10/01/2026
The 26–27 IAMPETH Certification Program deadline has officially passed, my Engrosser’s Script submission has been mailed, and now I just need to wait patiently for the results.
Even before I read last year’s feedback, I started recognizing some of my own issues. But having detailed notes from the judges was incredibly helpful and yes, a little daunting. Last year I really just wanted to establish a baseline of where I was, but I was also blissfully unaware of ALL my inconsistencies.
Now that I’ve received specific feedback, I can see so many of my mistakes. What’s the saying, the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know?
But I can also see how much I’ve improved. I took my own advice that I give my students: pick ONE small thing to work on at a time. When you see a difference, pick another. And keep going.
Here’s what I focused on for this year’s submission (sorry, this gets a little technical, but I’m sharing in case it helps someone else who feels stuck):
- My ascending & descending loops were A MESS. Wrong size, wrong shape, and shades that were too heavy and started way too soon.
- My shades overall were too heavy, and my transitions from thin to thick (and thick to thin) were too abrupt. I was applying pressure too early and releasing it too late. Something I explain to all my students: turn the corner first, then slowly start to apply pressure. Ease up BEFORE you reach the baseline.
-My underlying ovals were not consistent and sometimes not even ovals! (I’m looking at you, capital stem stroke.) This affected my spacing and letter widths, and apparently, I also had no idea how much space I was leaving between words.
- 55° consistency. I didn’t use enough slant lines in my guidelines last year. Muscle memory might work on a smaller scale, but on 11×14 paper, things can start to drift if I’m not careful.
- 3mm writing was EXTREMELY difficult for me last year. Slightly less difficult this year. Yay!
Is it perfect? No. But I’m incredibly proud of the work I submitted. And even 26 years into my calligraphy journey, I’m still learning and improving every day.
Congrats to everyone who submitted, I can’t wait to see the results!
