mid 30s I decided I'd improve my handwriting. I've worked with 4 or so excellent teachers. Took a few years but I can make a pretty page now if I want to.

It's been 10+ years since I made that decision and I'm glad I did, the years pass regardless.

[Yazeh]

I love your drawings and miss them dearly. They were so fun and creative and filled me with joy. I also enjoyed your calligraphic efforts, while less some of the content ;)
Now to your question, I truly understand you and have to grapple with it, each time I post an ink review, or post a sketch on Inktober.
It so frustrating that I cannot translate what I see in my mind on paper. But I do it anyways, often times with some delay.

The fact and matter is that we are all unique and there will be always someone better than us. However, if we've been continuously compared, criticized with others in childhood, it creates a trauma and it makes the journey more challenging :) and it can be tamed either spiritually, (ex. meditation) or psychologically (for ex. EDMR)
The journey is moving from understanding logically to understanding emotionally.

And accepting that no matter what we do, there will always bet set back. But having tools, we can always bounce back.

[Jon Szanto]

Rob, I hope my commentary in the other (handwritten) thread didn't dampen your spirits.

While there may be people who have some manner of envious feelings when faced with a skillset or artistry greater than theirs, I don't think that is always the case. As mentioned in that thread, my 'artistic' work has been in music, and I came to grips, early on, with the fact that there would always be performers who excelled beyond where I was at that moment. I might not catch them, but then again I might go beyond. The main point was to draw positive inspiration from their gifts and hard work, and use it to spur me on.

Part of the maturity, one hopes, is that we can also identify that which is likely, and that which will probably never be. I'm not embarrassed of my handwriting - it is what it is! I just don't tend to put it on display next to very lovely examples of beautiful penmanship, as there just doesn't seem to be any reason for that. I'll always admire both your skills and your eye in applying them. Not envy, but admiration and appreciation.

[TSherbs]

Oh gosh yes, I have embarrasment about my writing. It goes way back to being graded on my handwriting by strict elementery school teachers and never getting above a "C" for it (I was otherwise a strong student). I even remember being accused by a teacher (in kindergarten) that I was writing my nickname on my papers because I could not spell my actual longer first name. What hogwash! Of course I could spell my actual first name; I was just never called it so why should I write it on a paper! That same teacher also criticized me for coloring outside the lines and not being to make my skies a uniform shade of blue!

Later, once I was a teacher, I had a parent of one of my students describe my handwriting as "juvenile." By then, I fully agreed and have never felt that my handwriting "measured up" to controlled, adult writing. I still don't.

Physically, handwriting has always been difficult for me, and I have had to do it for hours every day for over 40 years. I graded over 25,000 papers and tests in my career, with comments on nearly every paragraph, ALL of this done by hand. I am recently retired, and I still write every day, but my arm is tired (I also coached tennis), and my wife last night noted that I had a jerky signature on some papers. Yup, that's how I feel: older and jerky (and I had just finished washing all our dishes by hand--we haven't had a working dishwasher for over 10 years). And there it is.

[Jon Szanto]

Right there with you, TSherbs: old and jerky.

[penwash]

Rob, I am too, a fan of your sketches.

For me, I would never dare to post my sketches hadn't I realized two truths:
1. There will always be someone who is much better than me, no matter how good I can become. So comparison, when taken as a personal measure rather than a potential source for motivation, is not only useless but can also be harmful.

2. My sketches are different than others'. Not better, but definitely different. And differences/variety is what inspires and energize us to keep growing.

Nothing is sadder than an artwork thread that is dominated by a few people with superior skills who, without intending for it to happen, discouraged others from contributing because they all think "How can I compete with *that*?"

I much rather see a showcase of different art styles by people who simply enjoy that particular art (be it music, sketching, calligraphy, poetry, etc.)

This is why I love our yearly sketch-out month thread in October, we don't post there to compete with each other, we had fun together.

PS: Just substitute "sketching" with "handwriting", and I think my point still stands. :)

[Robalone]

Excellent replies , thanks …
Im led to understand that most if not all 'disfunction' that we carry around throughout our lives originated from 'early childhood trauma'.
That’s not to say that we were like beaten ( all though that certainly happens!) but even a harsh word to a child that cannot understand why it came, can scar to some extent.

In my boarding school there was an occasional writing competition' with a small prize. I often won them with just a quick page copied from a book…and it became a sort of ..
Who's gonna come second.
I suspect that in a class of peers wherein most if not all had 'chicken scratching' writing, that there could have been some animosity to the stand out person .
Children can be quite savage sometimes, and it is probably a common defensive mechanism to shrink back and develop….anxiety?

Personally. I look forward to seeing all the efforts from everybody , no matter the skill level,

Cheers

[Lloyd]

There is a Scot called Ken Fraser, sometimes known as Caliken, his calligraphy is on another level and is professional in the sense of he is able to charge for his work, restaurants for example will have his hand written menus that are nothing less than works of art. This leads to the very nice problem that diners take away the menus, whether invited to do so or not!

I cannot post links but if you search for Caliken calligraphy you will have some flavour of his work. He used to post his work regularly and freely on Fpn until around 10 years ago but was accused by a Moderator of showing his creations for the sole purpose of developing sales.

Ken's handwriting skills were at the highest level, he would have given your shrug were you or I to applaud his work and we would also say that, by comparison, our handwriting was terrible.

I think that some schools continue to teach handwriting skills but it would be a pleasure to sit around the dining table with grandchildren, each with their notebooks and a fountain pen as we pass on our limited skills to others.
As I recall, Ken claimed that, while he could reproduce drawings with great accuracy, he had a very tough time drawing in a non-photorealistic manner. He commented with envy on WatchArt's (Shawn Newton) cartoonish drawings of pens and coffee.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Jon Szanto]

For Rob (and all, I suppose)...

https://scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/324432331_474812031495561_665025379162077871_n.jpg ?_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=9267fe&_nc_ohc=I1YSI2WFLEEAX_OLGHV&_nc_ht=scontent.fsan1-1.fna&oh=00_AfD4TWuLe1SV-b632m156OLq982Q_z9NKJ5u8_ma1SmBPg&oe=63C1F7AB