Beetle Calligraphy

I enjoy dabbling in Calligraphy and hand lettering.  Here is a piece that I made a few years ago for my husband’s birthday.  It says Chalcosoma – a beautiful genus of beetle, which at the time husband was raising.

Here’s a quick story of how I became interested in Calligraphy and lettering:  Some years ago I was working on a sketchbook specifically dedicated to beetles.  Each beetle drawing was accompanied by it’s scientific name, which I hand lettered (as best as I could at the time).  Every day I would create a beetle illustration to post on Flickr.  A wonderful friend and neighbor of mine, Orrin (and Gayle) would critique my work.  I love a good honest critique, and always enjoyed the input.  So one day Orrin told me that if I stepped up the quality of the lettering a bit it would make the beetle illustrations all the more aesthetic. He was (and often is) right.   Orrin was about 83 at that time and I have a great deal of admiration and respect for him and his advise.  So I heeded his words and set out to improve my lettering, which soon lead me to calligraphy.  I’ve been doing it ever since, and Orrin approves.  Thank you, Orrin!