Chandara Creative: Currently Coveting: The Art of Hand Lettering + Calligraphy

In a world consumed by telecommunications, where social media outlets run rampant and emails and text messages have now replaced the good 'ole pen and paper, I sometimes begin to wonder if the art of hand lettering has been lost to this new generation--a generation where the movement of your thumbs along a screen seem to trump the smooth, gentle strokes of ink gliding across the textured surface of pulp. I once read an article about how some parents were beginning to question the validity of practicing a child's penmanship, specifically cursive, in school when the vast majority of our communication portals require the mastery of a keyboard. And as I did so, I gasped and began to wonder how different my life would have been had I never learned how to properly hand write a letter.

And it seems rather ironic that I'm typing all this up on my blog when in fact, I feel like I should be penning my words in a notebook that's been tucked away for much too long. But please forgive me because I'm actually one of the few in a burgeoning minority that truly values and appreciates the written word and all its artistic forms of expression. As a child, I remember learning to perfect my penmanship in class, and with each stroke I drew, I became even more fond of the intricacy of the letters that formed each word. To this day, there is really nothing that warms my heart more than receiving a handwritten note, and it is in this spirit that I wanted to share with you what I'm currently coveting this week (actually that's a lie b/c I've long coveted this), which is the art of hand lettering: an art that seemed to exist only in ancient manuscripts and official documents of centuries past, but has since been revitalized thanks to a richly talented community of calligraphers who share my same sentiment. Here, I'm sharing a few of those whose work I deeply admire and continue to keep me inspired. Enjoy!

1. Feast Calligraphy