I want to share a bit more from my own learning experience. I think it's so important to share and I truly want you to avoid the mistakes I made when starting out my calligraphy journey.
TAKING THE FIRST STEP ---> CONSISTENCY ---> MAKING YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE
Do you find it hard to be disciplined, prioritise self care and just ALLOW yourself time for creativity? I know it's hard, trust me, being a toddler mum makes me feel like days go by in a woosh haha.
But one thing I've learned is that if it's on your mind, if it's something you really want to do and your heart is set on it...you've got to do something about it.
Nothing will change if nothing changes.
You've got to take some sort of action towards it. I can apply that to so many things in life.
How many times I've wished for something and just expected it to happen. Getting good at something or just getting things done in general requires action: those first baby steps, learning how to incorporate it into your daily routine, no matter how messy it is.
For many of you, buying a lettering kit, or signing up to a class is YOUR first step. And I just want to say WELL DONE!
I find that once you take that first step and get the ball rolling, there are three things that are quite common to happen in the very first stages of learning….
1.OVERWHELM ----> QUITTING PRACTICE
2.POOR DISCIPLINE -----> QUITTING PRACTICE
3.FEELING UNMOTIVATED / UNCONFIDENT ----> QUITTING PRACTICE
I'd hate for this to happen, so I thought I'd share a few things that have helped me in the past to keep the practice going:
1. Try not to overwhelm yourself by doing hours of practicing, or focusing on too many things at the time. Practicing basic strokes is a perfect example of how to get bite sized work done every day. I'd recommend doing shorter frequent sessions, than hour long sessions once a week, for example. This will help you to stay motivated and help build muscle memory in the most effective way.
2. Something I mentioned above. You can take all the courses, read all the books about this skill... but you've got to put in some work and truly prioritise squeezing in the practice whenever you can. Try to carve out at least 15mins a day to do some calligraphy drills, it's better than no practice at all.
3. We can be our worst critics. Let me tell you that there'll be good and bad calligraphy days and there'll be days where it just feels a bit 'meh'. Like with everything in life, it's not just black and white. You might experience some of those not so good days and start to feel unmotivated.
It might feel like everything is going wrong and there hasn't been any progress lately... this stage is so common, especially before the breakthrough happens. So keep going, believe in yourself and remember your WHY.
Why did you start practicing in the first place? Is it to help you relax? Be able to letter your own cards? Maybe to turn it into a business one day?
It's good to be crystal clear about it, so you can always bounce back to it and keep it as a reminder when things just feel a bit harder.
It's easy to criticise your own work, so if you ever catch yourself thinking 'this doesn't look good' 'my strokes are shaky' 'I can't do it!' try to rephrase that in your head into a positive sentence:
'It might not look excellent, but I'm trying my best and I know I'll only get better',
or
'my strokes are a bit wobbly, but I'm just starting out, every new skill takes time and practice',
'I will take it slow and allow myself as long as I need to make progress'.
See what I did there? This is such good mindset work and will help you stay positive and confident.
I'll stop now, but I hope this has given you a bit of motivation! Let me know in the comments below if you can relate to any of these points.