When was the last time you made something just for the pleasure of making it? Not because it serves a purpose as a gift, or to decorate your home, or something to share on social media, or to sell, although it might end up doing one of those things once you're done, but just because you get pleasure from making it. It's been a while for me. Everything I've made recently has had some sort of purpose. And while that's not bad I miss the freedom of making something without expectation or pressure.
I am not much of an artist in the traditional sense. I can't draw very well and am not often moved to paint. But I have nice handwriting and calligraphy has always fascinated me. So around Thanksgiving I decided to learn lettering with brush pens.
Check out #lettering on Instagram and you'll find a bunch of gorgeous, colorful words and phrases along with some mesmerizing videos of perfectly executed loops and lines. Brush pens, a pen with a flexible tip that allows for different width strokes, are one of the most prevalent tools and I've been wanting to try.
Quick note before I continue - this is not a sponsored post, nor are any of these affiliate links.
I bought a couple of different workbooks to get started from people I follow on Instagram.
I started with this one by Missy Briggs. It's especially great for those that are left handed (I am not) because it has separate instructions for writing right and left handed. It also has a seven day lettering challenge which is wonderful because the trick to lettering is practice.
The second one is by Leslie Tieu Her guide is out of stock as I write this, but she has a downloadable guide, different than the print version, available on Etsy. In addition to guiding you through the basic strokes and how to form letters it has a fantastic overview of supplies - brush pens, paper, nibs, ink, etc. - and a section at the end that helps you find your own style.
I'm currently playing with blending colors. I'm sure that I will use this skill for future projects, but for now I'm content to just play around.
What are you making these days?
Photos and artwork by Sophia Dunkin-Hubby