PETALING JAYA, May 24 — The touch of ink on paper, hand-written letters and penmanship. Who in this digital age cares about this anymore?

Only people in art school, design studios and the creative industry still use pens, pencils and brushes. Now, we are more accustomed to the sound of keyboard strokes or the almost silent taps on back-lit screens.

Jil Sta. Ana, a Filipino based in Malaysia, together with Inez Tan are hoping to revive this old-fashioned art of calligraphy through a series of workshops named #KLigraphy.

Brush calligraphy will be introduced in later workshops (left). Jil of Inks and Letters also does commissioned calligraphy work besides running the workshops (right).

The first workshop was in March and it has been going on almost every weekend since then. In the five-hour long workshop, participants learn copperplate calligraphy and modern calligraphy from Jil and Tan.

Tan works for The Alphabet Press so the calligraphy workshops are held at The Alphabet Press’s SS2 studio. At the workshop, you will be doing hands-on calligraphy. In addition, participants are also given calligraphy tools to take home along with worksheets made by Jil and Tan. Refreshments are also provided during break sessions. 

“We did the worksheets by ourselves, writing each letter and then scanning them before printing them out,” said Jil. The 20-plus pages are flawless, and it might fool you into thinking that Jil and Tan got them printed off a book or website!

Jil Sta. Ana and Inez Tan created the #KLigraphy syllabus all by themselves!

It is interesting how Jil and Tan met. “We met through Instagram. I didn’t know anyone else who did calligraphy in Malaysia. Using hashtags, I was able to find Inez on Instagram. I emailed her and told her I plan to do a workshop. At that point we were familiar with each other’s work through Instagram,” said Jil.

Jil learned copperplate calligraphy on her own while Tan learned modern calligraphy by herself. They know other techniques of calligraphy too but these are the techniques they specialise in.

The two “met” each other in November 2014 online but they did not officially meet face-to-face until the day of the first workshop!

“We discussed and did the workshop syllabus over Skype!” said Jil.

During the workshop, you learn copperplate calligraphy and modern calligraphy

During the workshop, Jil would tell participants that she is there to teach the rules of calligraphy while Tan will teach them how to break the rules of calligraphy.

When learning copperplate calligraphy, you are learning the old-school methods of calligraphy. Modern calligraphy is knowing those rules, then breaking them, that is why it is called modern or contemporary calligraphy.

“When we did the syllabus we wanted it to meet the level of beginners. We got a lot of good feedback from our past workshops. It is very beginner-friendly. There is no clash in the two types of calligraphy that is taught. Inez and I give each other freedom to do each others’ parts,” said Jil.

To remove the protection on the nib, you have to melt it over fire (left). Jil enjoys writing quotes in calligraphy (right)

It is really fortunate to find someone online whom you can click with and work together. “When we finally met on the day of the workshop, we felt that we already knew each other for a long time. We have different personalities and different backgrounds but we get along because we have one thing in common, which is calligraphy,” said Jil.

The bulk of the worksheets are done by Jil. Tan did just a few pages. Modern calligraphy is more about breaking the rules and once you know the rules, there is not much syllabus to learn if you already know the fundamentals of calligraphy.

“Once you have the basic knowledge of calligraphy, it is easy to break free,” said Tan.

A participant in the workshop, concentrating on getting it right

So, what is calligraphy? How is it different from doodling and scribbling?

“An A should look like an A. For copperplate, you can have a longer tail or longer loop. It has to be legible,” said Jil. The oblique holder given at the workshop is meant for copperplate calligraphy while the straight holder is meant for modern calligraphy.

“We are not imposing any rules on anyone. You should be able to find a comfortable zone and there are no restrictions on one form,” explained Jil.

According to Jil, it feels more like a sharing session than a teaching session during workshops because Jil and Tan themselves did not get formal training in calligraphy.

Names of the participants, written beautifully by Jil and Tan (left). This is from one of Jil’s personal collection with her favourite words (right)

Jil got into calligraphy last year when she was a bridesmaid during her friend’s wedding. She noticed all these invitation cards with bespoke calligraphy and she told herself that she can learn how to do it. Jil then went online to learn more and then she bought a book, Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy.

