Pretty(ish) Letters

I have been avoiding Calligraphy since I got into the SCA.

It's true. I'm not ashamed of it (much), but it is what it is.

I have never felt I had the patience to actually make the letters work, as I am much better at free-form art rather than structured styles.

I couldn't avoid it forever. As an illuminator, it was important for me to understand what I was asking of my "Pocket Scribes" (I love you Yzabels and Helen!), moreover well, anything I was avoiding I needed to face head-on and get over. So I have begun to try and learn the ways of the Calligrapher.

This process has begun with Uncial hand and a very patient best friend. The choice for uncial was that what I would learn from it would eventually transfer to other hands, should I decide to do them (I will). Yzabels was very patient with me, bribing me with Cherry Shasta and Cutthroat Kitchen should I finish a full page.

There we go. This dear readers is my first attempt at calligraphy. 

It was really, really hard, and there are about 6 letters in total that I don't totally hate. But hey, I did it, and I'm one step closer to my goal...