Handwriting: Part 2

Many people who came to the Spring Open Studios in my building last weekend provided writing samples for my handwriting project. I enjoyed engaging them in this budding art project.

Ghosts of old English classes must haunt us all. Almost every person resisted at first because they thought their handwriting wasn’t “good enough”. Then they were sure they couldn’t think of anything to write.

Write about anything, I encouraged them. What I’m collecting is each person’s unique language marks.

Here’s a sample of one person’s handwriting with wide spacing between the lines and some lovely flourishes to the script.

Here’s another sample that seems to bubble over with energy and humor – isn’t it amazing how clearly the writer’s personalities come through just from how they make their marks?

I’ve also received wonderful writing samples in the mail – thank you to all who have already responded to my request. Since this is an ongoing, long-term project, there’s no deadline. Please send me a writing sample any time. Send more than one, if you’d like. The more wide open you are to letting your thoughts go in any direction, the more easily your writing will flow.

Starting with the handwriting samples that I  have already gathered, I am creating silkscreens with portions or full segments of the authors’ texts and printing them onto fabrics and papers. These will be incorporated into finished works; my desire is for people who view them to feel a powerful sense of the uniqueness of each individual.

Physically "connecting" marks  created by human hands from all over the globe feels like an alchemical process, one that can help communicate our connectedness. It delights and amazes me that our handwriting is so expressive and individual.