1st Spencerian example

As luck would have it, we made it through the morning errands and have a whole hour of free time before the after-school chaos begins. I was able to shoot some video that is more like Spencerian. Hopefully, it will show the rhythm better.

Feel free to switch to this if you have been working on the upright italic. I don't think there is any harm at all in switching around - at the beginning. You need to try everything before you find the style and method that is fun and engages your brain/eyes/limbs.

I shot video of those top few lines - but there was no point in anyone watching how they appeared because they are a mess. It was my first penmanship of the day and hopefully, you will see that even I have to warm up. Warm up is something that I accept as part of the process. If I ever think that I can just write the way I want to - right from the start - I learn EVERY SINGLE TIME -- that whatever I do first - is UGLY. Maybe not to your eyes -- but to my eyes, it is not what it should be -- warm up work has all kinds of problems. So don't think that there will ever be a time that you do not need to allow yourself some warm up.

THINKING ABOUT MANY THINGS AT THE SAME TIME

Maybe you want to call it multi-tasking. Think of some way to train your brain to remember that there are multiple parts of your body working at the same time. As you may recall, I prefer to give my eyes the role of leadership. If you can't see what you are doing and critique it -- you will never improve. If you can't see that there is variation in the slant or variation in the spacing -- then you can't fix those things.

During the first few lines, I was trying to think of ways to *teach rhythm.* I have no idea if I will ever be able to talk at the same time I am shooting my videos. I know from YEARS of teaching that I have said NUMEROUS times in classes -- as I was talking and writing at the same time, "That's ugly, I can't talk and write at the same time." Then I would rewrite - without talking - and it would look fine.

First you need to SEE my rhythm. It looks jerky. Obviously there are certain letters that interrupt the rhythm. I can't give people a perfect set of words to teach rhythm. Each person has to work on it and figure out how to establish a rhythm. Hopefully - each person will explore the letters that are the easiest first -- and add a few at a time.

I know this is tedious -- but, it's not brain surgery. It's you pushing a pen (or pencil) up and down and across at the same time.

So --- do some over-strokes

some under-strokes

ininin

imimimim

inminimini - random i-n-m  --don't think about them

mumumum

nununun

numnununnmmnununmm - random n-u-m. -- don't think about them

If you want to  -- fill an entire page with a pattern - just for the fun of it.

If you are in a bad mood while you are doing this, it will show -- so don't do it if you think it is a dumb idea and a waste of your time.

Only fill an entire page if it mesmerizes you and you want to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that you did it. When I get home, I will do it - to show you how pretty it is.

Then I will show how to fold it into a pretty envelope and make mail art.