24.11.2020, Blog, Lettering

Handwriting, invisibility and workshops

I am coming home from a lettering. Most of today’s job consisted of cleaning the boards. There is a very temporal quality to my job. This is certainly true in other areas of graphic design as well, but rarely as manifest as when I sit there, scrubbing off my handwriting to make place for a new one. I am totally fine with that.

In that very moment, success is to make my work invisible again. When I write with chalk markers, it is an easy thing to accomplish. When I use acrylic markers, which stand better against wear and tear and time, not so.

I am good at it though. I am good at making my handwriting disappear with a combination of elbow grease, persistence and chemistry.

I thought today of how I got to know what I do, how blackboard lettering (and cleaning) isn’t something there are classes for. If you are lucky, you find someone to teach you. I learned on my own while doing the job. There are some resources out there, but there weren’t a lot when I started 10 years ago.

When the pandemic calms a bit, I will get back to teaching hands-on workshops and share some of how I do it and what I learned. I am looking forward to that. The first one in July was fun and a success. Meanwhile, let us be kind and stay safe ♥


My material, and my late breakfast from Joseph Brot – thanks!