Diane Amarotico - Matilde Urrutia - A Neruda Love Sonnet

Diane Amarotico uses Italic for English Version & Uncials for Spanish Version to Interpret Pablo Neruda's Love Sonnet to Matilde Urrutia .



Diane Amarotico "Matilde Urrutia"



I love the way Diane used both the English version written in Italic and Spanish version written in  Uncials to  share with the viewers Neruda's love poem to the love of his life.

Have you ever heard of Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto?  Trivia learning. That's the real name of Pablo Neruda who chose his alias or pen name after the Czech poet Jan Neruda.

 Pablo Neruda  the Chilean poet & a Nobel Laureate Literature winner wrote love poems to his paramour Matilde Urrutia, a singer. Before Matilde became Neruda's third wife, they had a secret affair in Santiago. The love poems to Matilde became the  "100 Love Sonnets". Neruda delayed the publication of his sonnets to spare the feelings of his second wife.
When I first read Pablo Neruda  odes to several objects , I was hooked as a Neruda fan. He wrote odes to onion, socks, tomato, dictionary and other ordinary objects, I sense his depth, rhythm, passion, sensuosness how he used words to slice the meanings into a garden of pleasures.   Neruda love poems touch the reader's heart,soul and burn the marrow of your bones. For lovers, Neruda's love poetry sizzles.

Here's the content of Diane Amarotico's piece "Matilde Urrutia" by Pablo Neruda

Matilde Urrutia, I’m leaving you here

all I had, all I didn’t have,
all I am, all I am not.
My love is a child crying,
reluctant to leave your arms,
I leave it to you forever–
you are my chosen one.

You are my chosen one,
more tempered by winds
than thin trees in the south,
a hazel in August;
for me you are as delicious
as a great bakery.
You have an earth heart
but your hands are from heaven.

You are red and spicy,
you are white and salty
like pickled onions,
you are a laughing piano
with every human note;
and music runs over me
from your eyelashes and your hair.
I wallow in your gold shadow,
I’m enchanted by your ears
as though I had seen them before
in underwater coral.
In the sea for your nails’ sake,
I took on terrifying fish . . . .

Sometime when we’ve stopped being,
stopped coming and going,
under seven blankets of dust
and the dry feet of death,
we’ll be close again, love,
curious and puzzled.
Our different feathers,
our bumbling eyes,
our feet which didn’t meet
and our printed kisses,
all will be back together,
but what good will it do us,
the closeness of a grave?
Let life not separate us:
and who cares about death?

 If you'd not seen the movie "Il Postino" , please view it : it's  a story about a romantic postman &  Neruda  while he was an exile in small fishing town in Italy. Neruda helps the postman write poems to his lady.  The movie which was originally intended for a limited audience became an international hit.

Queen Elizabeth II & James Bond Parachute to Olympics Opening ; Envoy Sent to Kalligraphia 13

Queen Elizabeth & 007 Make A Wild Entrance to Olympics 2012 Opening; MBE Envoy Visits Kalligraphia 13 Opening Reception

If you'd seen the spectacular,educational, & amusing  opening of 2012 Summer Olympics, you'd seen James Bond aka 007 &  the 86 years young Queen Elizabeth  as a Bond Girl parachuting her way to the Olympic London grounds. Per media, the jump of Queen Elizabeth II out of an aircraft was the talk of the world for best performance in an Olympic role. That scenario is what this fortress of enchantment is all about  though they were played by stunt doubles.

But Queen  Lizzie  didn't forget to send an envoy or an ambassador to a San Francisco calligraphy event last June 16,2012. After all the most decorated name in the world of calligraphy is Elizabeth because Elizabeth is usually the name for Queens, princesses and royalty.

Who is the Queen's envoy who dropped in to check out the Friends of Calligraphy exhibition?

Michael Harvey spotted by another famous calligrapher & typographer Alan Blackman at Skylight Gallery Kalligraphia 13 opening reception in San Francisco June 16, 2012

 

Michael Harvey , letter carver,typographer, font designer, calligrapher, illustrator, book author is a Member of the Order of the British Empire(MBE) for his lettering Arts given by Queen Elizabeth II.



Michael Harvey sits beside Kalligraphia 13 logo creator Georgianna Greenwood holding Michael's Lettering book. At the back were visitors from Nova Scotia,Canada Alex & Evelyn. In-front is a delighted comic artist Loren Bondurant



Christine Colasurdo's Piece is Kalligraphia 13 --Mantra

If Kalligraphia 13 has a Mission Statement, Christine Colasurdo "Calligraphy Is At The Center of Everything" is IT!



Christine Colasurdo "Calligraphy is At The Center of Everything"

Christine is right. The history of lettering and calligraphy is also the history of civilization. Since there were no printing presses or computers on those early centuries as human beings evolved to become civilized, imagine if there were no scribes or calligraphers to write down  the contents in manuscripts. The Bible is the most published book in the entire world. Imagine if there were no scribes to write those pages to hand them over to our generation. Christine reminds the Bay Area and the world "Calligraphy is At the Center of Everything". I say Amen to that!

