Calligrapher | Designer | Teacher | Author

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About

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Calligrafile ➺

Calligrapher | Designer | Teacher | Author

Teaching

About

Workshop Tickets ➺

Calligrafile ➺

The More One Works...

Folded Pen Lettering

One of my favorite quotes about art, by sculptor Alberto Giacometti.
Folded pen and Sumi ink on paper; digitized in Photoshop

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All #ProtestCalligraphy The More One Works... Wise Men Talk... Summer Workshop Ads Bellissimo Alfred Coffee + Kitchen Net Neutrality Decorated Majuscules Calligrapher's Business Handbook Greek Tattoos Martha Stewart Weddings Alfred Takeover The Craftsmanship Initiative Skillshare Class: Mastering iPad Lettering UPPERCASE Magazine Calligrafile Art Is A Political Attitude Letters Are Things Victorio & Lucchino Wedding Invitations Woolf's Diaries Michael Kors Vera in August Remember Why Decorative Type Vogue Footwear Folded Pen Envelopes Calligraphed Logos Delicious Desserts Wedding Accents Greek Calligraphy But First Coffee Umai Grill Spirit of Sanada Drinking Ouzo Google Arts & Culture Έλιος Jun Sasaki J. Jill

#ProtestCalligraphy The More One Works... Wise Men Talk... Summer Workshop Ads Bellissimo Alfred Coffee + Kitchen Net Neutrality Decorated Majuscules Calligrapher's Business Handbook Greek Tattoos Martha Stewart Weddings Alfred Takeover The Craftsmanship Initiative Skillshare Class: Mastering iPad Lettering UPPERCASE Magazine Calligrafile Art Is A Political Attitude Letters Are Things Victorio & Lucchino Wedding Invitations Woolf's Diaries Michael Kors Vera in August Remember Why Decorative Type Vogue Footwear Folded Pen Envelopes Calligraphed Logos Delicious Desserts Wedding Accents Greek Calligraphy But First Coffee Umai Grill Spirit of Sanada Drinking Ouzo Google Arts & Culture Έλιος Jun Sasaki J. Jill

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Athens, Greece | Los Angeles | Boston

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That time you dash off some abc's of calligraphy and run out of paper when you get to t.... 😂 I love taking a break from fancy flourishes to work with really casual styles. Honestly, I even prefer them in a lot of applications.⠀
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If a loose, casual script like this appeals to you but you're struggling to capture it in your own work, it just might be because you're stuck in a perfectionist mentality. It can be such a release to let go of one's perfectionist tendencies – or try! – and more often than not, the results look pretty cool.⠀
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In my new book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy, I place a big emphasis on crafting your own modern calligraphy style, so I've packed it with advice on making your script fancier, if that's what you're after, or more casual, if that's your thing.⠀
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#moderncalligraphy #abcs #handlettering #typography #thedailytype #goodtype #typegang #dailydoseofpaper #quill

Couldn't have said it better myself, Plato. These wise words have certainly stood the test of time! 🏺🏛️⁣⠀
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#greekphilosophy #calligraphy #ipadlettering #procreate #ipadpro #wisemen

$I'm throwing my hat in the ring for @goodtype's #KeepCursiveAlive campaign. I think I'm a couple days late, as this was part of #GoodtypeTuesday, but it's a near-and-dear cause that spoke to me. ⁣⠀ .⁣⠀ I still remember learning cursive in elementary school and the confidence boost it gave me in ALL subjects, knowing that I could write my assignments more legibly, more beautifully, and, frankly, faster.⁣⠀ .⁣⠀ I saw this in play again later in life, when I used to volunteer at @826LA West, in Los Angeles. I was there to help kids with their homework, from writing essays about Abe Lincoln to adding fractions. I quickly realized how many of the kids were struggling with the actual act of forming #letters, and it was slowing them down a lot. So I started challenging the kids I worked with to erase a letter when they didn't like it, and try it again until it looked good. I taught them some basics of #cursive, and ways of holding the pencil to make writing easier. I thought these little lessons might be helpful, but I never anticipated how transformative they would be. Kids started running up to me to show off their notebook pages, because for the first time they were proud of how their writing looked. ⁣⠀ .⁣⠀ Science backs all this up, by the way, but if you're reading this caption and follow my account, you probably don't need any convincing! Students who are confident in their handwriting and can physically manage a pencil from a young age tend to become more confident in all their subjects. Not to mention that people remember notes taken by hand far more than notes they type, and that cursive is the most efficient way to write quickly – not just the most beautiful!⁣⠀ .⁣⠀ #moderncalligraphy #imacalligrafile @jgrahamcarraway⁣⠀ #handlettering #thedailytype #goodtype #handwriting #typegang #penmanship #script$

