[Scriptoris] Lefties (was: Seeking Advice)

[Jocelyn Hinkle]

On Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:10:52
 letebts at earthlink.net wrote:
>One thing I learned when teaching, that not all lefties need the left
>oblique pen, the one that is cut low on the left side and angles up to the
>right corner. The only ones that need the special pen are the ones who reach
>around their paper in an open "hug" and are called "hookers." The rest do
>well with a squared, chisel-edged pen. I have tried both pens with my left
>hand. (I'm a "rightie.") Too, there are certain parts of letters where a
>leftie just has to go on faith where no pen has scribed before!
>
>Lete

The left oblique is great for learning with tho, even if you are not prone to hooking your hand position. Once you become comfortable with the movements that your hand must make (the pen reliably producing the expected lines and angles), it is then possible and more comfortable to move on to standard chisels and crow quills.

I actually prefer to start my students with a carpenters pencil. The graphite is rectangular, the body of the pencil is big and comfy to hold, and the point may be cut to an angle that best fits the student's particular hand position. I do like to encurage a non-hooked hand to avoid the nasty habit of dragging the hand through the text.
Also it is easier for non-hooked scribes to move onto the more advanced itallic and round-hand letter forms. Gothic is usually the best starting point, strait lines are easier to learn on. I then like to move onto a reformation hand, and then onto uncial. If you learn uncial before reformation, it is very hard to un-learn some of the letterforms. This will color your kearning, sizing, and flourishes in the humanist scripts.

Ari
---
Is there enough of God left, in the dust
between the stars, to dance up more
life than your fragile ego can stand?
Scribe_Ari at Lycos.com



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