Working Towards Artistic Success

Working Towards Artistic Success

In penmanship, we have this never-ending tug of war between what the hand can do and what the eye can perceive. I expect it's the same with most crafts, but I type this from a fine penmanship perspective.

The issue for beginners is that they can see good work, and they might even be able to describe good work generally, but when put side by side with amateur work, they often fail to articulate what the differentiating factors are. They don't really understand what makes work good.

Transitioning from novice to adept is a product of tireless study and practice. Students of penmanship need to become familiar with the forms they are trying to pen and all of the little details they might experience along the way of actually penning them. Some of this can be accomplished by just practicing a lot, but other parts need to be honed by discussing, analyzing, pondering, and exploring the literature. In my experience, it takes both a stick-to-it attitude, and a detailed study to be able to break out of the plateau at the end of noviceship.

That said, there's a lot to be said for grit. I expect that engraving and penmanship are similar in this regard. Those who can withstand the monotony of trial and error are sure to have their reward, eventually.

Just my $0.02 from the sidelines. Cheers!

Excellent, Masgrimes!!! Well said!!!

David, my most serious period of study was decades ago. I was in New York and studied with some of the great calligraphers there. Barry Morentz in particular. Despite serous study, one of my limits was because of muscular tension (probably a product of my anxiety to do well).
I actually did not understand this until I tried to improve my guitar playing and found that my speed limit was caused by muscle tension.
As you know, I took your class in Tuscon years ago and there is only so much you can do in a day, but I urge you to be on the lookout for earnest students who are sabotaging themselves because they fail to relax and let the pen do it's thing! Maybe you do that already.
The same problem can manifest itself in holding the graver. You can easily lose the feedback loop of the feeling of the graver in the metal... or the pen on the paper.

@mark_hickler That's definitely a thing I'm keenly aware of. Typically, I try not to criticize anyone who is working outside of their normal work environment for being nervous/tense. Performance is part of the job in some situations, but for the most part I imagine we're all most at home in the environment we set up to get us into the right mental state.

I'm glad to hear that we have guitar playing in common! I've found so many parallels between fluency in music and fluency in penmanship. I think it's a great lens through which to view craft.

Y'all are getting me excited to give some engraving a go.