calligraffia

Newest Calligraphic Book!!

2011-05-16T20:45:00.006+10:00

Much excitement this week....
Yves Leterme's much awaited book
"Thoughtful Gestures"
is now available for purchase!

Renowned throughout the calligraphic world for his expressive gestural writing and stunning gesso and pure pigment works, Yves' new book presents a reflection of his thoughts and skills, along with discussions of the technical and philosophical aspects of the making of his personal artwork. Yves also presents a selection of his commercial work and projects, including bodypainting, murals and works on fabric.

Yves is delighted with the results after months of writing and editing...and we are sure to be delighted as well!

Yves is in charge of the distribution of his books, which are now happily smiling at him in his garage....and if you are dying to lay your hands on a copy of 'the' book that will finally complete your library...you can find all the important ordering info on his website .

a bloggy presence...

2011-03-18T07:57:00.001+11:00

Great news for all you blog enthusiasts - Yves Leterme - one of my favourite calligraphers (and I suspect a fav amongst many of you too) - has recently established a blog of his calligraphic wanderings/ wonderings...

ANIMAL SCRIBAX - The Calligraphic Art of Yves Leterme

(click on either the pic or the title above to be magically transported to the blog - and enjoy!)

....

welcome to the future

2011-02-24T09:55:00.001+11:00

I have just seen the face of the future - and its name is

calligraphy tv

go now

marvel

(try to resist signing up.... I dare you!)

...

apologies for the interruption...

2011-02-17T22:56:00.001+11:00

I do hope you'll all forgive a tiny sideways intrusion
of my personal stuff in this arena

tomorrow evening my solo exhibition
'codex interruptum' the interrupted book
is opening ....

(click for a bigger view)

which in part explains why I've been quiet in here!

its been KRAZY KRAZY with work work work at my place

(and if you don't believe me you can follow the full story
by checking in to my main bloggy place...)

I hope that I'll be able to bring a few more
calligraphic gems in the next while

(including an update 'gem'..... on our very own Gemma Black)

but first I have to do the arty schmooze!

(wish me luck)

....

new blogginess....

2010-12-23T11:10:00.001+11:00

I've been trying and trying to find a few spare moments to share another bloggy gem - the blog site of Cari Ferraro.... but I've been rushed off my feet - and now it's all worked out for the best - as Cari has just migrated her blogspot blog over to an integrated website, with a little journal (aka blog) included.....

Before you head off to enjoy the new site - here's what Cari had to say about her calligraphic (and blogging) journey to date...

Ronnie: So Cari, can you tell us all how you got started in calligraphy?

Cari: I felt for a long time that I came into calligraphy through the back door. I was an English major in college, studied literature and creative writing, but almost no art classes of any kind. After I graduated my mom gave me a copy of Jacqueline Svaren's "Written Alphabets" which was the seed. This was probably 1976 or '77. I had been collecting quotations I loved for years, being a great reader, and gradually found that calligraphy was a way for me to communicate my love of these words to other people.

I was self-taught for many years and didn't even know about any of the calligraphy guilds starting up in my area, but finally I caught sight of a class in the University's extension program taught by Carl Rohrs. That class opened my eyes to all that I didn't know, and also put me in touch with the local guild and I began taking workshops. I had some bad habits to unlearn but soon I was making great progress. I had been encouraged by my husband to hang out my shingle as a business the same year we got married, 1981, and so I did. I shudder to think of some off things I charged people money for, but taking commission work made me practice and kept my nibs wet. I decided early on that I would put my energy into the business instead of teaching because it was more flexible for my schedule when my children came along a few years later. Calligraphy was at that time something I could pick up and put down at the drop of a hat if my kids needed me. That is not the case now though: when I am involved in the creative process I get so deeply into it I will forget to eat if my husband doesn't call up to the studio "Rapunzel, come down for dinner . . . "

R: Ha! My long-suffering partner and kiddies can empathise! Now, how about blogging?

C: I began the blog in September of 2008. I was always interested to read about other artists' experiences and how they created their work. We artists tend to work in such isolation. People like to know the "story" of the art, how it was created, what the inspiration was. I was also at that time in the midst of an episode of disability that went on for a few years, and not getting out much, not able to go to the calligraphy conferences, and generally just feeling very alone. So I felt that writing a blog would not only connect me to the larger world, but also give the creative writing muscles some exercise and keep me in good form. I have really enjoyed sharing my creative experiences and have also threaded in how my personal and spiritual life affects the art that I create. So the blog may be about how I painted pages for a bookwork, or it may be about a spiritual circle I have with my family. It's all of a piece to me, as one thing feeds the other and they are pretty much inseparable. It's also been a great way to get feedback on the work. There is much that I do not reveal on the blog, if it's of a personal nature, but I feel if it relates to the work then it's fair game for a blog post.

R: What does blogging mean to you and your creative output?

C: Blogging and being on Facebook has increased my circle of virtual friends immeasurably and given me great pleasure to connect to the larger world in this magical way. I have met and become involved with people who I first met online, who found me through my artwork, and have felt a soul connection to people across the planet by participating in these networks.

In the last few years, I have become much more serious about my work. Aside from some longtime clients, I have pretty much stopped doing commission work in order to give my full attention to making books. I always dreamed of writing books, but even as a youngster I had to be doing things with my hands, so to finally have it all come together has been extremely satisfying for me: not only am I often creating the content for my books, but I am painting, lettering, stitching and pasting them too! I feel a strong push to create work that reflects my unique spiritual path, which includes a serious reverence for the Earth and all Her creatures. As I have gotten older, I feel that, if not now, then when?

I look at the blog as something of a teaching forum for me, not only for my process but for my inspirations, my disappointments and/or frustrations, and sometimes to show early work to encourage aspiring calligraphers. I also like to share some pictures of what I do in my journal, very rough stuff, but often the seeds of an idea I might develop more fully later, or else just the practice of fooling around with tools and color for the fun of it.

R: Yes, I often feel that blogs/blogging can be simultaneously personal and universal..... and a place where one can give and receive at the same time..... Thanks Cari for sharing!

And in that spirit Cari has generously chosen to share with us pics of her working processes, not polished end products.

You can still catch Cari's work and words at Prose and Letters....
or you can drop by her newly vamped website to find her new blog home and enjoy the journey!

....

a generous offering...

2010-12-06T08:28:00.000+11:00

For those of you who haven't found it already - yesterday Denis Brown uploaded to youtube a rather gorgeous offering - a short HD video - abstract calligraphy in snow....

and it's a gift for all to share (how nice is that?) so feel free to do as I've just done here - share the piece freely around the world and enjoy!

* the video is actually better viewed from DBs quillskill site ....

HD or not - it's a sweet treat....

....

farr out!

2010-09-04T14:03:00.002+10:00

meet Jane Farr – Amercian calligrapher and blogger from 'A Place to Flourish'

Jane commenced blogging at 'A Place to Flourish' almost exactly the same time we set up calligraffia (early 2009), and I've got to say I've been enjoying her posts (mostly from afar) ever since! I think what I like best about Jane's blog is her extensive and exciting links to calligraphers blogs (go to her blog and you'll see what I mean!) and her generosity and humility as a calligrapher and blogger - something I think you'll notice is evident throughout her posting.

Sooooo I asked Jane to share a bit about her blogging experiences and some advice for blogging beginners (and blogging old hands).....
here's Jane:

I think the most interesting and rewarding experience that blogging has provided me is the people I have met and the friendships I have formed. I am continually surprised and encouraged by the emails I receive from people that have stumbled upon my blog. The blogosphere has made calligraphy a much less solitary occupation for me. I have even been fortunate to meet some of my blogs followers. These are people with which I have much in common but probably would never have met if it weren’t for A Place to Flourish. Many of my readers don’t have access to a local, calligraphy guild or to calligraphy classes, workshops, etc., so I try to include posts about what I’m learning. Another interesting thing: If I forget to mention in my post what nib I used, I generally get one or two emails asking “What nib did you use?!”

Before launching my blog, I read the book “Clear Blogging” by Bob Walsh He shares a wealth of information, but I found his following tips to be especially helpful and true:

* Own your words. Be yourself, be genuine, be human.
* Cite your sources and always provide the link.
* Stick to a schedule. Whether you post once per month or once per day, stick to it. Let readers know if you’ll be absent from posting.
* Focus. Can you explain in ten words or less what your blog is about? You should.
* Write for your readers. Spell and grammar check. Short posts are good.
* Use photos to make your posts more interesting.
* Be active. Post comments on other blogs and link to other blogs.
* Share what you are learning.

Although there are still so many things I want to do and try, blogging has definitely helped me grow and flourish as a calligrapher.

Drop by 'A Place to Flourish' or Jane's alternate blog 'Wedding Calligraphy by Jane Farr' for more calligraphic and blogging gems.

**pics reproduced with permission of Jane Farr - please read our copyright policy

more blogs!

2010-08-24T17:31:00.000+10:00

Ready for some more calligraphy blogs? well go get yourself a cuppa because I've got a big bunch to share with you today! Indeed they all come from a big land...... yep you guessed it - calligraffia is shining its blogging spotlight on the very big U*S*A..... and with so many spectacular american calligraphers with blogs it's going to take more than one post to show what we've gathered*

hope you enjoy these first pickings - (don't forget to click on the pic or the linked blog name to head off to the blog mentioned)

'Ink flourishes' is the blog of Heather Victoria Held....

