Dancin' Pen book by Carrie Imai

Specs:
Copyright 2012 by Carrie Imai
$24.94 book + DVD
no ISBN
www.carriedesigns.com
8 1/2 x 8″, paperback, coil bound, 46 pages
39-minute companion DVD included
Full-color photos throughout

Book topic:
Teaching Carrie’s Imai-Talic calligraphy hand with a half-inch-width automatic pen. A sample of the hand is seen on the front cover, above.

Book observations:
I was surprised by the modest book size, which is smaller than most magazines. Upon closer inspection, that’s because Carrie’s focus is narrow: to teach us pen manipulation with the automatic pen.

Kent Wilson’s clear photography married to Alisara Tareekes’ design and illustration make this book a joy to learn from. The steps with photos and drawings were clear and useful. I own around 35 calligraphy books, and this is information on a style I have not seen covered before.

We learn how to prepare an automatic pen for use (what an unusual name for this pen!), how Carrie holds the pen and uses her fingers to twirl the pen, and drawing the basic stroke, complete with turn-by-turn directions for each dancin’ move. She covers cornering, which is using the point of the pen to draw thin lines. It’s this thick-and-thin line combination, along with variation in stroke thickness, that I find so admirable in calligraphic works.

DVD observations:
When Carrie was demonstrating her Imai-Talic hand, I needed to turn on the lights in the living room because the writing surface was bright white and hurt my eyes. Don’t view in a dim room.

If you are deaf like me, read the book first and keep it on hand as you watch, because there are no captions. I can’t comment on whether more information is verbally given in the DVD than what is covered in the book.

The demonstrations of each letter were easy to see on my modestly sized TV. Thankfully, the camera  filmed the process from Carrie’s left shoulder, so everthing was visible and legible. I’m irritated when I see YouTube videos of calligraphy demonstrations “upside down” as shot looking toward the artist. This was a professionally done video, complete with good angles, sound, and lighting.

She kept up a running patter as she carefully demonstrated all the lowercase characters of the hand.

Take-away:
The book made me eager to try something new. After reading the book and watching the video, I put in an order for the 1/2″ automatic pen so I could get started. Alas, the pen was on backorder!

I’ve always admired Carrie’s work on the web, and wondered how she did her lettering. I’m glad she sought the expertise of professionals to create such an attractive book to explain her style. They make great dancin’ partners with her artwork!

I could buy a book at this price that includes many more alphabets than were included here. However, as a book + DVD offer on learning this gorgeous hand, it’s a good deal. You get to see a talented, modern master demonstrate her craft. Let’s hope many more experienced calligraphers share their personal work — as an avid reader, I’m of the persuasion that you can’t have too many calligraphy books!

— Later —

I practiced her lettering with my broadest Parallel Pen and am thrilled! Here’s an example I did on an envelope:

Practice session with Carrie's alphabet