(upbeat music) - I am a calligrapher, engraver and watercolor artist.

So calligraphy, like the short meaning is like, the art of beautiful handwriting, but it's actually like a visual art that applies the execution of strokes using, it could be ink and nib, it could be watercolor, it could be a brush, it could be a brush pen.

So combining these strokes in order to achieve a beautiful form of lettering.

It doesn't care about like your penmanship.

You could have a really bad penmanship or you could have the best penmanship in the world and it would not affect your calligraphy.

There's only like two basic principles in calligraphy.

As long as all your upward strokes are thin and all your downward strokes are thick, then you achieve like the beautiful lettering of calligraphy.

To create the thin and thick lines, there's a application and the release of pressure to make the thick lines, that's all downward strokes, you apply pressure and your nibs actually have two times that split.

So when you apply that pressure and when you bring that nib down and you create a thick stroke, on the other hand, when you bring that nib upward, then you don't apply any pressure at all.

Then that's how you create the thin lines.

It's positioning versus the application of pressure.

There's four basic strokes that I usually teach my students in a class.

The thin stroke or the upward stroke, which is also called the entrance or the exit stroke.

And then there's oval, there's a compound curve, or it's like the wave.

It's a combination of thin and thick strokes altogether.

And there's also the downward stroke, which is all thick line.

So if you master the application and the release of pressure within all those four strokes and then you combine those strokes to build the letters, then you could be the next big calligrapher out there.

So my business is called the Tawny Canvas, and basically I offer all things calligraphy, engraving, watercolor.

My target clients are brides and grooms, which, the wedding industry loves calligraphy cause it's really pretty on envelopes and invitations.

I also hold like calligraphy workshops for like bridal showers and birthdays.

Then I also do envelope addressing, place cards, wedding signs.

For engraving, I usually have bigger clients like Nordstrom and Macy's.

So they have like special sales, like Mother's Day Event or Christmas or Valentine's and they usually place me in the perfume section cause it's glass and so when people buy anything it's like complimentary, who wouldn't want a perfume with their name on it?

Looking sparkly gold or silver like that.

So it's like doing full calligraphy.

First of all, you sketch out whatever you wanna write, like some, mostly something in cursive.

So I would like sketch that out using like a white pencil that I could just rub off.

I engrave it, like with a monoline, like just trace my draft and then I go over it again, making sure that all of my downward strokes should be thick.

You have to like, be patient and go over it over and over again until you achieve the certain thickness of the stroke.

I love calligraphy because it allows me to enjoy the present.

Nowadays everything's like rush, rush, rush, everybody's busy, go, go, go.

But then in calligraphy it's important to like slow down.

Like it allows me to breathe.

It allows me to like ride strokes and not be in a hurry.

So it allows me to be more present and I like that because that's rare for me, like as a person.

So it relaxes me.

It's kind of like meditation, except that you're doing something.

So that's the best part about calligraphy.

It's like therapy to me.

One thing I like besides the process of creating the art, is getting to share this passion with other people.

I have the privilege of doing that, sharing this crazy passion of mine towards others.

I like that when they leave, they get to leave with a hobby and I hope one day, many years from now, they get to be as inspired as I am and I hope calligraphy becomes a therapy for them too.

So it's nice to share that my love of calligraphy to them hopefully like to be a part of their artistic journey.

It's cliche but like love inspires me because I wanna make this for someone.

It's always not for myself, but it's actually giving something beautiful and something personal to somebody else.

So that's why I do what I do.

Like seeing the brides face with their invitation, it just makes me happy too.

So it's like, making this world a better place with like one artwork at a time.