"I am a freelance calligrapher specializing in ornamental penmanship and offhand flourishing. I live in a small village in Ontario, about an hour west of Toronto. I have been happily married to my best friend Chris for nearly 23 years and we have a precious daughter Holly who is completing her university education. I have studied extensively with Master Penman through the organization Iampeth and the Spencerian Saga. I am currently an active member of the Hamilton Calligraphy guild. If I am not working with the pointed pen, I am studying medieval and renaissance illumination techniques. I love to spend time alone in the studio working on my art. It is a very spiritual activity for me."

*****

custom-lettering is the place you'll find

Alan Ariail a.k.a. Alphabetguy

"Custom lettering is an art from I have been involved with commercially for over 25 years. My lettering has been used for a variety of consumer packaging and advertising. All the lettering I create is drawn by hand with pencils, markers, ink pens and brushes. Finished art is produced in digital format. I started this blog to show examples of rough lettering concept sketches including some finished art. My goal has always been to make lettering both readable and unique. "

*******

'in good spirit'... blog of Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

"in good spirit chronicles my explorations in art both past and present. As I record the discoveries and learn from the lessons in my journey, I hope that they may be of some use in yours."

*****

idreamofletters belongs to Danae Hernandez

"My love of fine lettering began at the age of 12! The beauty of seeing clean swirling lines dancing across an ordinary sheet of paper simply enthralled me. I have been self-taught for the most part, learning from books and techniques of master calligraphers who gave life to the incredible art of calligraphy back in the "Golden age of Penmanship." I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to follow my artistic passions, while staying with my little ones. From my home based-studio, along with my trusty mac and countless bottles of inks and nibs, I create custom designs for wedding stationery, often combining calligraphy with illustrations and watercolored paintings. Here, I highlight my recent artwork and any other little inspirations I come across... I love sweet stationery, lovely decor, thoughtful typography, handmade beauty and unique finds."

*****

'jan calligrapher' is the the blog moniker of Jan Kruger

"I am a strong woman with a tender heart. I am blessed with a wonderful, funny husband who makes me laugh every day. He takes such great care of me. Things I love, my family and friends first of all; praying, reading, thinking, calligraphy and creating art. I loved being a mom to small children and teenage children and now am grandmother to 6 adorable grandchildren. I am a lover of almost everyone and a good friend!"

*****

'lisa letters' = lisa engelbrecht!

"a rough compendium of the many things I'm into-from Letters, fabric, graffitti and tattoo lettering-thats at this moment!"

*****

and you get no points for guessing 'The Randall M. Hasson Blog'
is indeed the blog of Randall M. Hasson!

"I am a visual artist and calligrapher who works with large format paintings that combine calligraphy and image. I talk about these subjects at http://blog.randallmhasson.com I post recipes and things of that sort at FeastForThePalette.blogspot.com."

*****

and here's a few short and sweet others you might like to check out:

Cindy Yount - "I am a lettering artist with 25 years experience in calligraphy and the related arts, as well as a background in graphic design. My passions include creating unique, hand lettered gifts and artists books, with uplifting, colorful, nature inspired themes. Custom requests are always welcome."

thegingerparasol is Dana Cochran - "I do what I love … "

and the blog with my favourite 'about me' intro....

extraordinaryletterforms - blog home of David Ogden - "Slingin' ink since 1991"

if your favourite blog hasn't been featured yet- fear not - we're getting there!

* calligraffia has gathered a screen shot of chosen blogs and are displaying them (and the written information) under fair use of copyright - each pic is hyperlinked to the blog itself so click the pic to be whisked off to the blog shown - all information posted on calligraffia is a direct quote from the 'profile' or 'about me' section on the blog page.

blogging right along.....

2010-07-15T11:04:00.000+10:00

Welcome to blog review number two!

We had lovely feedback from our extended interview with Alice Young from Contemporary Calligraphy - thanks to everyone who commented/ emailed/ dropped a note in cyberscribes.... it was much appreciated

Now on with the show - we mentioned in our initial call-out for blogs to profile* here on calligraffia, that if you send it in (and it is indeed a blog primarily featuring calligraphy) WE WILL SHOW IT!

So in future posts you'll see a wonderful variety of large and small calligraphy blogs - in mostly short and sweet posts - today we're going to share a site that some of you may have seen - but it's one that we thoroughly endorse - it's..... (drum roll please)

WORDS FOR PEACE 2010

and here is the blog author Mike Warner to describe what it's all about......

"Long ago (just before the start of the Iraq war) and far away (in California), Thomas Ingmire pulled together an art installation called “Words for Peace.” It has had several replications over the years as a strong anti-war statement in art and calligraphy on a simple 5”x20” piece of paper. Actually – hundreds of them. Well, Thomas gave myself and the Genesee Valley Calligraphy Guild (Rochester, NY) permission to mount a like installation. Hence our blog …

http://wordsforpeace2010.blogspot.com/

The Blog has been like a friend I could talk to and share my excitement with about the project. I think it was a while before I realized that folks were actually reading it. It’s a place to explain why I’m doing this. Who I am. I was accused of being a 20 something anti-war radical. Nah. I’m an old and grizzled Vietnam era veteran with a heart for Peace and a distaste for conflict with no reason. It’s the end of March (2010) and I’ll start posting the photos of the broadsides that are flowing in from all over the world. Visit our Blog. Contribute to the installation. Details are in the second part of the November 10th posting. BTW There is no deadline – we’ll accept whatever is sent in –whenever – and add it on.

Mike Warner"

Now the last post on the site is dated April 2010 - so I'm unsure of future plans (or whether indeed the project has run its course) - but one of the persistent features of blogs and blogging is that even when events have been and gone - there is a virtual residue of their passing in the form of a blog post remainder/reminder......

* there is no deadline for sending in blogs to profile on calligraffia - please feel free to send us your suggestions at any time - all we ask is that it is a BLOG (not website), is in English, and primarily features calligraphy.

calligraffia blog review - Alice Young - 'Contemporary Calligraphy'

2010-05-23T13:52:00.000+10:00

At LAST I can bring you the FIRST of our posts on calligraphy blogs....

.... and I've saved the best for first - or rather, I wanted to start our series of calligraphy blog reviews with the blog that essentially inspired THIS blog - Contemporary Calligraphy - the blog of Canadian blogging calligrapher (or calligraphic blogger) Alice Young

Alice graciously (and generously!) accepted our invitation to share some of her thoughts about blogging; how it fits (or doesn't) with calligraphic practice, its benefits and pitfalls and a few thoughts about the future of calligraphy..... I hope you enjoy the discussion - for perhaps the best thing a blog can offer is just that - if offers everyone an opportunity to participate in that discussion.......

Ronnie: When and how did you commence your blog - Contemporary Calligraphy?

Alice: I started blogging because I was excited about the future of calligraphy. While others around me moaned of calligraphy being a lost art, I saw something different - incredible unexplored potential - and wanted to share my enthusiasm.

Online, I was discovering pockets of interest in calligraphy. Good calligraphers, poor calligraphers and kids posting their work. Of course, since we all start as “poor” calligraphers, seeing it all was delightful.

So, it was a bit of a personal reaction against the idea that calligraphy is old, out-dated and irrelevant. While this is the mainstream understanding, I saw - and continue to see - western calligraphy as an ‘infant’ in the art world. So much potential! So much has yet to be done, written, created! Eastern cultures have thousands of years of calligraphic tradition - and while you could argue that western calligraphy dates back to the first writing - western calligraphy as art and expression are so very young!

When I began the blog, I was also making calligraphic works for my first gallery exhibition, and grappling with an idea that many people expressed - that “calligraphy is craft, not art”. I would argue that it can be either, or both. Is every pencil drawing a piece of art? Not necessarily. But in the hands of a master, a pencil can create art. So too, can a calligraphy pen or brush.

Blogging was also a way to explore the technologies emerging at that time. Blogs were quite new, then, and facebook and twitter (and whatever is coming next !) still in our futures!

More practically, I began blogging in Winter 2006. My first blog post was done on a day when I was literally “snowed in” - unable to leave my house due to a huge snowfall. Perhaps when you can’t get out, you reach out?

R: Has your blog's focus changed since its inception?

A: The content of my blog has shifted and morphed - blogs are by nature very flexible. Yet, the original mission as stated, “to introduce more viewers to contemporary calligraphy” remains the same.

Yet, like so many endeavors do, my blog back-fired! My hope was to expose viewers (especially non-calligraphers) to the wider world of contemporary calligraphy. But in fact, my eyes have been opened to the incredible richness and variety of contemporary artists working in calligraphy - throughout the world.

R: What have you found are the best and/or worst aspects of blogging?

A: The best aspects of blogging are that it is easy, instant and expandable. If you can upload photos to facebook, you can create a blog. It is that easy. Traditional websites can be cumbersome, difficult to update and keep current, while blogs are super easy to work with and can expand to include all kinds of information - text, photos, audio and video.

