The Calligraphy Pen

I’ve taken a look at the various aspects of the calligraphy pen and how to use it and care for it properly. We know that calligraphy nibs come in a range of sizes and shapes and can either con attached or unattached to a calligraphy pen holder.

We’ve also had a look at various different types of calligraphy pens from the traditional to the more modern approximation. I’ve also enjoyed talking about fountain pens and I think I would like to explore more of them in the new year (or even sooner).

So now I would just like to kick back and post a little gallery of some of the more impressive examples of calligraphy work that I’ve seen to get an appreciation for what’s possible when you become proficient with your calligraphy pen.

I intend to make this a series of features as I point out and highlight some fine calligraphers and their online presence.

First up is Martha Noonan who is the person behind Martha's Pen. Martha is a calligrapher and artist who works freelance in Boise, Idaho. One of her specialties is Baseball which is featured on her site. Not only will she create certificates, invitations and cards but can also do wall writing for you too. There is also a very informative Classes section that is worth checking out.

There's some examples of Matha's work featured on the site, but it's this beautiful piece that caught my eye as you can see below.

If you're in the Idaho area and need some calligraphy done, you should check Martha's Pen before you do anything else.

Not all calligraphy equipment has to be top of the line quality which equals top of the line prices for it to do the job adequately. Sheaffer has a range of calligraphy pens retailing for around the $4 mark that will give you a result that you will find is more than satisfactory. Each of these calligraphy pens are cartridge loaded and are designed to give the user the minimum of fuss and problems in use.

The Sheaffer Viewpoint Calligraphy Pen is designed as an entry level calligraphy pen that is available in a range of nib sizes from fine to broad. The pen can be bought in a blister pack that comes with a cartridge refill giving you two cartridges all up. The Sheaffer Viewpoint pens are color coded depending on the grade of the pen nib. As you can see by the picture to the left, the fine nib has been given the red color.

If one pen isn’t enough and you’re sold on the idea of the Sheaffer Viewpoint Calligraphy Pen, then you may want to get the Sheaffer Calligraphy Maxi Kit which contains the three Sheaffer Viewpoint pens in fine, medium and broad nib grades. Also contained in the pack is a range of different colored ink cartridges that will enable you to produce multicoloured work in the one project without having to change pen nibs.

If you don’t need to go so extravagant but still like the idea of a range of colored inks and nib sizes you can choose to get the Sheaffer Mini Kit which simply contains the three Sheaffer Viewpoint pens in fine, medium and broad as well as four assorted color ink cartridges. The Mini Kit contains a single pen barrel along with the three pen nibs which are removable.

Both the Maxi and Mini Kits come complete with an instruction booklet to help you out as you come to grips with learning to use your new calligraphy pen.

All of these calligraphy pens and calligraphy pen kits are also available for sale at The Calligraphy Pen Store.

The inevitable creep of the computer age is slowly but surely encroaching on the domain of calligraphy. Where people would hire a calligrapher to design and create a beautiful set of wedding invitations and place cards in the past, the tendency now is to jump onto the computer and print out your own.

Tradition shows that a calligraphy-written card was always the way it has been done. A monk would sit down and write the contents of the invitation for engaged couples.

While there is nothing wrong with doing your own invitations on the computer, there is still something special about picking up a calligraphy pen and giving the invitations your own personal touch. Taking it a step further, particularly if you don’t know your way around a calligraphy pen, you can hire a calligrapher to design your cards for you. Handmade, whether by you or someone you hired for the job will always give your invitations that unbeatable human touch.

A good calligrapher will have created wedding invitations before and so, they will have a portfolio of previous work to look over which will help in choosing how you want your cards to look. This will certainly make your card an extremely unique one.

Because, no matter how skilled the calligrapher is, each invitation card will contain differences giving them a uniqueness that will come to be treasured. It would be a good idea to get your prospective calligrapher to do an example card for you, to check the work. Alternatively you can just hire the calligrapher to do the one card and copy it to produce the balance of the order. Naturally, you lose the unique nature of each invitation but you are saving a considerable amount of money if that’s the option you choose.