A teacher earns a student's respect when he/she is a skillful teacher but when he/she is kind,warm,wonderful,honorable, the teacher not only earns admiration from the student but also a student's affection. Some teachers earn our admiration but not our affection. Christine Colasurdo earns both my admiration and affection.  The Fort Mason students were brokenhearted when she left  San Francisco to return to Oregon.

At Fort Mason, she taught students Italic, Brush Italic & Uncials. What I remember most from her class was creating Weathergrams originally propelled by Reed's  professor Lloyd Reynolds made from a grocery brown bag. I was inspired to write short poems(10 words or less) on the brown paper and hang weathergrams outside my  garden and tree. Long before it was politically correct to be 'green', Lloyd was already advocating how to be a green activist.

Aside from being an author of the  remarkable book "Return to  Spirit Lake", she's a passionate  endorser for calligraphy.  Wow! According to reviews , she's there up with the best together with my favorite nature writers Edward Abbey, Henry Thoreau, & John Muir. She was at NPR remembering about  Spirit Lake.

You can download her KQED Perspective on Calligraphy  under "Beautiful Writing". She's also a passionate lover of nature not only by writing articles but  also  she volunteers for activities involving nature in her community.

Adrienne Ardito's Three Lemons More than Meets the Eyes

Adrienne Shows Few Words But Implies A Lot: Painting, Calligraphy, Etymology & Taxonomy


Adrienne Ardito "Three Lemons"



If you paid attention to Adrienne Ardito's  piece Three Lemons at Kalligraphia 13  it doesn't only show calligraphy but also painting, etymology of the word of lemon plus  Taxonomy. 

Taxonomy is a way of classifying living things into an organized fashion.
Botanically, from the Order Sapindales , lemons belong the Rutaceae family, Genus Citrus, and species limon. Adrienne impressed  me artistically and scientifically. A human being is known as Homo sapiens, the lemon is Citrus limon.

Her lettering  is few:  says a little but implies a lot. Her lemons have a vintage look from pages of the old world. Those three lemons are worthy of  your attention.

Did you know the word lemon originated from the Persian(Iranian) word laymun?
According to the  Dictionary online:
Origin of lemon:
1350–1400; 1905–10 for def. 4;  < Medieval Latin lemonium;  replacing Middle English lymon  < Medieval Latin limo,  (stem limon- ) < Persian limu, limun ;
C14: from Medieval Latin lemon-,  from  Arabic laymun ] 

A Poem About Lemons

As slang , a 'lemon' is defined as " a person or thing considered to be useless or defective".What do you do when you encounter a 'lemon'? You make a lemonade out of those lemons. Turn a negative situation into a positive.

Do you write poems in your journals? Sharing a lemony poem from a journal:

 A Basket of Lemons

A basket of lemons
  side by side with
        oranges, pears & cherries,
 & grapes, apples.
       
 My mouth
  remembers yours
 when you ate the
  oranges,pears & cherries
               &  grapes, apples.

 Sweet first, tangy in the middle
         in later years---
  Sour as the lemons
   in the basket.

       author: Elizabeth Nisperos

Lemonade Recipe

It's summertime. It's a-la-hot-hot-hot. Time for a lemonade. In the past, summertime is when kids make a lemonade stand to raise funds for pocket money or a good cause. Gone are those days with all the malls clustering around your areas.

Lets check out for Best Lemonade Recipe. My favorite is still the vintage lemonade recipe.
See a video how to make lemonades.

Congratulations Tim McCarver - Best Baseball Broadcaster for Past 32 Years



Tim McCarver Baseball Hall of Fame & Ford  Frick Award Excellence in Baseball Broadcasting
photo- from Wiki

 An astronomical Congratulations and fireworks to Tim McCarver for his induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame  for winning the Ford Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Forbes reports Tim McCarver wins it hands down stacked against any sportscaster.

What on earth is the Best Baseball Broadcaster intruding in this blog?
As the blogger stated previously, she'll  be blogging about anything on Kalligraphia 13 until the exhibit ends.Well what does a Baseball Hall of Fame awardee have anything do with with Kalligraphia 13?



Elizabeth Nisperos' Poem Title for SF Giants 2010 World Series Championship demoed by
Claude Dieterich at Fort Mason Improving Your Italic class

One of the pieces at Kalligraphia 13  "October is In Love with The Impossible" honoring the San Francisco Giants World Series Championship was titled after a poem titled "October Is in Love with th Impossible" and the  poet remembers who told her to write poems about baseball. It was Tim McCarver. Elizabeth , the author of the poem recalled that Tim McCarver was promoting his book -Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It Like a Pro published by Villard.  This was at the now defunct Stacey's Bookstore in San Francisco.  As one of the "core audience" for book readings when authors come to town to promote their books in 1999, Elizabeth remembered when she had a conversation with Tim McCarver, he  said "If you really loved books,writing & poetry , why don't you write poems about baseball."  He added, "I want to see and read poems about baseball, don't you think it's fun to read poems about baseball." According to his fellow sportscasters, McCarver has the joy of a kid whenever he talks about baseball.