Many calligraphers and artists know they “should” have a website to put up their work or ideas, but find the thought and/or process daunting. A blog is definitely a simpler way to go, and my blog gets twice as many hits as my website.

The sheer wonder of blogging is in the connections made. Since starting the blog, I have connected with other calligraphers globally. It is truly awesome to discover the work of someone on the other side of the world - perhaps with languages and customs that you have never been exposed to, and yet see and sense the connections between your work, and often your lifestyle. (It takes a certain personality to dedicate yourself to an impossible task like being a good calligrapher!) Like music, calligraphy can be a universal language.

But there are far fewer calligraphers than musicians, and we are spread thinly across the globe. The beauty of the internet is that we are now truly able to ‘meet’ each other and become a calligraphic community. And I think we’re all seeing that happening.

The worst aspects of blogging include my concerns about where this wondrous new technology is taking us. While it is allowing us to connect (good), I worry about the possibility that the online world will become one big popularity contest (very bad). With our increasing ability to rate online offerings by becoming a “fan” or voting up or down, we run the risk of hurting or marginalizing others, of “worshipping” certain cults (be it calligraphy, music, cultural trends) and losing ourselves in the process.

We also, sometimes indavertently, brand ourselves. Having worked in advertising, I understand “branding,” (which corporations use to present their values to the world) and I’m well aware of the power of what is left out of those presentations. By developing an online presence, we are branding ourselves, and along with that comes the both the prerogative and pitfalls of any process which publicly defines “that which you are”.

What I did not expect was the “responsibility” which comes with blogging. It comes in the form of those sidebar links - how do you decide who is added to those links? In the beginning, this was easy for me - the top calligraphers I knew of were added to my links - a dozen or so. But as my knowledge of calligraphers around the world exploded (facebook played a big role in that; who knew calligraphers were so chatty?!), it becomes almost overwhelming to try to add everyone or to determine who should be added. I confess this is a real challenge, and one I have not completely come to terms with. I’m uncomfortable with the ‘power’ and implied judgement of editing those sidebar links!

And of course, like any endeavor, blogging takes time. I do not stick to a schedule (as perhaps I should), but rather, I add a blog post when something ‘strikes’ me. And when I get busy, the blog gets neglected.

However, I am a huge believer in flowing with life, and expect my blog to become more active at another period in my life. In the meantime, I can celebrate the work of others whose ink is flowing! And check out the latest posts on calligraffia!

R: What do you think is the most important contribution calligraphy can make in today’s world?

A: I think by practicing and exposing our contemporaries to calligraphy, we can perhaps nudge them to think about the written word and where it truly comes from.

We are at a place in history where small but powerful groups of people are taking the work of early scribes, writers and thinkers and distorting those words to justify violence or bigotry in today’s world. (In some cases they don’t need to distort; the call for violence and segregation is clearly there.)

So, if we can pique curiosity about the long and mystery-shrouded history of the written word, and why someone would take such care with replicating words, and how words have always been linked with power, we can stimulate thinking about historical texts and an honest examination of their beginnings.

Even witnessing the mesmerizing beauty of an illegible, abstract or mysterious script, we can begin to understand how early books - along with carrying practical knowledge - would have carried so much power and mystique, especially during times when literacy was limited to scholars, scribes and priests.

A study of calligraphic history, which then intertwines with the history of art and literature, cuts to the core questions of human existence.

If we can help people to recognize that mankind has always had the urge to write, edit and disseminate his views (and credit them to a higher power), then we will understand that what was written thousands of years ago is simply not reasonable justification for unethical actions today.

Many people already understand this. But, over the next several decades, human survival may depend on all people coming to this understanding. This is our area of expertise. Let’s talk about it.

Let's indeed.....

please feel free to comment - or drop us a line.

and thanks again Alice for such a lively response and lovely blog!

** all artwork by Alice Young - reproduced with permission

roll on the calligraffia blog roll

2010-05-22T11:23:00.000+10:00

In the coming days I will be launching (with a bang I've got to say!) the first of what will be our regular series of posts all about calligraphy blogs and blogging calligraphers...

thank you to everyone who sent in suggestions and links - we will be showing each one over the coming months - so please be patient with us

and please keep sending in your suggestions and links - to your own calligraphy blog - or one that you really enjoy (chances are others will enjoy it too!) all we ask is that it is a blog (not a website.... ) and that it features calligraphy.

I can hardly wait to show you the first one - from my favourite calligraphic blog (you'll understand when you see it why I've held off until now to launch into the blog roll!)

now that will keep you guessing!

cyberscribes on facebook

2010-04-19T14:59:00.000+10:00

If you've been on either facebook or cyberscribes over the past week and a bit you no doubt will have noticed the establishment of the facebook cyberscribes fan page (such excitement) - seemingly overnight every calligraphic facebook soul jumped on board.... now I've got a confession to make... I've never been a part of cyberscribes (I know, I know - CRAZY.... but there's only so many hours in the day and webby things a small girl can be a part of) well, not that is until I connected via the FB fan page.....

and talking connection, to tell the tale of the establishment of the page I've roped in the the creator of the FB page - June Maffin ..... over to you June...

Serendipity. I love that word - the way it sounds - the way it looks - what it means - its history. Horace Walpole coined the word in the late 1700's from a Persian fairy tale whose heroes were "always making discoveries by accidents and sagacity of things they were not in quest of."    In a nutshell, that's the story of the Facebook Cyberscribes Fan Page whose origins are quite serendipitous ...

After reading posting after posting after posting of Cyberscribers wanting to connect on Facebook, I decided to create an alphabetical listing for myself so I could delete the "Me, too!" emails that were coming fast and furious to Cyberscribes (a great Yahoo Group begun by Teri Martin (Yay, Teri!). Then the "Others might welcome such a listing" thought came to me, so I sent a note to the group and before I knew it, the "Me, too / Add me" emails stopped going to the group and were coming directly to my inbox. Mmmmm.

Something was evolving here that I'd not planned. Then came suggestions that I create a Facebook Fan Page for Cyberscribers.   More evolution. I contacted Teri for her thoughts and she joined the "Create it!" voices. So, I did and on April 8, 2010, the Cyberscribes FB Fan Page was created. Before I knew it, Cyberscribers were joining the FB group - and calligraphers who were on FB but not on Cyberscribes were joining the Cyberscribes Yahoo Group! Cross-fertilization, new opportunity for networking/discussing/sharing. ;-)

Today, ten days later, 308 people have joined the group ... calligraphers who found the FB Fan Page discovered the Yahoo Group ... international connections were made ... friends discovered friends they didn't know were on FB through the group. Such fun! Along the way, I asked Nan de Luca if she would create a graphic which she did - a beautiful one done in Copperplate. And, she not only kindly offered to help administer the group when I'm giving workshops/on holidays but came up with the idea of inviting other calligraphers to create a graphic which would be used on the FB Fan Page on a rotation basis. What a creative idea! Yay, Nan!

I love this idea ... many calligraphers sharing in the design of the group's graphic ... various members showcasing their talent and creativity ... seeing different ways the word "cyberscribes" can be calligraphed. I hope Cyberscribers will take up this invitation.

As for the Cyberscribes Facebook Fan Page - all are welcome to join - begin a discussion - create a graphic for the group - let us know of your website - send photos of your work - share the URL of your blog - whatever! Who knows where this will all lead. What fun!

Serendipity? Yes, the creation of the Cyberscribes Facebook Fan Page has indeed been serendipitous!

June Maffin, Vancouver Island

How great is that!

so here are the connection details - the facebook fan page lives here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/CyberScribes/107430969296032?ref=mf

and of course cyberscribes group is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cyberscribes/

just in case you haven't found both of them already - see you there or there!

blogging best...

2010-03-13T15:32:00.000+11:00

Over the following year we are planning to post a series of reviews and links to blogging calligraphers and calligraphy blogs. If you have or know of a great blog that prominently features calligraphy in its posts – well you need to let us know about it!

You can nominate your own blog or tell us about one you've stumbled over – it can be new or established, feature traditional or contemporary, amateur or professional work, by individuals or groups, from any point of the globe*

Basically - it just needs to feature calligraphy. Over the coming 12-18 months we will intermittently feature blogs that YOU nominate (if it fits the guidelines, we will post it) and then we will also add featured blogs to a blog link page

we hope you'll all enjoy being a part of this evolving project

here's how to get involved

please email us the following information (or as much of it as you know...):

BLOG URL: (that's the blogs web address - this is essential!)

BLOG NAME:

BLOG AUTHOR:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION of the BLOG: (eg: in a few words tell us about the contents and focus of the blog – the type of calligraphy featured and whatever info you feel sums up what viewers will find when they visit)

FAVOURITE FEATURE/POST:

YOUR NAME/CONTACT EMAIL (this will only be used for the purpose of verification and will not be used for any other purpose)

soooooo let's get going people – tell us about your favourite blogs today (you can send multiple blogs if you can't choose a favourite!) and let us tell the wwworld!

* only blogs in English or with translation will be featured in this initial review.

2010-03-02T23:57:00.003+11:00

We would love you to join us ... visit A Letter a Week now: http://aletteraweek2010.blogspot.com/
Any questions ... I'll be happy to help.

Happy (calligraphic) New Year!

