Writing the 4 Group in handwriting

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
December 1, 2006

Funny - I never had any problems writing this symbol by hand...May I  
ask...is there a way to videotape my hands writing by hand on the  
Mac? If I could videotape myself writing by hand, that is the only  
way I can think of, to teach you to write handwriting...I need to  
show people in person...I know how to take still photos of myself  
with Photo Booth program on the Mac, and I have a built-in camera,  
but I have never taken a video of myself...if someone can teach me  
how to do that then I can post a video of me handwriting those  
symbols...

Sorry for your frustration...it would be very different if you were  
here in person...

That is why Kelly Jo and I have been discussing an Advanced  
SignWriting Workshop to be held in La Jolla, California (my home  
town) in the last weekend of March, 2007. The exact dates and time  
are not established yet, but it will be somewhere between March 28 -  
April 3rd, 2007.

I was thinking of holding a SignWriting Seminar that includes three  
workshops:

SignWriting Handwriting Workshop
SignWriting Software Workshop
SignWriting Literature Workshop

Val ;-)




On Dec 1, 2006, at 7:51 AM, Stuart Thiessen wrote:

> I don't know if there is an official way as of yet. I think at this  
> point we are still at the "print" stage where we try to make the  
> handwritten symbol match the printed symbol. We haven't graduated  
> to the "cursive" stage where the symbol may be significantly  
> abbreviated but understandable. I know that Valerie wants to be  
> sure that we all understand the print version before we begin to  
> focus on the "cursive" type of symbol. My understanding is that her  
> "cursive" versions rely alot on our intuition of the standard print  
> system. If we have a solid understanding of the standard print  
> system, then we will understand the "cursive" better. I don't know  
> if "cursive" is the right word for it, since I have only seen  
> samples of the writing without any understanding of the rules  
> behind it.
>
> I find the 4 group frustrating to write. I did experiment with the  
> idea of eliminating the thumb (to let it disappear into the palm),  
> but it only works with 3 of the handshapes. If I eliminate the  
> thumb in the other 5 handshapes in the 4 group, then there is  
> nothing to distinguish it from similar handshapes in the 5 group  
> where the thumb is on the side of the hand. So that is only a  
> "partial" solution. Philip and I did discuss it yesterday and  
> thought about this idea. What do you guys think ... for handwriting?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stuart
>
> <Handwriting_4_Group.jpg>
>
>
> On Dec 1, 2006, at 9:07, Adam Frost wrote:
>
>> I really don't know what is the "official" way of handwritting SW,  
>> but
>> I use my own sorta "shorthand". I will have to some how show some of
>> my writing which is hard to do because I don't have a scanner.
>>
>> Adam
>>
>> On 12/1/06, Kimberley Shaw <skifoot at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Stuart: I prefer to use a brush pen for Signwriting - that way I
>>> can do the palm of this handshape in 3 strokes, and then quickly add
>>> the fingers! The thumb-in handshapes are indeed tricky to write  
>>> well.
>>> Best, Kim
>>>
>>> On 11/30/06, Stuart Thiessen <sw at passitonservices.org> wrote:
>>> > I am curious how people have been handwriting the 4 group. I  
>>> tend to
>>> > have difficulty shading in a "4" handshape without either  
>>> coloring in
>>> > the thumb or making so small that it is hard to really see. What
>>> > writing techniques have you been using to keep it looking  
>>> right?  Or do
>>> > you have a handwriting shortcut that you use to indicate the thumb
>>> > without using the white space?
>>> >
>>> > Stuart
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>