My first published attempt at Spencerian

[tiffanyhenschel]

I've been playing around with Spencerian off and on but finally decided to get serious about practicing using YouTube videos and Michael Sull's materials.

I know my slant isn't consistent, and I need to practice more ovals using whole arm movement so the flow will be smoother. In addition, my transitions from capitals to lower case are awkward.

Share your photos, too, and we can learn together. :)

[manoeuver]

well, I'd say that's a fantastic start.

[RuiFromUK]

It is an excellent start and wish you all the best in practicing this beautiful hand.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Rui and Manoeuver, thank you. At this point, I feel like the first grader who brings home writing from school and is proud of the results, but when looking back a few years later sees how unrefined and childish it actually was. We have to start somewhere, though, and all the videos on the internet won't make my writing any better.

I should clarify. That is certainly NOT one of Michael Sull's oblique holders. That is a cheap plastic thing I bought from the art store to see if I was actually going to stick with this.

[AndyT]

That is good Tiffany, it's sort of the exact opposite of my Spencerian (which is much more orthodox and a lot less confident-looking). Excellent work. What nib are you using?

[gbryal]

Since you asked for criticism; if it's for publication you must be careful of "typoes" "typos". "ways" doesn't require an apostrophe, and the quote is by Caroline Lake Ingalls with two Ls.

Your hand though, it looks great.

[tiffanyhenschel]

That is good Tiffany, it's sort of the exact opposite of my Spencerian (which is much more orthodox and a lot less confident-looking). Excellent work. What nib are you using?

Here is my totally honest, completely stupid confession. I don't know what nib it is. I bought it last September from Pendemonium at the Dallas show, put it in the holder and played with it for a couple of days, and then left it sitting until this week. :( I had rinsed and wiped the nib, but there must be some ink gluing it into the plastic flange because I can't get it out now. I can decipher a No.3, but that's it. Yes. I've learned my lesson!

[tiffanyhenschel]

Since you asked for criticism; if it's for publication you must be careful of "typoes". "ways" doesn't require an apostrophe, and the quote is by Caroline Lake Ingalls with two Ls.

Your hand though, it looks great.

You are right. I should have caught those. I know better. I have written that quote a dozen times over the years and have never done that before. :(

[gbryal]

I believe you :). Isn't it always the way?

[Robert]

I am impressed! You mentioned that you have been practicing "off and on" - - do tell: how long to this point? Again, impressive work, TH.

[tiffanyhenschel]

I am impressed! You mentioned that you have been practicing "off and on" - - do tell: how long to this point? Again, impressive work, TH.

That's hard to pinpoint. I've always written in cursive, so I wasn't starting at the bottom, but my penmanship had deteriorated over the years. Last September I picked up Sull's American Cursive book to brush up on proper letter forms. I bought the Spencerian materials at the same time but didn't start practicing "Spencerian" rather than regular cursive until this Monday. I started seriously using the dip pen on Monday, too.

I have used flexible fountain pen nibs for a couple of years, so that isn't completely new either. I do understand now how even a vintage FP nib doesn't have the flex and snap back of a dip nib.

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/19/y9uganut.jpg

[caribbean_skye]

<snip>That's hard to pinpoint. I've always written in cursive, so I wasn't starting at the bottom, but my penmanship had deteriorated over the years....

It should be noted that Tiffany has lovely penmanship. I wish mine on my best day looks half as good as hers.

[tiffanyhenschel]

It should be noted that Tiffany has lovely penmanship. I wish mine on my best day looks half as good as hers.

You are too kind, Lesley. Thanks, though. :)

[AndyT]

... I had rinsed and wiped the nib, but there must be some ink gluing it into the plastic flange because I can't get it out now.

Oh, it'll probably let go if you're determined ... it might put up a prolonged fight if you've been using India ink though. Usually a pair of pliers comes into play in my case.

I like that capital G in the new photo, very swish!

[caribbean_skye]

It should be noted that Tiffany has lovely penmanship. I wish mine on my best day looks half as good as hers.

You are too kind, Lesley. Thanks, though. :)

Nothing but the truth :)

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/20/guhame9a.jpg

[klpeabody]

Wow, Tiffany! These samples are excellent. Thanks for being so brave as to share with us.

