Setting Up for Calligraphy

Now that you have your supplies ready, the next thing to consider is setting up a place to do the calligraphy.

You can do it just sitting at a regular table or desk. But I would suggest that at some point you try the rest of what I describe here. I think you will find that it will help you to do better writing.

The best surface is a slanted one. If you have a drafting table, that would be great for this. But if you don't, all you really need is some sort of stiff surface such as a board that you can prop up with some books. (You may want to set a towel or something on the surface first and rest your books and your board on it to keep the board from slipping down on you.)

The point of having a sloping surface is that it makes it easier to write well. It gives your hands and arms a greater freedom of movement. And well-done calligraphy needs space to move, as there are times when you need to move your whole arm freely to do long or curving strokes. For example, when flourishing.

Speaking of being able to move freely, you want a chair that will give you enough height so that when you sit at your board, you are sitting comfortably straight with your arms just barely resting on the board. You want to be able to easily move your whole arm and writing hand in long strokes, and large arcs or circles.

Most of us write with the palm of our hand resting on the paper and then moving just our fingers. You'll soon find with calligraphy that such a position cramps your ability to flow with the shape of the letters - and they'll end up lopsided or with "dents" in them. To write calligraphy well, you really need to write from your elbow.

Next, it helps to have an under-surface, something that will give just a enough padding under your paper so that your pen can solidly touch the paper surface. Sometimes all you need is a couple of sheets of paper under the one you are working on. If you need a bit more give than that, try putting a paper towel underneath.

When writing calligraphy, especially with ink, you need to watch that the paper doesn't become damp from your writing hand resting on it. So use another sheet of paper as a cover over the first one, bringing it up high enough for your hand to rest on it, but still giving you room enough to get at your writing lines.

If you find that a bit awkward, here's a secret someone told me. Get an old sock and cut off the cuff section just above the heel. Cut out a small hole on one side just big enough to comfortably fit your thumb through. Wear it like a fingerless mitten to protect the paper. It's much easier and more comfortable than always trying to move the cover paper.

You'll also want to think about where to place your pens and ink. If you're right-handed you'll want them on the right side where they are easy to reach. They need to be somewhere handy, but not where they will be in the way. And with ink especially, somewhere that it won't get spilled.

A trick that I learned in one of the first classes I took was to put my ink bottle inside an empty tuna or salmon can. Then cut a sponge to fit in around the ink bottle. That way if any ink drips, it is more likely to stay in the can or sponge. And the wider base of the can makes it less likely to tip.

You'll also want a container for water handy to rinse out your nibs now and again. Use something with a wide and/or heavy base so that it is stable.

If you have a number of pens that you are working with, it's handy to have a container to set them in. Over the years I've found some heavy glass mugs that work great for that - and look rather nice too!

Another handy tool is something to rest your pens on once you have ink in them. If you can find the old-fashioned knife rests, they work great for that. Or simply take a piece of cereal box cardboard, cut to about 3" x 12" or whatever width you want. Fold it to form a triangle shape, cut some notches out along the top edge, then tape the edges together to form the triangle.

Have a roll of paper towels handy. I like to take several of them, fold them together to form a thicker pad, and keep that right close to my ink bottle. I use that to touch the tip of the pen to it to wick off any excess ink, so I don't get blobbing when I start out with a freshly loaded pen.

I think that's about it for the basic setup. Now let's take a look at some basic terminology that we'll be using as calligraphers.