IAMPETH 2026 - Da Vinci Writing: Tap into your Mirror Vision - Diego Irigoyen

BEGINNER | HANDWRITING

We have all heard the legends of F.B. Courtney signing his name with two hands simultaneously. A novel trick, for sure, but is it a coincidence that the two most renowned artists of the Western canon, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, were both famously ambidextrous? Leonardo filled his journals with mirror-script, while Michelangelo purportedly painted the Sistine Chapel alternating hands to combat exhaustion. Mirrored writing echoes the “Boustrophedon” scripts of ancient Greece and the Near East, where text zigzagged across the page in alternating mirror-images. Could this “lost” skill be more than a curiosity? In this workshop, you will take your first steps into ambidextrous mirror writing. By the end of the session, you will be able to write in mirror-image American Cursive and we will explore some of the neurological studies that support this eccentric and creative practice.

CLASS SUPPLIES

• Paper (blank or lined) and
• your favorite writing utensil‚ any will work, including pencil, fountain pen, rollerball, gel pen, or dip pen.

OPTIONAL

• ruler