I attended Coto Academy's calligraphy class this week. It was quiet and focused (unlike most of our lessons which end up being quite rowdy). The teacher showed us how to create a series of strokes; thick, thin, wedged, etc. and then led us through three kanji: festival, cool, and summer. Here are the sample pieces.
Here's our sensei in action...
Here's my finished product. I'll be lookin' cool and stayin' cool with my cool kanji fan!