2010-01-01T10:17:00.003+11:00

Happy New Year everyone!

We wish you a peachy-keen 2010

filled to the brim with calligraphic endeavours

In the coming year we are hoping to bring you many more calligraphic stories and lots and lots of delicious photos - and in the next week or two we are going to be sharing with you ways that you can be more involved in bringing calligraphic 'news, views, reviews, interviews and how-tos' to the blogging universe via calligraffia.

Right now here in Australia it's a sunny summer New Years day – and my thoughts are on heading to the beach for a fabulous day of sun, surf and sand.

wherever you are may 2010 be a happy and creative one for you and your loved ones.

SEASONS GREETINGS

2009-12-23T18:49:00.006+11:00

We'd like to wish you a very happy and peaceful festive season. We'll be back in the New Year with more exciting interviews and calligraphic happenings from around the world.

(Peace card by Julie Williams)

coming soon...

2009-09-18T07:05:00.002+10:00

Any time now our first guest blogger is about to arrive at calligraffia HQ - and we think you are going to just love what he is going to share.

As a hint you can check out his website

are you excited yet? - well you won't have to wait long.

Meet the Team - Rhonda Ayliffe

2009-08-21T17:37:00.011+10:00

To all of us down under, Rhonda Ayliffe, affectionately known as Ronnie, hardly needs an introduction. Her many years of involvement, interest and achievements in the calligraphic, fine art and book art fields are mighty impressive.

A 5th generation country girl, Rhonda lives with her husband and two young children on a 360 acre farm "Sam's Creek" on the picturesque far south coast of NSW... a rural farming community from which she creates and practices her art, grows her own food, and tends to her beloved garden....

"I'm very, very, very, very attached to my little corner of the world - you know the saying "you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl"?...well you can't take this girl out of the country - at least not for very long! I'd miss the wombats and wallabies."

"Mixed Emotions"
assemblage - 1950's mixmaster, paper, gouache, wire (1995)

Perhaps becase of this, Ronnie has become an 'expert' at Distance Education; to add to her BA (Art History), Grad. Dip ED (Visual Art), and Diploma of Western Calligraphy (all completed via distance education), Ronnie is currently finishing her Master of Visual Arts. Whilst undertaking the course she had the honour of being admitted to the Gold en Key International Honour Society.

Location hasn't stopped Rhonda from fully immersing herself in all things arty....she doesn't blink at travelling hundreds of kilometers to attend courses of interest...and....(drum roll please) she is the creator and instigator behind calligraffia.

'Weight of Words'
Acrylic, gouache, ink on canvas panels 150cm x 60cm (2007)

Rhonda has only occasionally worked as a commercial calligrapher since being awarded as ASC Guild level Membership in 1995, but uses her love of calligraphy for many other things, especially via her passion for book arts. She has had work published in Letter Arts Review around 1997, but it is her achievements in the book arts that make her stand out from the crowd.

'you are'
(poem by artist)
ink, gouache, collage on concertina booklet (2006)

Over a number of years, Rhonda's creative works have been included in Lark Books '500 Handmade Books', she has work regularly selected for national major book art exhibitions/awards....Books '05, Books '07, SCU Acquisitive Award....and as recently as a fortnight ago, received a Judges' commendation in the National Book Arts award at East Gippsland Art Gallery .... and has just had work shortlisted for the Meroogal Womens Art Award

'Verbatim'
carved reclaimed 2 volume dictionary (2009)

"Calligraphy and book arts go together like wine and cheese (yum!) They are natural and complementary partners. Within my arts practice, I enjoy taking these crafts on a journey, stretching their possibilities as far as I can before form, all traditions and discernable 'skill' are lost completely. Recently with my works, I've been exploring ideas of knowledge and theories of knowledge - and the changing role of books in a blogging world. With the seeming replacement of books by the internet, I think that books as objects, and particularly the traditional crafts associated with them, are more important than at any other stage in human history....but as a calligrapher and book artist, maybe my opinion is biased...."

Work in progress from burning books series (2009)
Ephemeral sculpture utilising discarded encyclopaedias - this is hot out of the studio!
(see /read more about the creation of this work here)

Besides attending to calligraffia, Ronnie regularly contributes to her own arty blog, Art & Etc. Her website is currently undergoing a major revamp, so we will just have to wait a little while to view her latest creations. In the meantime, a selection of her older works can be enjoyed on Cecilia Sharpley's website.

....and Ronnie tells me she is hoping to go on to complete a PhD course - perhaps as early as next year...

"Yes, sometime in the near future, I hope to be able to insist on being addressed as Doc Ronnie...hee hee hee"

calligraffia chats with David McGrail

2009-07-14T17:07:00.008+10:00

For the next in our series of calligrapher’s interviews I’m thrilled to introduce our chat with the marvelous David McGrail. For the uninitiated, David is a designer 'with a passion for calligraphy’ (his words exactly), living and working in Dublin, Ireland. It’s no surprise to me then to learn that he is a long-time friend and colleague of Denis Brown, with whom he has co-designed and authored a number of issues of ‘The Edge’ - I’m equally unsurprised to learn that David was the first recipient of the CLAS Advanced Diploma of Calligraphy, is a CLAS fellow, and has received numerous awards and honours for his spectacular work.

Gemma Black, also a long-time friend and admirer of David eagerly suggested calligraffia highlight this fabulous calligrapher - so without any further fawning from me I’ll hand over to Gemma and David… enjoy!

Two wolves –
Coloured pencil drawing of fighting wolves,
watercolour marks, mixed media with gold and silver powders

Gemma B: David, welcome to calligraffia!

David Mc: Thank you for inviting me to do this interview for Calligraffia, Gemma – I’m honoured. Your website has an excellent reputation – it’s great to see so much enthusiasm and encouragement for the calligraphic arts. It covers a great deal and it’s especially good that you continually update it with new work and fresh information. Talking about myself doesn’t come easy. Having a tooth extracted comes to mind as a somewhat similar feeling!

GB: David, with Denis Brown you have co-authored three issues of 'the Edge', the Journal of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society UK CLAS . An issue in 1997, 2005 and 2008. It appears that between the two of you, you made decisions to prepare different articles yet they seem to gel as an overall publication. How did you and Denis develop your plans for these now much sort after publications?

DMc: Being close friends, discussion and on occasion, argument, about calligraphy over a pint and a meal have been an enduring feature of our friendship over the past 20 years. Denis’s love of and mastery in calligraphy inspired me at my first class with him and that has strengthened over the years. We both enjoy dancing to different calligraphic tunes yet we always keep faith with the fundamentals of beauty and harmony. So when it came to the Edge (the CLAS publication), we each had a pretty well-developed sense of the other’s needs and priorities. While we talked a lot about the look and feel of it beforehand, we worked individually on our own articles and layout. But it was with a consciousness of the other’s work and in the context of the overall publication. As Denis has a design background and I work as a designer, this aspect of the Edge mostly fell into place.

Vibrant Lines
Design for the cover of the CLAS Festival of Calligraphy 2009 brochure

GB: Your students dubbed you the Holy McGrail, how did this come about and are you comfortable with the honorary title which obviously is a mark of respect (personally I love it and it is very clever)?

DMc: Now I am delving into the past. Yes, my students at Dun Laoghaire College of Art did call me that alright. Students often begin to search for miracles around March and April in their final year. I couldn’t oblige with miracles, but I was passionate about opening their eyes/exposing them to possibilities/different ways of seeing that they could bring to their work. Trying to forge a creative identity in the context of a college project is not easy for students. They get bogged down in satisfying others’ often divergent criteria rather than enjoying the process and looking inside themselves for answers. Giving them space to reflect on their project and its meaning for them rekindles their self-belief and often reveals possibilities to them; ideas can surface that enable them to produce work that surprises themselves. Often too, the difference between a seemingly ordinary work and an extraordinary work is a small sideways step. Recognising that can only happen when people are able to tap into their own deep resources.

GB: David, your work has a spiritual presence, a good sense of self, obvious excellent design, sensuality and depth of meaning. What and or who have been your influences perhaps starting with your formative years?

DMc: My first job after graduating was as an illustrator at the Natural History Museum in London. There in the cavernous bowels of that beautiful building I spent my time drawing all manner of animal. That solitudinous time spent in the close-up company of dead creatures was a very curious and rich experience. I became fascinated with the structural form of even the tiniest insect. In time, the structural form of illustration deepened to a more artistic perception of form as substance. To this day, I find so many things interesting – whether it is in the beauty of rain storms or the grand vaulted roof of a medieval cathedral – they all enthral me. And cathedrals have other characteristics that I love – emptiness, space and quietude. They are testament to human endeavour and commitment. In a way, they are qualities that I would like to emulate in my work. Emptiness is the space for our imaginations. Finitude is for instructions and signage.
Moving on from illustration to design after five years was a natural progression for me. I could indulge my passion for white space in my role as art editor for the publishers, Dorling Kindersley. What was absent or left unsaid was as important as what was visible. The sheerer a design is, the more successful it is. To me, an ideal design is like a haiku: it conveys a story in a simple, lean way, through metaphor. It is pared to its essence – one stroke, a hint, an atmosphere. Indeed, I found the aesthetics in Japanese culture echoed my own idea of design: it embodies simplicity, mystery and suggestion.

