Seriously, an example of my penmanship. I looked over the Palmer thing, but do I really need the posture? I may be in trouble..
Hope you can read it,
Bil
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the Palmer Method?
- Thread starter wherndon
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Seriously, an example of my penmanship. I looked over the Palmer thing, but do I really need the posture? I may be in trouble..
Hope you can read it,
Bil
If you don't like Palmer, try Ames' Guide to Self Instruction
The posture thing may be a bit overdone, but don't ignore it. Cursive handwriting is all about the big muscles of the arm and shoulder. You could almost put your hand in a cast and write, if you figure out a way to attach the pen. Your fingers and hand are just the holder. You write by moving your arm, so how you are sitting does matter. With printing, the tendency is to use the fingers to move the pen/pencil. Grip pressure increases, which leads to fatigue and cramps.
So posture is part of it. With a little practice it will come back quickly.
So posture is part of it. With a little practice it will come back quickly.
I notice a significant difference in my writing when I pay attention to posture. The proper posture allows the hand to hold the pen more gently and move the arm with ease. Without the correct posture, these things become more difficult, and writing can appear more cramped. That said... I typically have terrible posture.
But good posture is good for your health as well.
But good posture is good for your health as well.
Your sample was easily readable - by myself, at least. As to your questions / concerns: posture and grip are both important, the grip perhaps more so. I remember when I was in college using a ballpoint for notetaking. My hand would cramp up badly during the 50 minutes of classroom notetaking due to the death grip which I used. The ballpoint pen requires some pressure and thus using it can easily lead to such grip techniques. Not necessary with a fountain pen.
If you are going to spend the time learning a writing script, you might check out Spencerian or Copperplate. Though developed with dip pens and flexible steel nibs in mind, they can just as easily be written with fountain pens and they have a more elegant look, in my opinion. Nothing wrong with Palmer, though. It's what I learned in grade school in the 50s.
I can't recall whether rhythm is covered in the Palmer method but for me it makes a big difference. I have a tendency to speed up as I write as my mind is rushing ahead. A bit of a battle keeping attention . . . sometimes I loose track and come out of a letter too high for a connection to a lower letter. One realizes how much they rely on spell check after writing some letters longhand.
I have this problem with lowercase b, r, and the connection between e and l (which is frustrating, as my last name ends with 'ell'). Just today, when I was signing my son into day care, I signed my name with an extra 'e' and an extra 'l'. Russeell.
Its very common to have a 'stylized' signature. Some people with amazing penmanship have a scrawl signature.
Actually, during my Managerial Accounting class last night, instead of taking notes, I practiced my signature. I'll take a picture and post later. I think I've got a look that I'd like to make consistently.
Or sleeping, which is what I did the last time I took this class... which is why I'm taking it again.
My signature would make a doctor proud. I got it from 8 years in retail management, where I was signing my name 100 times a day. I would like to work on a nice signature, but how does one go about legally changing a signature that you have used for years on things like mortgages and thing?
I'm not sure about the rest of the world but in Canada your signature is just that, your signature. The sticky part comes in when a person denies their signature. If you don't play on denying the new one, simply scribble away. Jessy can turn you on to some Managerial Accounting classes where you can get some practice. Get funky with it and exaggerate the ascenders and descenders and make some flourishes.
I wouldn't do that, just sayin'
+1
Fascinating... and I believe you are 100% correct.
My penmanship stinks, always has, and I've always used the fingers to write, heel of the hand anchored, only movement is at the fingers and wrist.
I moved to printing everything some time in the 80s... but when working a stockroom and using a marker to write something very large (larger than possible with an anchored hand), I tend to graduate back into cursive.
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