After its debut last school year, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Calligraphy club is making a name for themselves this year. The club is run by junior Emma Hastrup, the president of the club, and advisor Elizabeth Sanford, a math teacher at SPF. The club evolved out of Stanford’s own interest in calligraphy that she wanted to share with her class.
“I had been trying to learn some hand lettering techniques to improve the notes I show in class,” Sanford said, “One of my students had noticed and brought up her interest in calligraphy to me and we decided to start a club with only three to four members.”
This year, the club has nearly doubled its membership and has more involvement every week. Meetings offer practice with handwriting, calligraphy and a variety of markers and pens. Recently, club members decorated mirrors around the school with fall-inspired drawings and phrases.
“I was online and saw another school had put inspirational quotes on their bathroom stalls and thought that my calligraphy club could do that,” Sanford said.
The mirrors can be seen throughout the hallways on both floors of the building. They advertise the club and will be updated throughout the year.
“Originally, we wanted the mirrors to be quotes that students could relate too,” Sanford said, “We then realized how many mirrors are in the school and decided we could also do decorative aspects for the different seasons.”
The SPF calligraphy club is a creative outlet for Hastrup, who expresses her own artistic interests through the club and mirror designs.
“I enjoy the quiet environment where we can all talk about similar interests, like brush types and stationery brands,” Hastrup said.
With the rest of the school year ahead of them, Sanford has her sights set on a bright future for the club.
“We have a lot of young interest which is great for the longevity of the club,” Sanford said. “We are looking to improve our skills and learn from one another.”
The SPF calligraphy club meets in room 171 each Tuesday until 3:15. If you spot a mirror in the hallway take a photo with it and post it to Instagram tagging the @spfcalligraphy account, or use the #spfcalligraphy.