Japanese concertina – Intangible,
concertina book double sided limited edition
inspired by Japanese aesthetic principles, mixed media. 20 pages

(detail)

Some years later I was seduced by calligraphy and began the long haul journey. What I liked about calligraphy was its propensity to unruliness. The riskiness of it was a welcome counterfoil to the meticulous planning of book grids and type design. I wove its spontaneity, the unexpected accidents, into my design work.

Most calligraphic work that I do never sees the light of day. The pieces live for the moment. I like doing them but finishing them invariably eludes me. The pleasure is in the process. Assembling ideas or just thinking about possibilities; taking things apart and re-working them; discovering connections between things are very satisfying to me. I find inspiration in many different areas. My bookshelves reveal my eclectic sources. As well as my calligraphic books with work from many traditions – I love the mysterious qualities found in Oriental brush and Arabic pen work – I enjoy delving into architecture, philosophy, literary criticism, fine art. They all absorb me.
In the end, perhaps I’m a mirror to the world - always reflecting.
In a direct way, all the wonderful teachers at workshops over the years have given me great encouragement and inspired me and influenced my work in one way or another.

Arabic on black
Arabesque pen manipulations in gold watercolour on black paper

GB: In your business, Q Design, you work in partnership with your life-partner, the equally talented Hilary Wardrop. How much do the two of you draw from each other and how do you prepare your work, collaboratively or separately? Is it an easy task to draw the line between the relationship and the work?

DMc: I think the reason our design business is successful is because we brought totally different talents to it. Hilary studied law and had worked in systems analysis and computer sales – a world apart from my background. So our separate skills seemed to gel. For me, Q Design gave me the opportunity of producing work that I wanted to and Hilary enjoyed the challenge of breaking into a new business. For us both, it was a great freedom to wave goodbye to 9 to 5 commute jobs. Years later, many of our clients that gave us work when we started are still with us. We both share the responsibilities and still revel in it and, miraculously, we’re still together despite seeing each other 24/7.
Generally, Hilary discusses the project with the client and, depending on the requirements, one or other of us will work on it; then at a certain point, we’ll come together to discuss our thoughts and ideas. So we both have input into all our work and it has become an integral part of our life.

Concertina Neruda – If only you would.
Limited edition concertina book, mixed media. 14 pages (detail)

GB: One final question David - are you working on any calligraphic projects at present that you can share with us?

DMc: Yes indeed. Browsing in a secondhand bookshop, I came across a worn biography of Jeanne d’Arc which was fascinating for its detailed and erudite account of her life and trial. It provides a day-by-day account of the last two years of her life and a complete verbatim transcript of her trial.
One of the most puzzling and amazing things about Jeanne was her ability to answer her interrogators in such a direct and resolute way. Here was a young 19-year old girl from a rural peasant family, uneducated and unworldly, yet showing an agility of mind, an intuitive knowledge of military strategy and a maturity and wisdom that was inexplicable.
What I found intriguing were her replies to the ruthless questioning–often trick questions to catch her out. She answered with simple honest integrity, guided by her intuition. She showed an incredible sharpness of mind, a penetrating wisdom which at its heart was simply common sense. This went far beyond a normal intellectual response .
There was a simplicity to her profound, unshakeable faith that the combined might of the church and its political accomplices found impossible to subvert. In the end, they could only convict on a specious charge in order to sentence her to death.
I was greatly moved by the detailed accounts of her trial and my current work, a triptych, grew out of this. My reaction was not a religious one, but an intellectual curiosity in the way she thought.

Panel 1 - Visions

Here is the calmness of certainty.

Jeanne’s supreme confidence that came
from her convictions enabled her to take control
and lead fearlessly into battle.
She commands the respect and admiration of all.

I have for some time been interested in contemporary stained glass window design – there is a fractured quality that appeals to me. Using the shape and feel as a basic structure, I built on that in layers of watercolour, mixed media and calligraphy. Each panel follows a similar structure of a main image combined with a few stark and direct words. A reminder of Jeanne’s integrity. Some of the lines are in French to bring us back to her own language. At the bottom are personal quotes about her in varied coloured capitals that give a rich trembling effect – a hint of the unsettled life that Jeanne was to experience. In essence, her life represents the triumph of intuitive understanding over the power of the applied logic of the institutions.

Panel 2 - Justice
This panel represents the beginning of the conflicts and
a gradual deterioration of events.
Jeanne never understood the betrayals and the
political intrigues that were endemic in the world she had entered.

Panel 3 - Betrayed
This panel represents her final days –
her world has disintegrated; she has been betrayed
by those whom she had admired.
Her cruel death by fire, however,
is a final liberation where she becomes a role model
for all those who seek honesty and freedom.

(click on pics for larger view)

Thank you, Rhonda and Gemma, for giving me this opportunity to show my work. I hope your viewers find it interesting.

Thanks Gemma and David both - what FABULOUS work and words!

more from "Line and Spirit"

2009-07-12T13:25:00.010+10:00

Whilst preparing our recent post on Yves Leterme, he brought to our attention the great calligraphic work of Japanese calligraphers also exhibiting as part of “Line and Spirit' – and now we are thrilled to share with you some of the work that so impressed Yves (and others who have had the opportunity to catch “Line and Spirit” at BankART Studio NYK in Yokohama, Japan)

In her introduction to 'Line and Spirit”, J-LAF (Japan Letter Arts Forum) president Minako Sando wrote:

“Visitors to “Japan・Belgium Letter Arts Exhibition” will be introduced to a wide variety of letter expressions that exist in the range of letter arts from Belgium and Japan. This is the first exhibition to be held in Japan that exhibits works from genres considered as different but which share the same axis of letter arts... It is our great pleasure to have visitors enjoy the works by artists of Japan and Belgium exhibited together.”

(you can read the full introduction at the J-LAF website, which is in both English and Japanese)

I'm sure a cursory glance at the following works by Japanese calligraphers will confirm the diversity and excellence of the show....

(click on pics for a larger view)

Emiko Hashiguchi
“The Nightingale and the Rose”
(Book, 16 pages) 29 × 27 cm
Zerkall ,stick ink, gouache, gold paint

Yukimi Sasago Annand
“A Fool’s Life, Rain ・ She ・ Moon”
(Book, 22 pages) 33.2 × 13.6 × 1.3 cm
Sumi, watercolor, acrylic on Arches Text Wove and Hahnemühle Ingres Antique Paper

Akira Ouchi
“egaku”
14 × 18 cm
Acrylic, Oil, liquid iron on canvas

Sayaka Yoneya
“Woods Without Words”
66 × 35.5 ×55.5 cm
Cotman, acrylic, wood, newspaper

Yukie Hoshi
“my memories dissolve in the air”
59.4 × 84.1 cm
Mixed media, Kouzo paper

Noriko Okamoto
“Stone of Sisyphus”
49.5 × 57 cm
Color Ink, watercolor, gouache, Arches

If these examples have whet your appetite - a marvelous gallery of pics from the exhibition can be viewed at the following dedicated picasa album.

“Line and Spirit” will continue until 14th July at
BankART Studio NYK
3 - 9 Kaigan-dori, Bashamachi, Yokohama, Japan.

(calligraffia would like to thank Minako Sando and Hiroko Shimizu for their assistance and to all the Japanese calligraphers featured for kindly allowing us to reproduce their works)

Wabi-sabi...Line and Spirit

2009-06-27T17:10:00.021+10:00

Yves Leterme, "gestural genius" from Bruges, is exhibiting a series of new works in Yokohama, opening TODAY (July 2), which happily coincides with his current teaching tour of Japan.

"Line and Spirit" promises to be an exceptional exhibition with works from leading Japanese calligraphers (working in the Western calligraphic tradition) as well as 13 outstanding lettering artists from Belgium: Brody Neuenschwander, the 5 members of the Boudens family, Elmo Van Slingerland, Maud Bekaert, Veronique Vandevoorde, Jurgen Vercaemst, Veerle Missiaen, Lieve Cornil and of course Yves...who generously chats to Calligraffia and shares his thoughts about the exhibition and his new work.

The Power of Imagination

Julie: Yves, how did the "Line and Spirit" exhibition come to be?

Yves: Towards the end of 2007, Brody invited members of the Alphaclub in Japan to exhibit in the Art gallery Manna in Bruges, one of the very few galleries in Belgium to exhibit calligraphy on a regular basis. The Japanese calligraphers are very interested in Western calligraphy. They asked for some assistance and Denis Brown, Brody and I each gave advice to students, which was quite a daunting task for me, for I had to discuss and criticize works made by ladies I didn't know. Since then, things have changed: I've come to know some of them as they came over for the opening of the exhibition and took some workshops with me. It's incredible to see how quickly they make progress and how developed their sense for detail is.

Hiroko Shimizu and Minako Sando, two of their finest calligraphers, invited back some Belgian calligraphers for an exhibition in an enormous and wonderful gallery in Yokohama. We're thirteen in total, almost all of us living in Bruges or surroundings.

The Power of Imagination (detail)

J: I would imagine there were many considerations to be taken into account for this exhibition. Can you tell us what some of these might have been?