I'm reading a few great books at the moment, and feeling enveloped in thoughtful, beautiful words. It's been so (so) cold here in Athens, and sitting inside by my space heater hasn't provided me much inspiration. Whenever I go through a period of creative block, I usually turn to books to reignite that spark. ⠀
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I love reading science books, from physics to psychology to physiology, because the power of the universe and the human mind will never cease to inspire me. I just started "The Body Keeps The Score" by Bessel van der Kolk, MD, who was one of the first psychiatrists to understand the physical manifestations of trauma and fear. I'm just fascinated by his stories of clinical trials from the early 1970s, the diagrams of lit-up amygdalas, and his anecdotes about looking to animals for clues on how humans hold onto fear. I highly recommend it, not just to #sciencenerds.⠀
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When I saw this David Brooks quote today, from his book "The Road to Character," the synchronicity was such that I felt immediately inspired to letter it.⠀
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#ipadlettering #procreate #ipadpro2018 #moderncalligraphy #davidbrooks #besselvanderkolk #imacalligrafile

Backward alphabet 27/27: A⠀
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We've made it to the end of my backward alphabet series! A is a great letter to finish with because a good A always feels regal, self-contained, and complete. It's a great stand-alone letter because of its strong structure and, of course, because it's a word unto itself. ♥️ ⠀
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Now I want to see *your* uppercase alphabets! Please tag me to show me your letters, or PM me if you prefer sharing that way. 💕⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
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#masteringmoderncalligraphy #flourishedcalligraphy #calligraphypractice #calligraphybook #mollysuberthorpe #lettera #uppercasecalligraphy

Backward alphabet 26/27: B⠀
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If you're struggling with B, go back to your R and work on curving the leg around to form a bowl. If you're aiming for a cohesive lettering style where all the letters "match," then practicing B, R, and P together will prove very beneficial, because these three letters are sisters. (But if you want to make them completely different from one another, go for it! I'm a huge fan of experimentation and unorthodox styles.)⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
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#masteringmoderncalligraphy #calligraphyworkshop #mollysuberthorpe #letterb #copperplate #pointedpencalligraphy #typegang

Backward alphabet 25/27: C⠀
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C is for Creative Challenge, because I want to encourage you to be as creative with this character as possible. C is a letter that is easy to learn once and then stick with that same style in all your writing. But there is a lot you can do with C! For starters, play with the width and the top flourish, and push yourself out of your comfort zone a bit.⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
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#masteringmoderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #mollysuberthorpe #letterc #typelove #calligraphyc #calligraphycapitals

Backward alphabet 24/27: D⠀
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D is for Deceptively Difficult. This is by far one of the hardest letters to write in proportion. It's all too easy to make D look like it's either melting into the baseline (bottom heavy) or about to topple over (top heavy). Tag me in a D you're proud of!⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
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#masteringmoderncalligraphy #moderncalligraphy #letterd #copperplated #learnmoderncalligraphy #mollysuberthorpe

Backward alphabet 23/27: E⠀
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Very few letters elicit the anxious groans among my students that uppercase E does. It's not just a backward B without the stem, it's not just C with a loop in the middle. E is its own beast. The proportions of the top and bottom bowls are tricky, because while they allow room for experimentation, it's easy for the letter to look top- or bottom-heavy. (But just wait until we get to D, coming up next....)⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
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#masteringmoderncalligraphy #calligraphyalphabet #flourishedcapitals #copperplatecalligraphy #calligraphylove #lettere #mollysuberthorpe

Backward alphabet 22/27: F⠀
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When I posted T last week, I discussed "To turn or not to turn?" Well the choice of whether to have a shaded or hairline top stroke applies to F as well!⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
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#masteringmoderncalligraphy #calligraphyworkshop #mollysuberthorpe #letterf #calligraphycapitals #typegang #uppercasecalligraphy

Backward alphabet 20/27: H⠀
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There are SO many fun variants of H. Do you make the stems two parallel downstrokes or curve them toward each other? Do you make both of them downstrokes of equal weight, or do you make one into a hairline? Do you lift after the first stem (as I have in #1 and #2), or write the whole letter without lifting (as in #3)? Do you flourish the top, the bottom, the crossbar, or all three?⠀
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These 3 variants are from my forthcoming book, Mastering Modern Calligraphy. (Learn more about it in my story highlight, New Book.) They are actually only a small sampling, as the book includes more than 2,700 pointed pen letter exemplars and exercises!⠀
.⠀
#masteringmoderncalligraphy #mollysuberthorpe #letterh #copperplatecalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphyworkshop

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