Pen perfection … Hillside resident Beatriz Castillo wants to share her passion for calligraphy with other Brimbankresidents. 53700 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Natalie Gallenti
The Hillside resident enjoys nothing more than creating beautiful strokes with her pen, describing it as a genuine artform.
“Calligraphy is carefully producing each letter as a drawing,” Mrs Castillo said.
“It’s totally different to writing.”
And the Argentine-born grandmother is hoping to pass on her skills to Brimbank residents at a new course held at the Sydenham Community Centre next month.
Mrs Castillo first realised she had a passion for calligraphy as a student in Argentina and after years of study and practice managed to master the intricate artform. Now she volunteers her time in the hope that other people will share her passion.
“Calligraphy takes a lot of practice.
“Some people have hard hands and find it difficult to do. But your hand has to be relaxed and it’s all about pen position, angles and strokes.”
The Spanish teacher encouraged young adults to participate in the course. She believes the computer age meant many youngsters did very little handwriting and the old-fashioned art was slowly disappearing.
“Computers were not created when I was young, so we had to do all the writing.
“But now people don’t use handwriting because they are always on the computer.”
Mrs Castillo said she got great enjoyment out of watching people learn.
“It’s good to share what is natural to me and what is my passion.”
Anyone interested in the course should contact Sydenham Community Centre on 9390 3977.