Y: Since the gallery is a very spacious room, we were asked to contribute some large works. A number of us usually work on a quite small scale, and I knew that this meant trouble for me as my work is more suited to a rather intimate interior. However, I decided to give it a try and to scale up. One immediately felt by looking at the interior that it was not meant for another calligraphy exhibition with the usual nicely framed work: we had to come up with some daring work, not necessarily avant-garde, but still....not the cute stuff. I knew Brody's work would fit in perfectly in that decor, but was at a loss as to what kind of work I would send in. It turned out that I'd be present at the opening of the exhibition, for it just happens to be at the start of my Japanese teaching tour. No possibility for hiding, I would have to face the crowd, so...I'd better come up with something decent!

The Three Fates

J: Yves, you are recognized and renown for your earthy gestural works...where did you draw inspiration from for this series?

Y: The exhibition's theme: Line and Spirit, may have been considered as a source for inspiration. I kept postponing these works, always being very happy if another commission came in, but it was always at the back of my mind. I suddenly came upon the Three Fates, the Moirai, who in ancient Greece spinned and cut the tread of Life. There I had it: Line and Spirit.

I made my first panel: the largest one (115 cm x 55 cm) on gessoed paper, using my beloved pigments and experimenting with poetic texts, photo-transfer, drawn lettering, gestural lettering and marks. It's the sort of work in which the eye can get lost as it wanders through the various parts.

The Three Fates (detail)

I have realized that I'm especially drawn towards things with patina, things which show they have lived (scratches, rust, old stones etc...) and that I spend a lot of time trying to get those things into my work.

Now there's a Japanese word for it: Wabi-sabi. I learned that word about a year ago and after further research, I found to my greatest joy that the description of that philosophy is exactly what I'm after. I couldn't say it any better than what has been written. (For those interested, read more about wabi-sabi here.)

Wabi-sabi 1

Wabi-sabi 1 (detail)

I decided to make some Wabi-sabi works, especially since they were meant for Japan. The words and sentences which are hidden in the work, mostly illegible, are drawn from the texts I read on Wabi-sabi. Like that, I tried to visualize immediately the content of the text.

Wabi-sabi 2

J: Your calligraphy and art in this series characterize the wabi-sabi aesthetics wonderfully - simplicity, effortlessness, quietness, familiarity and suggest a natural process of asperity...

Y: I realize it may not look that way, but I have spent a considerable amount of time in making these works, constantly judging if everything was in harmony with each other, re-framing things, adding things, erasing things, finding new ways of obtaining wabi-sabi effects....I spent hours looking at the works, worrying also if I was not carried away too much...straying away from good old decent calligraphy as we know it.

Wabi-sabi 2 (detail)

J: Yves, your works are inspirational, thank you for your time and generosity in sharing your thoughts and allowing us a glimpse of your latest series.

"Line and Spirit" is now showing at the
BankART Studio NYK
3 - 9 Kaigan-dori, Bashamachi, Yokohama, Japan
from 2nd - 14th July

And of course, if you would like to see more of Yve's stunning work, visit his website.

Black & White

2009-05-15T12:30:00.004+10:00

Checking out Colleen Littles's magnificent page for Heroes and Champions reminded me that entries for the annual calligraphy exhibition presented by the Coffs Calligraphers is rapidly approaching....

This year's theme is 'Black and White' - that means work needs to be - well, black and white! (a little itty-bitty splash of colour will be tolerated I'm told - but work should essentially be... B&W)

Entries close June 1st (that's just around the corner folks) - entry forms and conditions can be accessed via Coffs Calligraphers website. Have a think about joining in - as I can speak from experience that the calligraphy group of Coffs Harbour are a terrific bunch and they put on a magnificent show - don't dare miss the exhibition if you are in the area 11th - 25th July!

Heroes and Champions

2009-05-08T16:01:00.017+10:00

We all have heroes ... those who accomplish remarkable achievements with qualities we admire greatly. Judith Kilburn, a calligrapher with the Gold Coast Calligraphy Society, is once again the force behind the 2nd "Heroes and Champions" collaborative book with contributions from 25 Australian calligraphers.

"Heroes " by Ruth Venner, Macleay Is, Northern NSW

The first Heroes book was completed in May 2007, and was displayed at Art shows, Art galleries and Calligraphy Societies throughout Australia. Viewers were astounded and delighted at the various ways each artist/calligrapher chose to describe the people (and the one heroic horse!) they admired. It even inspired visiting English calligrapher and CLAS Honoured Fellow, Jan Pickett, to produce a UK version with her students!

"Judith Wright" by Linda Upfold, Sydney NSW

"Norman Lindsay" by Susan Bradshaw, Toowoomba, QLD

Vol.2 is now nearing completion, and like it's predecessor, celebrates those that inspire. We are fortunate to be able to have a sneak peek at some of the pages before the book is even completed. Each calligrapher was free to choose their own hero or heroes....the only guidelines being a landscape layout, uniformity of page size (560mm x 380mm) and permission to write about their chosen one/s.

"Eric Bogle" by Vanessa Crisp, Evans Head, NSW

"Vincent Lingiari" by Gemma Black, Canberra, ACT

All 3 team members here at calligraffia were amongst those who rose to the challenge, and Judith tells me she had challenges of her own...."Your's and Gemma's arrived on the same day - her's in a giant tube, your's in a box. I looked like I was walking down the main street with the crown jewels and a rocket launcher!!!!"

Well, they were rather large pages to package up and post!!

"Volunteer Firefighters of Australia" by Rhonda Ayliffe, Sam's Creek, NSW

"Edith Cowan" by Colleen Little, Coff's Harbour, NSW

Judith is currently designing the covers and binding the pages together. The enjoyment of participating in a project aimed at fostering enrichment between calligraphers, and providing opportunities for others to view, is something to be celebrated. Vol. 2 will tour around Australian societies and other venues to be announced throughout 2009 and 2010.

Photos by Bill Kilburn

meet the team - Julie-Ann Williams

2009-04-18T19:26:00.005+10:00

As promised – I’d like to introduce you to the first of the team members here at ‘calligraffia’ - the ever delightful Julie-ann Williams Here in our homeland Australia, and most particularly our state of New South Wales, Julie hardly needs an introduction – as a commercial calligrapher, teacher, exhibitor, and ASC stalwart, her distinctive and delicious work speaks volumes for her talent

“Simplicity” detail - experimental work (2007/8)

I first met Julie when she became a fellow Guild Member of the ASC back in 1998 - as we are separated by many many kilometres (approximately 400 of them actually), it took me some time to really get to know her work and character - and I’m very pleased and privileged to now call her a dear friend. Rather than have me prattle on about how much I admire ‘our’ Julie and try to tell her journey into all things calligraphic - I’ll let Julie tell her story in her own words…

“My earliest memories of an interest in lettering was when I was 7…I learnt how to do “running writing” - a simplified Copperplate - in my Grade 3 Queensland Copy Book with a very sharp pencil.

Copy Book (1969)

After finishing High School in Melbourne, I moved to Sydney, and enrolled in a TAFE Showcard and Ticketwriting certificate course. Half-way through the course I became employed as a fully fledged ticketwriter, still having much to learn. I freelanced after hours doing hand lettered storyboards for advertising agencies and promotional showcards for corporations and shopping centres which enabled me to save enough money to backpack around the UK, Europe, and Africa for 2 years. (In my next life I wouldn’t mind having a go as a travel writer!)

In 1985, back in Australia, married and with the first of my 3 children in my arms, I was offered a job by my previous tutor at TAFE to teach the Showcard & Ticketwriting course…and so my interest and love of teaching began. Teaching calligraphy classes soon followed, and continue today.

After completing a Teaching of Calligraphy Certificate in 1995 and a further 3 years of formal study for the Diploma in Western Calligraphy accredited course in 1998 (designed by the wonderful Margaret Layson), I was awarded Guild level membership of the Australian Society of Calligraphers. Around this time I was invited by Margaret to teach 4 of the Diploma modules, and for 5 years relished this time and interaction with students.

Redesign of the Marriage Certificate for the Australian Maronite Church by Julie-Ann Williams
Colours and symbols are specific to the Maronite Church
Original completed at A3 size and reduced to A4 for printing.

As well as teaching, I love learning, and to that end I plan to be a “student of life” for the rest of my life. I have gone on to study various formal and informal fine arts subjects…printmaking and life drawing are amongst my favourites.

I have been actively involved in the Australian Society of Calligraphers for many years, serving as President and Exhibitions Co-ordinator a few years back. I’m fortunate that my work as a professional calligrapher is constant, and when I’m not being a Mum, wife, friend, cleaner, cook or taxi-driver, I try to take time to play with just about anything that can be found on an art shop shelf. I am also learning how to post on a blog, thanks to my friend, blog queen Ronnie!”

Ha ha ha – blog queen indeed! – did I mention she’s also quite funny?

Julie is rather modest about her achievements – so that means I’ll have to tell all – Julie has exhibited in almost every calligraphy event in NSW within the past decade, the NSW Parliament House, Australian Associated Press and top-end wedding & event stationers are amongst her commercial clients. Julie has judged the calligraphy section at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney on numerous occasions, and has distinguished herself within her studies and practice as a calligrapher and as a wonderful President of the ASC from 2004-2007

AND (drum roll please) is the creative force behind our distinctive calligraffia title (there – up on top of the blog – nice isn’t it!) Julie is presently working almost non-stop within her very busy calligraphy studio...

