What is a challenge for you?

As we all write less and less, I am beginning to see that handwriting will go the way of dinosaurs.

Maybe that is why I have returned to practicing calligraphy.  I learned calligraphy ages ago, but didn’t stick with it enough to become professional (my excuse: I kept running into teachers who said:  oh, you’re left handed….)

I still struggle with my ‘lefthandedness.’ As a left-hander, I can't easily see the letters I’ve just written, which creates problems with the slant of the letters and thick and thin lines.  There are many well-known, very talented left-handed calligraphers who practice and have overcome this hurdle. I’m still working on it.

That's Jellica the cat inspecting my work.

I am in the middle of a class where we are using large instruments such as sponges and balsa wood to make letters and words. Usually, using a different tool releases my inhibitions or self-imposed restrictions. Not this time.  

At the end of the day, I was wandering around the class feeling down. Several other students nodded their heads in agreement. I took home my practice pieces and tried more at home with pretty much the same result.  

To rescue them, I cut the practice papers into 5” squares, mixed them up, and laid them on the carpet in our entry way.  Put together as a collage, the pieces looked like the word 'memory' to me — those moments that you can sort of recall, but are disjointed and not complete.

I never know what I am going to discover from an experience outside my comfort zone.  

For me, Lesson #300,000+:  Try a different point of view.  Use scissors. Square shapes are good.