Nib and Ink: AWESOME Book Review!

Let's take a look at one of my favourite Modern Calligraphy books: Nib and Ink (published by Peguin RandomHouse). I cannot even explain how much I love this book! I totally credit the author Chiara Perano with teaching me the basics of Modern Calligraphy and then some! If you want to learn Modern Calligraphy for yourselves, to stop playing along bit by bit, drooling on Pinterest, and actually learn how to do it for real from an expert, then Nib And Ink is the one to get.

This is the Modern Calligraphy book that I devoured from beginning to end. And I have filled in every bit of blank space!! Really!! Each page has oodles of my writing!

Nib And Ink is split into four outstanding sections...Chiara Perano starts off at the very beginning, taking you through the materials needed, and then starting you off on how to make the marks on the page....

Then, we move onto Letters....

...where we learn how to form each and every letter, the Capitals and the littlies, one by one, slowly and thoroughly. Please don't skip this part. It's only by forming those letters over and over again that your hands will gain the muscle memory they need, and your body will understand the new movements required to form Modern Calligraphy letters properly.

 {Now, a side note: if you go to Amazon and read the reviews, you might be put off but DON'T BE!! The reviewers complain that this book is taken up with a lot of empty pages but this could not be further from the truth. Those parts have a very real and essential function

Yes, there is plenty of room for practice alongside the expert guidance but, honestly, I've found its the practice that is absolutely the best way to learn: to have the example of beautifully formed letters right there and to have a legitimate excuse to scrawl next to it on, gasp, the actual page, rather than having to get a notebook each time you're struck with inspiration!! I've written all over my copy from beginning to end and I LOVE it!! It serves as a written record of my very steep learning curve.}

Next, joy of joys, Chiara Perano lets us move onto Words!! We learn how to link those letters together in strings. This is where the magic really starts. You'll find yourself amazed at that awesome moment when everything comes together and you find yourself producing what could almost pass as Modern Calligraphy itself!!

And, finally, Projects! Woohoooo! 

This is where you can actually start putting your new skills to good use and bombard all your friends and family with cards and letters!

{They'll love it!}

To all my Modern Calligraphy-loving cuties, if this is something you're serious about getting better at, do yourself a BIG favour and buy Nib and Ink right now!