“The obsession with calligraphy began. I recently went on holiday in Bangkok... I did not buy clothes but pens instead!” said Jil. “At first it is a hobby but after that, calligraphy becomes a lifestyle choice,” she said.

“For me, I never bought books but I learned online. There is a website that has archives of old lessons,” said Inez.

When Jil wanted to learn calligraphy on her own, she accidentally bought the wrong set of tools from an art shop in Malaysia. It was a set for italics which is a fountain pen with a broad tip. According to Jil and Inez, that is not the right tool for learning calligraphy. It is a funny coincidence that when Inez wanted to start learning calligraphy, she too bought the wrong set which was meant for italics.

After learning calligraphy, you can make greeting cards with beautiful script as gifts for loved one (left). At every workshop, participants receive these calligraphy tools and syllabus including yummy treats! (right)

For Inez, she stumbled upon calligraphy when she was in between jobs. At that time she was unemployed for four months and she was bored staying at home. “I saw a GIF with handwritten calligraphy in gold ink. I thought to myself that that looks very pretty and I want to learn that!” said Inez.

“Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting,” said Jil. It helps that she grew up in a crafting home, with a mother that loves D-I-Y. When Jil’s mother heard that Jil took up calligraphy, she was very surprised. “My mom is my own personal Pinterest. We used to have D-I-Y labs at home,” said Jil who is the only daughter in a family of brothers.

Jil is a software engineer by profession while Inez studied advertising and graphic design so she has a creative background.

Before the workshop, both Jil and Inez were nervous but they learned that every weekend, the experience is different and sometimes it can be really fun. “There was once we were having a break and a song came on at the moment. All of us got up and started dancing,” recalled Jil.

By the end of the workshop, you would be able to do calligraphy (left). A #KLigraphy session at work where you spend five hours perfecting the art of penmanship (right)

There are times when the participants would be hyperactive and some who are really quiet. Since starting the workshops, Jil and Tan also found other calligraphers in Malaysia. There is a Whatsapp group with six women on it, mostly hobbyists. Plans have been made to meet up.

Inez said that learning calligraphy online is not that easy because you can’t really tell things from just looking at a photo. “There is no actual instruction on how to hold a pen properly or whether you are doing it the correct way,” said Inez. That is why both Jil and Inez decided to have workshops so they can help others learn the correct techniques of calligraphy.

“Calligraphy is not an art where you can learn it and you are done,” said Jil. “It is not like learning to ride a bicycle where after a few years of not doing it, you remember,” added Tan.

“I usually don’t tell people that practice makes perfect but practice makes progress,” said Jil.

Jil admits that sometimes she has no mood to practise calligraphy. So sometimes she could spend hours on it and sometimes she just doesn’t write as much. “Calligraphy has an artistic feel to it. You can give it a nice personal touch,” said Jil.

Inez Tan (centre) teaches how to write the proper way

For Tan, she got fascinated by calligraphy because she learned typography in college. She is also a perfectionist. Tan used to work at L.Inc, a design firm run by Lisette Scheers. “I was working for Lisette for eight months but the amount of stuff I learned was a lot,” said Tan.

“Being creative is different from being artistic. Creative is having vision while being artistic is having to execute it,” said Jil. “Calligraphy for me is an easy outlet to execute.”

The second half of this year is going to be exciting as they are going to introduce intermediate classes, brush calligraphy workshops and useful calligraphy where you can apply calligraphy in everyday use. In July, the duo will be starting calligraphy workshops in Singapore too.

One thing cool about calligraphy is that you can practise anywhere. “I usually write on loose papers then keep them in an envelope and I put a date on it so that I can track my progress,” said Jil. Jil remembers August 16, 2014 as the date she started calligraphy which she calls her calligraphy anniversary. She has close to 6,000 followers to date on her Instagram (@inksandletters) and she created a site called Inks and Letters to talk about her journey in calligraphy and for people to find out more about the workshops and signing up for them.

“For my first anniversary, I’m going to start an annual giveaway for my followers. My anniversary is a start to someone’s new anniversary,” said Jil.

Find out more about #KLigraphy on www.inksandletters.com

You can also follow Jil and Inez on Instagram:

Jil : www.instagram.com/inksandletters

Inez : www.instagram.com/inezcalligraphy

* A previous version of the story had an error with the name of Jil Sta. Ana which has since been corrected.