I’ve always preferred writing things by hand, which doesn’t quite marry up with my job as a digital copywriter, but I love whenever anyone tells me my handwriting is neat. I’d never tried calligraphy before, but I’ve always thought it’d be a lovely skill to learn, taking my love of neat handwriting to the next level.
I applied for the Manchester WI bursary when I heard it could be used to learn new creative skills, as I’d been interested in attending an Introduction to Modern Calligraphy course. I signed up for a course run by Moon & Tide, and my excitement levels increased when I received my ticket through the post with my name written in beautiful ink script.
The course was held at Ziferblat in the Northern Quarter (unlimited tea and cake is the perfect accompaniment to any activity). At the start of the course, everyone was handed a potato (I wasn’t expecting this, but apparently it’s just the ticket for making sure a nib is ready to be used on paper), a nib, ink and lots of templates.
We started by copying out the alphabet in both uppercase and lowercase, before moving on to joined-up words and phrases, which you can see in the photo. The repetitive nature of the task made it very relaxing, and we got to take home our nibs and templates at the end so we could carry on practising at home.
I need to keep my practising up, but it’s been great to learn a new skill thanks to the WI - I’d recommend the course and the bursary fund to anyone who’s thinking about either!
Kate Robinson