[john]

Excellent penmanship. I wish I can write like yours.

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/23/ugu9ehyp.jpg

I need to work on my "p," "w," and controlling the shading. It's also missing something. It doesn't have that Spencerian look. Help??

By the way, Andy, I have been working on cleaning and identifying the nib. I think it's a Spencerian No. 3. I have some Nikko and Zebra Gs on the way, as well as a better holder.

[AndyT]

All I know about Spencerians is that they were made by Perry, and vintage nib people get very excited about the #14 Artistic and the #2 Counting House Pen. The Gs are well liked by lots of people, to be fair mainly for copperplate but I'm sure they'll turn out to be a good choice.

You should take the following with a pinch of salt since I'm a lousy Spencerian writer, but here goes ...

Increasing your slant will go a long way; officially it's supposed to be 52°, and you can go further than that. Also, it's the straight stems of d, t and p which contribute most to the look of the lower case, otherwise shading is best kept infrequent. Capitals can be very large relative to the lower case (you're better at that than I am); stems have a low shade whilst loops as in A, C and O tend to keep them high. Okay, embarrassment time:

Slant and lower case shades [edit: that angle should be 38° - it's 52° from the baseline. Doh.]
12375

Capital stems:
12376

A variant H with high and low shades:
12377

A T with exaggerated slant (nearly 45°):
12378

And putting it together:
12379

Done with a Gillott 170 and walnut ink on Rhodia. It takes me ages to settle down and get rid of the wobbles! I'm going to put something much better in another post.

[AndyT]

Here's how it should be done. This is a note from Brian Walker, Master Penman:

12380

Some details. There are a few extra shades in there, on the first stroke of y, the final stroke of m, top of g and so forth, but they're very light:

12382

And how to write "Spencerian"!

12383

I think this was pretty much dashed off, and yet those hairlines really are like hairs. That, I think, is the devilishly difficult bit - getting the lightness of touch combined with the speed, the shades are less important really.

There are a couple of very fine Spencerian writers who are members here - Schin and Caliken, plus Brian Smith (musinkman) but he'll deny it. None of them are frequent visitors, but maybe one will chip in.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Thanks, Andy. I really appreciate your input. I have recently discovered Schin's YouTube channel and blog, and I have read Caliken's posts since I discovered him over at FPN a couple of years ago. It's incredible that a human hand can write like that!

I have a special package coming in the mail from Brian (Musinkman) this week. :)

I have also spent some more time on the IAMPETH site and have come to a few conclusions. For one thing, my nib is wearing out, which was making it more difficult to write well. Secondly, I am abandoning the French ruled paper I was using. It may have helped me with practicing my Business hand, but it is not good for my Spencerian.

Finally, I was moving too quickly through the book. I am going back to practicing the Principles until my slant is more natural and my movements are more fluid. The more I study this script, the more I love it. It is worth it to me to put in the study to do it well. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/24/yva6ege5.jpg

[AndyT]

I'm not 100% sure that Ken is human, as a matter of fact. There's definitely some super powers going on anyway. :)

I hope you're going to post pictures when Brian's parcel arrives! Here's mine (again):

12388

[tiffanyhenschel]

Elegant, Andy! What is the wood in that grip section?

[AndyT]

Thanks! The grip is olivewood burl (or burr, as it's known here) and the tail is redheart.

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/apedygu2.jpg

I finally achieved a graceful compound curve, with good slant, using whole arm movement. There were three good ones, but the best example is the final one on the middle line. I'm celebrating small victories!

McCaffery's ink, Hunt school nib, Speedball oblique holder

[tiffanyhenschel]

Here are pictures of my parcel from Brian Smith of Unique Obliques (Musinkman here and at FPN.) These are photos from his Etsy site because the available lighting right now won't do the pens justice.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/2azy8ama.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/ytu9ame8.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/a5apade9.jpg

I'm a sucker for black and cream or ivory anyway, and I couldn't resist the detail on that "Armadillo" tail.

I ended up ordering two pens because I knew I would regret passing up either one of these. In this second set, it was the interlocking pieces in the grip that pulled me in. That takes skill.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/u9u7uvat.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/zu4ytajy.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/26/9yry9a3a.jpg

Brian has a stellar reputation everywhere I looked, so I knew I could buy with confidence. I was right. The balance of these pens is so perfect they just nestle into position, and you want to write something.