A consideration that you’re going to have to factor in if you go for a handmade calligraphy wedding invitation is that it is going to be expensive. As a matter of fact, the cost of a card can be quite high if you would like to make all your cards hand-written. This is probably one of the disadvantages of such a wedding card.

That brings us back to taking up a calligraphy pen, learning some calligraphy and creating your own wedding invitations. The invitations will be more meaningful to you and also to your guests, not to mention to act as a strong talking point.

When you learn Chinese calligraphy, it is easy to find yourself falling under the spell of the art form and easy to be immersed completely into cultural richness that has been alive for over a 1000 years.

Chinese calligraphy is one of the traditional 4 arts of China dating back to the earliest time in the country’s history and it is still widely practiced today. The characters are each works of art and you don’t have to understand their meaning to appreciate the beauty each one holds.

Chinese characters are complex in relation to other writing languages with their meaning as mysterious as the art styles behind it. Some Chinese characters mimic similar tones of other characters, yet have different meanings. Master calligraphers are said to place their whole essence into the work they produce.

These days Chinese calligraphy characters are a unique Oriental art expression as well as a rich branch of learning and discipline.

The infamy of Chinese calligraphy has become an art to be understood and learned. Not only do we want it on our walls and skin, we want to become even more individual with it. You can learn Chinese calligraphy, and create the same beautiful words as do the masters.
Learning to draw these characters requires patience, with a complete range of calligraphy brushes, similar to the Japanese calligraphy brushes, required for the work. You would need to follow clear concise instructions, have a clear uncluttered mind and then you will need lots of practice. Acquiring this skilled art form can be hours of entertainment and enjoyment because it is so unfolding in a multi conceptual way.

The ancient art of Chinese characters are popularized in cultures other than Chinese. The styles and forms of characters seen everywhere particularly popular in western circles as tattoos and it is now a highly demanded art to learn.

One piece of calligraphy equipment that may be overlooked but is definitely an essential part of the calligrapher’s utensils is the calligraphy pen holder. Holders can be made of wood or plastic with the very rare and very exquisite venetian glass an option too and are often combined with metal fittings.

Holders like the Heintze and Blanckert handle is just a piece of wood around 5 inches long that is flat on one side and bevelled on the others for comfort. This type of pen holder doesn’t have metal fitting to hold the nib in place.

Two main considerations should be taken into account when choosing a calligraphy pen holder. The first is the mechanism that holds the nib in place which might be an arching slit, a metal insert of something more complicated. The second is the barrel of the pen holder, what it’s weight is and the girth not to mention how easily the pen can be gripped. Some plastic pen holders can be very smooth and become slippery after being used for any length of time which causes tension in the hand as the grip tightens.

Some calligraphers prefer to get a pen holder with a cork wrapping or a grooved rubber grip at the point where the fingers grip the barrel. It’s all up to the individual calligrapher and you won’t know how you feel about a particular pen holder until you have felt it in your hand. Some calligraphers prefer to feel a heavy calligraphy pen holder while others would rather a light holder to enable them to feel the nib more keenly.

When you buy a calligraphy set, a calligraphy pen holder will be included with it. You don’t necessarily have to use that pen holder, most times you can buy a pen holder separately and use the nibs that came with the set. However this is not always the case because some pen holders are specific to their manufacturers own nibs. Pelikan nibs can only be used with their own holder because of the complex nature of the connection which involves small metal tongues and hooks that link into one another.

When you’re looking to buy a calligraphy pen holder, try it out by gripping it in the normal posture you would use when writing. Test the weight and feel of the pen after a nib has been inserted. You need to make sure that the gripping device, if there is one, fits tightly to the pen holder surface without any movement. A wobbly pen holder will not be conducive to making crisp straight strokes. Next check that the nib sits straight in alignment with the holder. Any misalignment will prove to be very distracting.

Calligraphy pen holders shouldn’t be particularly high priced items. So when you go out to buy a new calligraphy pen holder, buy several that will be able to meet all your calligraphy demands.