Kickin' it with T: Calligraphy Day 3

Day three and still going strong. I was in the zone this day and just kept going and did four of the printouts instead of just three. I find that this activity is good to do when you are stressed and just need to take time for yourself (something that I have realized I need to do more often). I am glad that this is the skill that I picked because it is an activity that I can do on my own and don't really need anyone else. When I do these I tend to take 2-3 hours to complete (all four not just for one) because I am just so focused on every detail and creating mine just like the printout shows. Although I am very focused and determined to be good at this, this is also the time where I am able to unwind and think.

After this day of calligraphy I thought about the following:

• What makes me happy? Taking time for myself and doing things that I want to do
• It is ok to say no sometimes...you cannot please everyone

• You cannot be perfect all the time, it's ok to have flaws- this is something I struggle with on the regular basis and it has really been brought to my attention through learning this skill. There have been many letters I have made that do not look (in my opinion) like what the handout shows and I want to go back and start over with 'A', but I don't, I keep going even when my OCD anxiety kicks in making me overthink everything. But this is going to push me to be better about moving on

• Don't sweat the small things, especially the things you can't change. Yes, I can go back and start all over, but why waste paper when I am practicing to get better. Making mistakes makes you better and if you keep going back to change one letter you have just wasting time. So I need to continue what I am doing and push along. 

For these practices I used the thin marker so I could practice my details. I was not a fan of these fonts though for that reason...too much detail and they did not fit my writing style. I want something that fits my own penmanship. I am also struggling with my spacing and exaggeration still but I think that will improve when I switch over to writing words and not just letters.

But, something that I think has been improving is my cursive. I think that by starting out with the printouts was a good way to start because they are like a nice little warmup. I don't think they are my favorite way to learn because like I said in my previous blog I am more of a visual learner and it is harder for me to add the details from just looking at the picture rather than following a video. But since I have not tried following a video I cannot compare the two ways yet. 

After starting this, I find myself practicing on the side of my papers at school while waiting for kids to finish up tests or during silent reading time. This is something that I really want to become good at because it is such a unique skill to have. And as I am becoming a little more comfortable with blogging my work I think that I am ready to get some feedback..so if you are reading this or just skimmed and skipped to the end, feel free to leave your comments, questions or suggestions. I am slowly learning, so any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Let me know what you think! What is something that makes you happy? What is something that you have always wanted to learn!?!