... but I know that she is also cooking up a couple of special items for Calligraffia – so watch this space!

Just “be” Yourself – acrylics on canvas (2007).
The two large symbols are calligraphic interpretations of “be”, the second letter of the Persian alphabet.
It has been symbolised as the letter of creating....
the beginning of our communication with the world...
which begins with being ourselves.
Acrylic paint and inks, charcoal, 24crt gold leaf

coming up soon - meet the team

2009-03-29T19:07:00.007+11:00

Over the next short while, amongst some other exciting tidbits, we will be introducing all the folk behind the scenes here at calligraffia – currently the 'we' consists of 3 Australians: Gemma Black of Canberra, Julie-Ann Williams of Sydney, and me – Rhonda Ayliffe (aka 'Ronnie'), from the glorious and well-known artistic centre of the universe.... Sams Creek.

We are separated from one another by many hundreds of kilometres and over the years have developed a (mostly) long distance, email-based friendship (I think we were last all in the same room together almost 3 years ago...).We are all Guild Members of the ASC (Australian Society of Calligraphers) and whilst we each have our own artistic predilections, we have a long-standing shared passion and commitment to all things calligraphic.

But you'll gather that as you get to know us better.... here's just a hint of who you'll learn about first with some Batarde....

..... by the lovely Julie-Ann Williams....

oh and this is probably the best time for me to say – don't forget to let us know of any 'news, views, reviews, or how-tos' to share here at calligraffia – perhaps you'd like to slide in a guest posting? just drop a line to our email (see it in the top left hand corner) and we'll see what magic we can weave...

hope to hear from you soon.

How-to: Recycle a pointed nib

2009-03-15T20:19:00.018+11:00

If you are into recycling, here's a handy little tip to make the most of a well-loved pointed nib. Rather than discarding your worn pointed nib once the sharpness and crispness of fine lines is a "thing-of-the-past", grab a small pair of metal cutting pliers, and gently cut a small portion from the end of the tines at the point. The cut can be made straight or on a slight angle (lefties....it is the perfect opportunity to cut an angle that suits you most!)

(pop the nib in a holder for greater stability when cutting)

Sharpen your newly fashioned chisel style nib with an Arkansas stone, crocus cloth or very fine wet/dry sandpaper, gently honing edges. Fit or fashion a reservoir to suit. When using, keep in mind that the flexibility of the pointed nib will remain...so a softer touch may be needed.

(sharpening using an Arkansas stone)

photos by Julie

Happy Birthday Sheila Waters

2009-03-14T13:58:00.005+11:00

March 13 is a special day for a special lady - and we feel it requires a special mention here at Calligraffia...

We know friends and colleagues all over the globe will be lifting a glass and sending personal greetings - and via this space we would like to send a very special greeting of our own...

To our Dear Sheila Waters

Happy 80th Birthday
and many Happy Returns
on your special day!

Thank you Sheila for your contributions to calligraphy through your teaching and your mentoring.

You have helped shape the creativity of so many calligraphers and continue to play a major role in the education of sound foundations of calligraphy the world over.

from the Calligraffia team
(Birthday greetings by Gemma Black)

a wish come true...

2009-03-08T07:36:00.007+11:00

To say that Denis Brown needs no introduction in the world of calligraphy is a tremendous understatement– if you have heard, seen, googled, or in any way accidentally stumbled over anything to do with the black art of writing, you will have encountered the wondrous works of Irish master calligrapher Denis Brown. Right now (and we mean literally - RIGHT NOW) his newest series of works is premiering at Gallery 13 in Hollywood (opening night is March 7 – yep, that's RIGHT NOW)... we are honoured that Denis is granting Calligraffia a privileged glimpse into the making of his newest works....

(Denis Brown - work from the '1000 wishes' series)

Ronnie: Your new '1000 wishes' series of work is extraordinary – where did the idea of a collaborative project come from?

Denis: Gallery 13 in West Hollywood Los Angeles have been showing some of my glass art pieces since last year. The current group exhibition has a theme: "Botanica: nature up close". Some of my earlier pieces had incidentally looked a bit like dandelion seed heads, so I decided to develop that image to fit the botanical theme. Of course dandelions are associated with the culture of blowing the seed heads to make a wish, so I thought to ask everybody to e-mail me their wish, and I'd write them all into my 3-D glass engraved images. It seemed a new and interactive way of sourcing text. Typically calligraphers reach for a quotation book and that can often result in work with facile levels of textual engagement on the part of the artist. Likewise, writing out work of the hallowed greats of poetry has become rather old. In this project I was excited by the idea to let my audience write texts which I promised to transcribe before really knowing what they would send me. I wanted to get people thinking about words and text and expressing their feelings- all simply through e-mail.

R: Tell us about some of the more 'interesting' wishes?.. were there any wishes that made you do a double take?.... just how many wishes have you had turn up in your inbox? (and have you used all of them in the works?).. yes I know that's more than one question!

D: I've titled the series 1000 wishes; so far I have received several hundred- difficult to know precisely how many, since many mails express more than one wish. I'm still seeking more wishes, towards that round 1000. The wishes are of all kinds- some related to personal and family desires, others of a more national or political or global nature. Some are religious and showed me that a wish and a prayer may be the same thing. Many are predictable enough even if sincere and important- world peace, and that kind of thing. Some are in languages I cannot even recognize, never mind understand. Some are very private and I should not reveal them.

In this project, I think the purpose of the text is more in the writing of it by the wisher than in the reading of it by the viewer. In my works almost all wishes are illegible, secret. I don't want to reveal too much. It is not important for others to read a person's wish, but I hope it is helpful for the wisher to release their wish, to express it, not hold it inside. To let it go. For the viewer all that is necessary is to know that many many sincere wishes are implicit in each work.

I will offer one interesting story where I helped make 2 out of three wishes come true for one lady in Finland. She had explained that her first wish was private so she wrote that one in Finnish. Her second had no explanation: she wished to see her friend Yukiko again. And for her third, she wished to take a workshop with me somewhere accessible to her in Europe. I have a course in Germany in March and knew that a Yukiko had booked to come from Japan and that this Yukiko had previously visited Finland for other workshops. I didn't know if it was the same Yukiko, but after I confirmed it, the wisher booked to attend the same workshop! Two out of three wishes will come true easily. Well that is just a coincidence, but I know her first wish, the private one, is the most heartfelt.

I sense that many of the wishes I received could possibly be made come true by the wisher's proaction. Take the wish out of your heart, write it down. Put it in your mind. That part has already been done by those who sent me a wish. Next, if you are serious about it, then what are you going to do about making it real? This applies to those who wished for world peace as well as those who wish to find their soulmate or whatever. Now you've made the wish, what will you do about it? So many wish for world peace but do nothing. If we all can make peace with someone, or between two people, then the world is a little more peaceful.

R: What a gorgeous thought! - I love the idea of the work potentially inspiring a move from wishes and dreams to actions and deeds.... so did you notice a certain common mood or theme emerging amongst the many wishes from around the globe?

D: I suspect most of my wishers are reasonably well off and are not left wanting too much. It has made me think that next, instead of emailing, I may go onto the streets of the cities I visit with pen and paper and ask the beggars and the homeless to write me their wishes. But I still like the idea of e-mail, since it brings that state of the art means of textual communication back to its scribal ancestry and interweaves manual and digital and shows that both may be expressive. But for the sake of a broader range of wishes, I think I need to address very different categories of people, including people without an e-mail address, or any address.

(Denis Brown - work from the '1000 wishes' series)

R: Rich and poor, digital and manual; those are interesting dynamic opposites – your idea of bringing them together in calligraphic work is certainly intriguing... but am I right in saying that has been an ongoing interest of yours?

D: Digital and manual, certainly. Rich and poor, this is not something I've thought about before I answered your last question! So that may be a new beginning. The word digital derives from 'digits' which originally meant fingers, and then later became associated with numbers through the signing of numerals with so many fingers (which is the origin of Roman numerals). Now of course digital is associated with the number crunching power of computers. Most calligraphers are unfortunately scared of technology, but manual and digital are etymologically as connected as fingers to a hand! (Latin: Manualis, manum= hand,; Digitalis, digitum= finger or toe). I have been inspired to take digital texts like e-mail, barcodes and SMS text messaging and relate them back to their scribal origins. On the broadest level, the integration of opposites seems a key to harmony. Artists have known this aesthetically, engaging with dynamics of dark against light, form against emptiness, big against small, motion against rest etc. And most of life's problems are due to inability or failure to integrate opposites. Some wishes I received aspire to such integration in varied contexts.

R: Like many people, I won't be able to get to see these wonders in the flesh; the computer screen will be my only viewing opportunity and I'm sure it doesn't capture the full impact of the work - Your pieces appear to have a certain dimensionality and physical depth that the screen can't adequately portray - could you tell us a bit more about the materials and creative processes in the series...

