Now, what exactly is Modern Calligraphy?

We have Joyce of Artsynibs, our Workroomer based in Manchester, to answer this perennial question!

When Ruth invited me to share on this, I must say it did take some time for me to decide on what it means to me, at least.

Is Modern Calligraphy a spin off from the Copperplate script? What is and is not considered Modern Calligraphy?

Quite frankly, I feel like I need another cup of coffee already and the dreary Mancunian Monday (as I am writing this) isn’t helping either.

To save us the headache, let me try to put it as plainly as possible. Personally, I think that Modern Calligraphy is traditional calligraphy on creative steroids.

We are seeing so many different forms of Modern Calligraphy today because we are all inspired by the various traditional scripts around – Copperplate, Spencerian, Gothic, Italic, Roundhand and more.

My journey began with a very Copperplate-influenced version of Modern Calligraphy. But as I started my study of the Spencerian script, I realised that my modern script was evolving – the ovals are more angular than before.

As we are constantly basing our idea of Modern Calligraphy on our taste, don’t be surprised if your script changes over time. With this, I’d say that there isn’t a right or wrong style in Modern Calligraphy. How is it possible to put a benchmark on something so fluid?

Instead, focus on your techniques-- your grip, movement and pace.

In my humble opinion, these are the more important questions to answer.

So what do we do now?

Pick a traditional script you like. Whilst you don’t need to dive too deep into it, it’s still imperative that you study it and try to answer the three questions above. There’s no shortage of information on the Internet, and the calligraphy community on Instagram is ever so helpful.

There we go, my attempt in unravelling the “mystery” of Modern Calligraphy! 

What do you think?

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