Calligraphy is an art that can be learned by anyone willing to devote a few hours per week to the study and practice of letters. For the left-hander the challenge has been coping with a chisel-edged nib as they try to find the best angle for the required writing line. After this alignment has been achieved the sequence of strokes have to be made in a reverse manner to the right-handed mode. It would seem to the left-handed calligrapher that everything must be done the opposite way around.

When writing in the accepted left to right direction the right-handed writer makes the majority of their strokes by directing the pen away from the body. The left-handed writer makes the majority of strokes by pushing the pen in a movement towards the body. When the right-hander writes the writing hand is well in advance of the damp ink that has just been scribed onto the page. The left-hander pushes the pen in the same direction but must hold the pen in such a way that their hand does not smear the damp ink. This can be accomplished by either holding the pen below or above the line of writing in an unnatural way.

There are three known writing positions that may be chosen by a left-handed writer: the hook position, the under-arm position and the vertical position. The hook position is where the writer writes from above the line of writing with the paper positioned straight down. The under-arm position is where the hand is placed under the line of writing and the paper is positioned on an angle. The vertical position is achieved with the paper turned at 90 degrees and the pen then works from bottom to top rather than from left to right. This position will be most effective for those who want to use a right-handers pen nib.

A mechanical solution to the problems facing left-handed writers was the oblique nib which is cut on the opposite angle to a right-handed nib. Many calligraphers use the left-handed oblique calligraphy nib combined with turning the page on an angle.

A further tip to help the left-hander relates to the way you have the lighting set up. The right-hander should have the light on the left side while the left-hander should have the light coming from the right side. The reason for this is to ensure the shadow of your hand does not fall where you are writing.

Another compensation that may be necessary could well be in the way the left-handed writer must sit at their calligraphy desk. To help get the required pen angle, it may be necessary to sit further to the right of the page than would otherwise be advised. This, of course, will come down to a matter of personal preference and working out what feels most comfortable to you.

Being left-handed should not discourage you from picking up a calligraphy pen and trying this beautiful art. The techniques might be a little different and, at times, challenging bu remember, there are many successful left-handed calligraphers.

As attractive and stirring as many of us find Chinese calligraphy, and for us Westerners I guess a lot of us find it mysterious, it must be remembered that the calligraphy we are admiring is actually words.

This fact was obviously forgotten by Max Planck Institute in Germany when they published a special issue about China including some lovely Chinese calligraphy on the cover of the magazine. The problem was that the calligraphy was actually an advertisement for a brothel and rather than giving the mysterious aura of the East to the page, it gave a rather more titillating invitation.

So the next time you decide to use some Chinese characters for a major work that you are planning to exhibit or display, get a translation of what it is you’re writing. It will save the embarrassment that the Max Planck journal must be feeling.

What you’re actually after is the valuable resources available from your local calligraphy guild. Joining a calligraphy guild will help you network with other calligraphers, many of them seasoned veterans. All kinds of questions can be answered and advice given by calligraphy guild members.

Events such as exhibitions and workshops are an invaluable part of calligraphy guild membership and they are held at regular intervals depending on the guild you have joined. You will also get notification of upcoming national and international events that you will be sure to find you will want to attend.

To quickly find your local calligraphy guild, you might try visiting the Cynscribe site.