Ed Note: Happy Monday everyone!  This calligraphy post would normally have run last Thursday, but I couldn’t fit it in with my travel to Alt.  So instead we get to start the week off with some absolutely gorgeous calligraphy courtesy of Li from Fat Orange Cat Studio!

As Nole has recently shared some great posts about various printing processes, I thought it would be fun to see some of what goes into calligraphy.  And I couldn’t think of anyone better than Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio to show us.  Li regularly shares her many calligraphy drafts with the readers of her blog.  I enjoy seeing the final product so much more when I know how many ways it could have turned out.  Li has many wonderful styles of writing and it’s lovely to see the nuances of each letter and how they can so easily change.  I was definitely not surprised to find that even her drafts are written beautifully! – Julie

From Li: “I wrote this with Chalk Pen on a foam board that was spray-painted with chalkboard paint.  I did a rough draft of it with pen on a piece of paper that was roughly the same dimension as the board to determine text placement.”

From Li: “For each of my wedding photography clients, I calligraph their names, scan them, and use the high-resolution scans to make rubber stamps.  I also use their scanned names on their customizable CD covers.”

“This wine list was done in the same fashion as the chalk menu, using Chalk Pen on some vinyl-covered board which was then framed.”

From Li: “As you can see I letter quite a bit.  It’s a form of warm-up.”  A glimpse at the various approaches to a business card for A Creative Mint‘s Leslie Shewring. (Letterpress printing by Parrott Design Studio.)

Make sure you look through more of Fat Orange Cat Studio’s gorgeous calligraphy work, as well as her beautiful wedding and pet photography.

Thank you so much Li for sharing your work and process with us!

Photo Credits: Fat Orange Cat Studio