How in the world does anyone have the dexterity and eyesight to be able to do these?

@CinnamonGirlE back in the day, all middle schoolers in UK were taught to write in italics (#calligraphy) with a flat nib fountain pen. Before we got our pens, we practiced for weeks with chisel sharpened pencils.

@bfgreen
How fabulous you were taught calligraphy! We stopped teaching cursive for quite a while in the US, but I think some have returned to it.

@CinnamonGirlE somewhere I have my old school book where I wrote the entire thing for every class in italics with my fountain pen. Eventually that was too slow, but I kept the book as a reminder. I’ve taught both my kids calligraphy and cursive handwriting from early age. It’s sad that it’s not taught here anymore. BTW cursive in UK and US are very different.

@bfgreen
I didn't realize there was a difference. I love cursive and calligraphy. I like to experiment with the fountain pens and play with it. I am not necessarily good at it, but self-taught.

@CinnamonGirlE same, I'm not great but I am proficient. It's a meditative action for me to slow down the digital world and put deliberate thoughts/words to paper.

@bfgreen
I enjoy the meditative and quiet nature of putting pen to paper. Or painting. I just have set it all aside in recent years. Taking it back up might be good.