The Complete Guide to Calligraphy by Ralph Cleminson

The Complete Guide to Calligraphy by Ralph Cleminson

Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. Since its beginning over 5,000 years ago, calligraphy and letterforms have played a very important part in the great cultures of the world. It is even popular with A-list movie star Brad Pitt, who presented Angelina Jolie on their first anniversary with a manuscript of twelve love poems loosely based on Shakespeare's sonnets, which he composed and penned himself in calligraphy. This step-by-step and fully comprehensive guide to calligraphy includes the key scripts of the world in three sections: Latin, Non-Latin and Pictographic scripts. From Europe, all the main Latin alphabet styles and scripts are featured - Carolingian, Roman, Uncial, Gothic, Italic and Copperplate - in addition to Greek, Russian, Cyrillic, Hebrew and Arabic. The characters and scripts of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy are also revealed, including a range of inspirational characters. With full practical techniques for each, all the scripts are followed by a range of authentic projects that incorporate invitations, greetings, poetry and wisdom of the spirit from around the world. From personalised birthday cards in illuminated Carolingian script to a delicate Chinese talisman of 'hope, love, and joy' on handmade paper, this book makes the most of the calligrapher's motto: the joy of calligraphy lies in its practical aspect.

I've always loved the aesthetic side of writingI remember sitting in class, waiting for the bell to ring out freedom while watching the tip of my pencil score out nonsensical words into the page of an exercise book, leaving a small furrow and graphite trail in its wake as it trailed across the textured surface. There's just something so therapeutic about creating lines of looping, flowing letters and letting your thoughts spill out onto the paper. Naturally, then, I've also always been fascinated by calligraphy - and I was recently given the perfect opportunity to give it a go myself. The Complete Guide to Calligraphy was released by Search Press in April of this year. Written by acclaimed calligrapher Vivien Lunniss, the book provides all the guidance you need to go from utter typographical novice to a pro - provided you're prepared to put in the hours! The Complete Guide to Calligraphy is set out in a very logical way, and so begins with the basics, outlining the tools that you need, from different nib types to the appropriate paper weight to use. It shows you which nib is needed for which type, how to hold and load it, how to use its breadth to measure out the x-height of the letters you'll be drawing. It goes into detail about the differences of form between broad-edge and pointed pen calligraphy, left-handed and right-handed approaches to writing, how best to hold the pen, how to mark out the guidelines for every typeface and so on, but it does this in a very clear and concise way. The book is exhaustive without being exhausting. Full Review: http://www.thelittlecrocodile.com/complete-guide-to-calligraphy-vivien-lunniss/ thelittlecrocodile.com

Fiona Graham-Flynn, author of the chapters in the Latin section, has contributed to many books on Celtic art including the internationally best-selling Celtic Ornament - The Art Of The Scribe. She lives in Woking, Surrey. Christine MacKinnon, known for her work on the films The Mummy and The Mummy Returns is the author of the Greek Chapter. She lives in Camberly, Surrey. Christopher Austin provides the Cyrillic Russian chapter, a professional calligrapher who has contributed to many books and to the BBC. He lives in South West London. Gordon Charatan has worked as a teacher of Hebrew calligraphy for over 20 years. He lives in North West London. Nassar Mansour, author of the Arabic chapter, qualified as a calligrapher master in Iraq after several years' study with a renowned master. He lives in London. Qu Lei Lei, author of several best-selling books and a visiting scholar to London's Victoria and Albert Museum, wrote the Chinese chapter. He lives in South West London. Yoko Takenami, author of the Japanese chapter, has studied calligraphy since the age of seven and qualified as a master of Japanese Calligraphy in 1990. She lives in West London

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781904991427
ISBN 10	1904991424
Title	The Complete Guide to Calligraphy
Author	Ralph Cleminson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Ryland, Peters & Small Ltd
Year published	2006-10-11
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable