VALENCIA WOMAN LOOKING FOR INSIGHT ON THE DOTTED LINES; ANALYST EXPERT IN PEN PROFILES.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

As a teen-ager, Sheila Lowe was shy and withdrawn. She wasn't popular at parties and other functions until her boyfriend's mother introduced her to an art that would become her career.

Now a handwriting analyst - or graphologist - Lowe is the creator and author of the award-winning Sheila Lowe's Professional Handwriting Analyzer for Windows, which is being used internationally by psychologists, law enforcement and human resources personnel, she said.

``It was 30 years ago when I learned about handwriting analysts,'' Lowe said in a recent interview. ``It was amazing because now at parties people would come to me right away wanting me to profile them.''

The Valencia woman said she is usually summoned by the news media during high-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial and the JonBenet Ramsey slaying.

``But that's not it. Companies call for me to do behavioral profiles on potential employees, and even the police call me in to do handwriting analysis for big cases,'' Lowe said.

A lot of her work is performed for companies seeking evaluations for job candidates as well as promotions. She's even done profiles on prospective mates and surrogate mothers. A constant traveler, Lowe sponsored a professional conference in Tucson, Ariz., last year and Friday was awaiting a call from Spain.

Although she might tell you if a person is an optimist or pessimist, a loyal follower or good leader, an organized worker or likely to have a messy desk, Lowe said the downside of her business is that handwriting analysts are often confused with psychics and palm readers.

``People get confused. We are not psychics, there is a difference,'' Lowe emphasized. But, she notes, there are no legal requirements to work in handwriting analysis. ``You can, however, get certification.''

Working out of her Valencia office for 13 years now, Lowe said some people still ask her to read their fortunes. Lowe has appeared on NBC-TV's ``Unsolved Mysteries'' and talk shows for CNN and KABC radio.

Like many others, Lowe recently expressed her opinions on the Ramsey handwriting samples. After publishing her findings on the Internet, she said she was contacted by several other handwriting experts, who expressed their agreement.

Lowe, who studied privately and through correspondence courses, is also the editor of her own graphology newsletter, The Vanguard. Court-qualified as a handwriting expert, her behavioral profile of the Ramsey ransom letter and her other works can be downloaded at www.writinganalysis.com.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) Sheila Lowe examines a transparent copy of the JonBenet Ramsey murder ransom note.

(2) Graphologist Sheila Lowe is the creator of a handwriting analysis computer program that features samples from a number of famous people, including Bob Dole and Lance Ito.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News