December 23, 2017 at 10:17 pm
I am anticipating that I am part of those who want to learn, but run into a primary roadblock.  As a 76 year-old LEFT hander I have found that I am not helped at all by video of right handed teachers making letters or righties guideline arrows attached to printed sheets and being told "just do them in reverse.
The one complete (I have come to understand) guide for lefties by Shepherd) is no longer in print and even used copies are selling for $79 AND UP!  The very few IAMPETH offerings are basic, but do not have specific tricks and techniques outside recognizing that there are underwriters, overwriters and along the line smearers.  For me, it is easy to figure many pressure changes for Copperplate and Spencerian in theory and use some creative movements to make them work.
BUT, simple Gothic and Fractur are seemingly the root of sinister problems (yes, the evil root of the word).  Underwriter and smearer  wrists do not bend to properly adjust the angle of nib width on the Pilot Parallel pens, and constantly shifting between under and hooked-over positions to make proper strokes for each element in each letter is impossible in my opinion.
Now you may be a righty, and I mean no insult when I say that a righty trying to give lessons to a lefty is like a Great Dane Dog giving barking lessons to a Persian Kitten.  BUT. a right handed Calligrapher who knows a good (maybe one or two) left handed Calligrapher could make a large step into our unserved part of the market writing and and videoing Calligraphy lessons that go beyond buying pen and ink by solving or offering multiple ways of solving the problems left handers have.
Some of those problems include:
1. Pointed (flex) pens scratching furrows or digging holes in the paper.
2. Controlling broad nib angles in blackletter without the subtle right handed wrist changes. (Rotating pen in fingers is not accurate.)
3. Defeating smear.  A bane of sidewriting that some quick dryng ink can solve some of the time while clogging nibs
4. Coping (for side and under writers) with the lack of ability to pull the pen for what righties get for downstrokes and lefties find themselves pushing against the nib inless lifting the pen and changing hand position completely.
5. Some basic exercises for Lefties that help them make letters look as good as written by righties.
Even if you do not answer or do not wish to pursue these ideas, thank you for reading my consistent plaint as a plow through life at an all too quick pace.
Gregory Chmara
