Specialty is an confusing phenomenon. It’s commonly accepted that specializing in a niche field increases the quality of the contributions that an an individual can make. However, the concept of specializing—particularly when it comes to penmanship—is often seen as being at the expense of other knowledge and abilities. A specialist might excel in one avenue […]

It was 2014. I was struggling to find inspiration in some mundane task that I’d been assigned by a client who didn’t really need a graphic designer but wanted to use one anyway. I was taking it seriously, though; I wanted to be a legitimate designer, not some kid who scraped the Craigslist “gigs” section […]

A generally accepted trinity of desirable qualities in the penmanship ethos is that of rapidity, legibility, and ease. Writing styles that possess these three qualities are likely considered “good” by the general public. Similar to the old saying about “good, fast, and cheap,” certain styles de-emphasize one of these three aspects in favor of the other two. Some styles may be legible and rapid, but not easy, while are others are easy and rapid, but not legible, etc.

Over the last ten years, I’ve written with oblique holders from many different penmakers. I’ve taken the opportunity to ask to try the holders belonging to students in my workshops. I’ve even made several myself. One thing that I know for certain is: A good holder is one that is well adjusted for its owner.

Gretchen Caldwell is a mother, biochemist, paramedic, dog-trainer, and Dreaming In Script Merit Alum. Over the last six months, We’ve watched Gretchen struggle and grow with a number of different projects and skills as she has progressed into quite the penman! We’re proud to present a student feature about her progress and thoughts on her […]