"Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being Excellent" - Abbey Sy
I can relate to that quote so much (I think because it's true). So a lot of you doesn't really know that I love writing letters or in short doing "Calligraphy". But I have showcased some works of mine on my Instagram account (You can see it if you were following me). As what people commonly experience everyone consider themselves to be a beginner when they start their Calligraphy Journey. And I believe that's the same story as mine.
Short Story:
I discovered Calligraphy on Instagram (what do you expect? I'm an Instagram addict lol). So I got inspired and decided to try it. I decided to ask my sister if she still got the speedball thingy that she used when she was on high school and unexpectedly she let me borrow it but it doesn't have a holder. I told my mom to buy me one to the nearest school supplies store because I need it in school (I even lied for priorities lol). So I tried it and got addicted to it but sadly I run out of ink. I've decided to try a Modern Calligraphy Workshop in Naga and surprisingly it become my hobby (btw. it was a nib and a holder/dip pen).
After 2 years my skills improved and unexpectedly I got asked by KICK Milk Tea (one of the famous Cafe here in Daet) if I still do my Calligraphy and I replied Yes! Day went by and suddenly I was inspired to start a workshop since it's popular these days. So I asked KICK if we could have a workshop and unexpectedly they said Yes. I really couldn't believe that because first I'm only 15 years old and second I'm not yet a pro. So after some meetings and preparation it was finally announced!
So basically Pointed pen (Modern Calligraphy) is different from Brush pens (Brush Calligraphy). Let's move on to the workshop, during the Workshop I taught the ff:
● Difference of Lettering, Calligraphy and Typography
● Definition of Brush Calligraphy
● How to use the Brush Pen
● Basic Strokes and Drills
● Upper Case and Lower Case Letter Drills
● Other Methods of Brush Calligraphy
● Tips and Techniques
● How to take care of your Brush Pens
● Layout techniques for writing quotes
And the 700 PHP Workship Fee includes:
● 2 Colored Brush Pens (ZIG Kuretake Fudebiyori)
● 1 Black Brush Pen (ZIG Mangaka Flexible Brush)
● Pencil
● Nameplate
● Workshop Zine
● Inclusive of food from KICK Milk Tea & Coffee
After 2 hustling weeks my Brush Calligraphy Workshop finally happened. So basically I stick to the workshop's theme and it resulted to this.
I felt some pressure because my workshop was the first ever Calligraphy Workshop that happened here in Daet though I'm still honored to be it's instructor. The workshop had only 10 slots but a lot of people here in Daet are really interested to learn Calligraphy so we extended it to 12. 11 participants came and as plan the other workshop materials are for ma'am Coy (owner of KICK Milk Tea). I met people sorts, from kids, highschoolers to college students, who were desperate to learn something new.
The workshop supposed to start by 9:00 AM, but due to the brown out that was scheduled on my workshop time (what a coincidence) we had to delay it to 9:30 (and maybe that was the reason why some of the participants were late). Even so, because of everyone's cooperation the time was just right! Everyone was so eager to learn the craft it made me feel that we didn't even lose time.
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| One of my pro student's work |
As included to the workshop fee, KICK strikes again to serve good foods and beverages. Though I think their frappes and milktea's already melted because they were too busy and focus doing the workshop zine lol. I was so shocked that they all did great! from the Drills to the last part of the workshop. Also thank you so much to Sissy's Stuffs for the beautiful handmade bracelets for the workshop's freebies.
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| Last minute giving tips and techniques |
I just hope they enjoyed and they're satisfied with the workshop. I did my best to share my experience with craft and I hope they all learned a lot from me. Though I was a first timer I think I did well and I'm proud of myself. I know that this is everyone's passion that's why they joined the workshop. And I know everyone will continue doing what they Love. I hope we could build a bigger community related to this craft and I am looking forward to my student's future works.
Also I want to thank KICK Milk Tea for making this happened (this is one of my dreams). I am thankful that they appreciate my works, I am also looking forward for another collaboration. I am just so grateful that everything went well and the workshop was a success.
Here's a short video of the workshop