D: The works so far are all the same size of 12" by 12", and almost 2" deep. That depth comes from spacing 4 sheets of glass slightly apart over a background image on paper. I engrave the writing on the 8 glass surfaces (since each sheet has two sides) so as to approach a hemispherical appearance. I'd need much greater depth to actually achieve a full hemisphere, but there is a real three dimensional aspect towards a ball shape.

(Denis and the creative process - not your typical calligraphy pen!)

The lettering is simple enough and not like traditional glass engraving by calligraphers, which laboriously copies a drawn design onto glass. Mine is a direct process of writing with no pre-drawing, no roughwork. The letters are simple mono-line skeleton capitals written with quick strokes of a diamond tip spinning at 60,0000rpm. The tool holding the diamond burr is similar to a dentists drill, and is powered by a large air compressor kept in the adjoining room to my work room. Very careful inspection of the originals can facilitate reading of the wish engraved on the frontmost sheet of glass. But all others will remain concealed. One can catch a word here, read a word there; but these books will remain closed even though they are transparent.

R: I find it somewhat piquant that your series, which contains so many personal yet anonymous wishes and dreams, is premiering in Hollywood – where so many flock to fulfill their dreams of fame and fortune and to live their lives firmly in the spotlight....

D: Touché! Gallery 13 is in the heart of the film industry in Melrose, West Hollywood. My association with the gallery came in an interesting way. I e-mailed the gallery to introduce my work after an Irish friend then living in L.A. told me she'd been impressed by this gallery specializing in Irish art and suggested I should show there. By bizarre coincidence (or not), simultaneously gallery owner Linda Brunker e-mailed me, before reading my mail, but having had my work recommended to her by L.A. media promoter Barbara Ratner, who had also arranged workshops for me for the Society for Calligraphy. Linda later visited my home here in Dublin and we took it from there. The gallery are interested to have me do a one man exhibition plus associated live demonstrations, presentations, workshop etc. This may depend on funding and they are applying for grant aid.

(Denis Brown - work from the '1000 wishes' series)

R: Ahh behold the power of 'wishies'.... Do you have any plans to continue the series beyond this exhibition?

D: Absolutely. I've already mentioned above that it's still a long way to the 1000 wishes of my title and of how I may try to enlist a broader range of responses, eg by asking homeless and poor people to tell me their wish. Maybe also schools, old folks homes, hospitals. Even though wishes I've received to date are from 6 continents, I get the impression the social demographic of most of my wishers is middle to older aged people of middle or upper middle class. I'd like to broaden that, though I'm still asking for more wishes by e-mail also. Since my original request for wishes, your country (Australia) has faced a huge natural disaster with the fires in Victoria. I'd be interested to have some wishes after that, from anyone affected. But all kinds of wishes are still welcome and may be e-mailed to me.

R: Thanks Denis for your time and energy - it's always illuminating to gain a greater insight into that magical and mysterious creature: the creative process. I'm looking forward to witnessing the evolution of your series....

D: Thank you Ronnie, and I hope your blog attracts many new readers and stimulates a lot of discussion!

(Denis Brown - 9 works from the '1000 wishes' series)

'Botanica: nature up close' is now showing at
Gallery 13,
8302A Melrose Ave.
West Hollywood
CA 90069

more gorgeous images from the '1000 wishes' series can be seen at quillskill

and don't forget you can still send Denis your wishes for inclusion in his ongoing series

all works reproduced with permission - please see our copyright policy

A Welcome with an Apology...

2009-02-12T19:14:00.006+11:00

Welcome to CALLIGRAFFIA

a blog where we aim to bring and share all things calligraphic from around the globe:

News, Views, Reviews, Interviews and How-tos.....

As our launch on February 13, 2009 coincides with the first anniversary of the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples - a cornerstone and a pivotal moment in Australia's history – it is fitting that, given that the key group members here are Aussies, our first post shares with you the making of that document – a piece of calligraphy not only exquisite and sensitive in its creation, but a work that I have no doubt will become one of the most precious documents in our Nation's collection.

The Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples

work on vellum by Gemma Black

Ronnie from Calligraffia talks to Gemma Black about the making of the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples

R: Gemma – what an amazing work – how did you get involved in the creation of 'the apology?'

G: Thanks Ronnie, it was an honour for me. I was already working on the Books for the opening of Parliament when I heard that the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was going to make an Apology to the Indigenous stolen generations. I made mention to my contacts that this would be the perfect opportunity for a document to be created to be held calligraphically, on vellum, for the Nation for posterity. I suggested that when the Apology was made, we talk some more about the logistic of such a piece of work. Long story short, and after a couple of meetings regarding the nature of preparing an illuminated address, the Nation’s leaders were intrigued and very keen on the concept.

R: What are the materials used in the work?

G: The motion is entirely created by hand on calf skin vellum. The skin was treated with pumice powder to help raise the nap of the vellum to make it suitable to take the pen and ink and to remove any grease marks or imperfections not seen by the human eye. This method entails a simple hand rubbing of pumice over the entire skin and gently brushed away.

The text was written first using Brause metal nib sizes 2mm, 1.5mm & 3/4mm. For legibility I purposely opened up the classical italic text to a little wider than for normal use.

Once the text block was written and checked and re-checked for errors the illuminated letters were traced on to the surface of the vellum using a standard “H” lead pencil. The letters were then outlined on the vellum using walnut ink, using a very fine pointed dip in pen. The media used to create the small illuminated letters, which are based on Victorian illuminator Owen Jones (with a bit of my own minor alterations), were artist grade Winsor & Newton designers gouache Cadmium Red Pale and Oxide of Chromium. The gilding is a straight forward 23.75 ct gold leaf on a traditional gum ammoniac size.

(detail of illuminated letters and heading)

The dot work is the standard illuminated letter dot work harking back to earlier Celtic manuscripts and their meanderings and knot work. These dots are made with a dotting tool using a bleed-proof white paint.

(detail)

The Coat of Arms was traced on to the vellum and outlined using walnut ink with a very fine pointed pen nib. It has been painted with a variety of designers gouache mixed colours to achieve the correct colour matching to the original hand painted Coat of Arms of 1912. Very fine brushes have been used in this process from a 5/0 to a 20/0. Both shell gold and shell silver were used in the Coat of Arms along with Derwent Artist grade water colour pencils worked over with brushes.

R: The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd's words are quite something – How did these influence the way you approached the work?

G: Like most people in Australia I was glued to the television broadcast. I was at the University of Canberra and the hush of the crowded refectory was testament to the sincerity and the powerful speech unfolding. I remember standing beside the brick pylon with goose bumps and shivers stalking my body, saying to myself I have got to write this. So, when it came to actually writing it I was totally engulfed by the words and became one with the text. I was very aware in the lead up to execution of the work that the words in this document were the most important aspect to the work and that they were to be respected. So, to this end I chose to keep the document as simple and under embellished as possible.

R: How long did it take to execute?– and were there any nasty problems on the way (tell us the truth now – we won't tell)?

G: No, no nasty problems. Vellum is so wonderful to work with. I was so in awe of what it was I was writing, I just wrote for 2.5 hours in one short sitting for the main body of text and before I knew it I was finished. I was listing to the Prime Minister's voice in my head as I was writing. The Coat of Arms took me about 16 hours and the illuminated letters about 3 hours each. The rest of the time was in the preparations, the roughs and the ruling.

R: Tell us about the ceremony when the work was presented to Parliament House

G: On May 26, 2008 National Sorry Day, the document was gifted to the Australian people by the Prime Minister with the intention to provide a permanent acknowledgement of the past, and a reminder that we must harness the determination of all Australians to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The ceremony was conducted in the Mural Hall Parliament House with key Indigenous and Government organisations represented. It was a moving and humbling occasion. I felt honoured to be there personally plus I remember thinking “it is a good day for calligraphy too”.

Front L-R: Gemma Black, Christine King, PM Kevin Rudd & Helen Moran
in front of the document on National Sorry Day, May 26, 2008.

R: 'a good day' indeed – on both accounts.
Where is the piece now?

G: The work is now sitting in a purposely built cabinet in Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra for all to view. It sits alongside the glass Coolamon, a gift by the Indigenous community to say “thank you for saying sorry”. It is stunning to see the two gifts placed together, harmonious in their individual styles.

R: So - are there any plans to create reproductions to share around the country?.... I'm sure I'm not alone in my desire to see a copy of your work in every school and public building in the country.... a very visible reminder of the nation's apology.

G: Reproductions of the Apology is not for commercial resale. A number of very highly reproduced facsimiles were presented to each stolen generation member as well as a special print prepared for every school in Australia. These should have been received by each school before the start of the 2009 academic year. Two major institutions also have a fine art facsimile in their collections.

Also, I wanted to have the preparation and execution of the document recorded and subsequently, working with a wonderful young filmmaker Ricardo Skaff, we now have a superb 20 minute DVD which will be shown in Parliament House. I am happy to be invited to show the DVD personally to any group large or small who would like the opportunity to view the Making of the Apology Manuscript.

R: Thanks Gemma – not just for a wonderful piece of work, but for sharing your thoughts here.

G: It has been my pleasure.

watch this space...

2009-01-18T15:04:00.000+11:00

the team will be here with something very exciting...very soon (be patient)