World championship yo-yo tricks. Radio control helicopter
aerobatics. In the art of penmanship, the ultimate showcase of
skill is called offhand flourishing. This combination of drawing
and calligraphy was a natural outgrowth of decorations in
pointed pen lettering. It was created at one shot without much
in the way of preliminary drawing, which is where we get the
figurative sense of the word “offhand.” (Click to enlarge the
picture above, which is from an 1880 penmanship manual called
“Real Penwork Compendium of Penmanship.”) It may not look like
anything more than squiggly doodles to the uninitiated, but
pictures made from flourishes are incredible difficult. It takes
deep practice, good breathing, perfect posture, and a clear
mind. Here’s how master penman W.E. Dennis, in his 1914 book
Studies in Pen Art, describes the challenge: “It is doubtful if
anything in penwork requires more real skill, sureness of
stroke, delicacy of touch and absolute freedom of arm and hand
than Off-hand Flourishing. Certainly n