[AndyT]

That's a very interesting pair of holders Tiffany, and since Brian isn't in the habit of repeating himself they'll be uniquely yours. You definitely went to the right man ... beware of imitators. (If that sounds like a remark with a subtext, it is: check Brian's Instagram for details).

Nice compound curves: well done!

[RuiFromUK]

This is a note from Brian Walker, Master Penman:

I always treasure Brian's correspondence including the envelopes.

[AndyT]

I got another one yesterday, out of the blue - a real day maker. Are you a member of the SSG?

[RuiFromUK]

I got another one yesterday, out of the blue - a real day maker. Are you a member of the SSG?

Hi Andy,

Yes I am not that I have done much of Spencerian, I only worked on Copperplate so far.

When I stop buying fp's (at least at the rate I am now) I want to buy a oblique nibholder like the ones shown above. Unfortunately by the time Customs and Royal Mail admin fees finish with it could be around £100.

Kind regards,

Rui

[AndyT]

I'm probably the most recent newcomer, Rui. Engrosser's / Engraver's script is well within the group's sphere of interest, isn't it?

On the other matter, have a chat with Brian: my holder didn't attract any fees. £100 isn't so bad as a one off expense, bearing in mind that you can get no better - but I doubt it would come to that. Nibs can be a significant expense though. Ridiculous as it may sound I've saved about 60% by importing Principals from a supplier on the continent - how that works when they're made here I have no idea.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Here are some of today's scribbles. I'm still beginning my shades too high on the capitals, but the control is better. Zebra G nib, McCaffery's Red Violet ink

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/30/qu8aza6e.jpg

[AndyT]

Nice spirals! And the tails on your "y"s are very well shaped. Really attractive writing all round, put me down as impressed.

[tiffanyhenschel]

Thanks, Andy. Those spirals just started coming together today after some exercises to loosen my arm.

I think this "y" flows better than a looped "y" for me.

[AndyT]

So far as I know those open tails are a purely ornamental (as opposed to Spencerian) form, but they're definitely an enhancement provided they don't get tangled up with the line below ... mine often wind up doubling as caps for "t"s if I've got my wits about me. The looped form does come in handy when line spacing is tight though and for double "gg"s. Incidentally, it might help to think of a "y" as an upside down "h".

[RuiFromUK]

I'm probably the most recent newcomer, Rui. Engrosser's / Engraver's script is well within the group's sphere of interest, isn't it?

On the other matter, have a chat with Brian: my holder didn't attract any fees. £100 isn't so bad as a one off expense, bearing in mind that you can get no better - but I doubt it would come to that. Nibs can be a significant expense though. Ridiculous as it may sound I've saved about 60% by importing Principals from a supplier on the continent - how that works when they're made here I have no idea.

Yes, I am sure they are. IAMPETH has enough examples of those scripts too.

At this moment I am starting to add simple flourishes to some of the Capitalised Copperplate letters.

Unfortunately time is against me specially since I started with vintage fountain pens restoration.

[RuiFromUK]

Here are some of today's scribbles. I'm still beginning my shades too high on the capitals, but the control is better. Zebra G nib, McCaffery's Red Violet ink



Those are beautiful flourishes Tiffany. Congratulations, you are going from strength to strength.

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/14/y2ehe9a4.jpg

I haven't posted anything for a while, but I have still been working on my script. After getting some expert advice, I am studying the letter forms using a pencil. It is going back to the very beginning, but I can already tell it is making a difference.

[VertOlive]

Well, it looks like your summer is being put to good use, these samples are awe inspiring!

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/05/typejaha.jpg

My focus lately has been on correct letter forms and mastering the tricky curve. It's not quite pointed but not rounded either, more like breaking waves. I definitely do not have it down yet, but it's getting better. The slant is more consistent, too.

Next up? More of the same. I need to master these basic concepts.

I'm also working on movement drills. Put on some music, and it's actually relaxing, almost meditative. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/05/su8u6eta.jpg

[tiffanyhenschel]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/09/29/aqa2uhy2.jpg

There is progress in some areas. I have more control over the hairlines now, and it is more flowing in general. The slant, while not perfect, is more consistent.