 The first poem on baseball Elizabeth wrote was about the funeral of Joe DiMaggio at Holy Cross Cemetery."

Congratulations again Tim McCarver and thanks for reminding a poet to write poems about baseball.  McCarver has also two World Series rings to his belt  as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Not bad.

Cheers to Tim by singing along "Take Me Out to the Ballgame".

Maurice Palumbo Celebrates 75th Golden Gate Bridge Anniversary

Principal Planner & Traffic Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge Honors his Bridge at Kalligraphia 13

Spectacular  Fireworks  (click to view it)  on May 27, 2012 - 75th  Anniversary Celebration

Maurice Palumbo "75th Anniversary Golden Gate Bridge"

 The poet Adrienne Rich " "[Art] means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of the power which holds it hostage."
Palumbo's piece does not merely decorates but it celebrates an event that has momentous historical  significance not only to the Bay Area but also to the world. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the wonders of the world that every tourist wants to see it in person. My two nephews , at that time of their visit were ages 8 and 9 said, "Where is the gold? How come it looks red-orange?"

What better way to honor the 75th anniversary than its own engineer, Maurice Palumbo.  Maurice is not your average-run-of-the mill engineer.

According to the  2005 Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation Journal "The District’s Principal Planner Maurice Palumbo is receiving industry recognition for his technical work addressing a problem he encountered while working with road designers on accommodating the District’s 45-foot MCI coaches."  Palumbo's technical report was also distributed nationwide to assist transportation and road design. He received another prestigious award in 2010  "in recognition of his expert knowledge of Transportation planning and engineering."

Pretty awesome don't you think when a respected engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge also honors his bridge with calligraphy.

I asked him  when he started taking classes at Fort Mason why an engineer is interested in doing calligraphy. He smiled and replied, "One of these days you'll see me writing Copperplate on the bridge."  Why was he taking Roman Caps?  He said , "I'm Italian and  I'm interested in sculptures and I plan to write Roman letters on sculptures."
I  applied for my CA State Library card as part of work research and reading. It was a delight to find a pin interest board on the Golden Gate Bridge historical photos through the years. 

Jerry Lehman Life by the Sea - a Great Vacation Destination

Jerry Lehman "Life By the Sea"



Jerry  Lehman is a great Hospitality Host  for calligraphy events and has been a Secretary for the Friends of Calligraphy for several years. Jerry uses her calligraphy during the annual Flower Festival   Bouquet Show at De Young Museum

It's summer. Time for vacations - to relax . Jerry's title piece  tells me to go to a beach ,put on my sunglasses ,rub tan lotion , sit on a folding chair and read a book.

My life is pretty simple if  I take on vacation together with family & relatives for two weeks  it is  usually at a resort near the beach at Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Hawaii, or Boracay beach.

I learn this ditty on a beach in Hawaii

Hang Loose

Just hang loose

Just have fun

Sipping on a drink

and lying on the sun

Don't try to fight it

Ain't no use

'Cause When you're in Hawaii

You Just Hang Loose.

The first time I was in Hawaii about 20 years ago, a hotel I remember most is "Halekulani' - which means "A House Befitting Heaven" or  "A House Befitting Royalty". What a lovely meaning.  Look around this website the  facilities and spas are glorious and it's near the sea. You'll love  when they surround your table with gorgeous island-grown orchids when you dine or L'aperitif  by the sea. Or just enjoy an Afternoon Tea at the Veranda.
Now the Halekulani experience is indeed a  little taste of Heaven.

Check out the Best Beaches around USA.

While you are on the beach ,read a book on "Shell Seekers" or Gift from the Sea.

Excerpt from Anne Lindberg's Gift from the Sea.

The Beach
"The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach — waiting for a gift from the sea."

Calligraphy teaches us to be patient too.

Life by sea is fun but occasionally you may meet a tsunami or a storm but then it passes,  to enjoy life again.

Patricia Coltrin Loves Basho's Poetry and So do I



Patricia Coltrin "Basho- On Poetry"



Professor Baron wrote one time in my notebook not  to follow teachers nor masters but to search for what they were searching or seeking.

Though Patricia is one of our Fort Mason teachers, I'd seen her in other classes work on this Basho's piece. The first Basho's haiku I'd encountered was about a frog in a pond . And I fell in love with Basho's short, short poetry:

Furu ike ya

kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
 

It has many translations:

Into the ancient pond

A frog jumps
Water’s sound!
 - DT Suzuki

The old pond

A frog jumped in,
Kerplunk!
- Allen  Ginsberg

Ever since I'd read Basho's haiku , I'd written several haikus of my own.  My own frog  translation:

froggy checks pond
 wonder how it feels
--to be inside H2O
EN

I've a hard copy of National Geographic Basho's trail article.  Take a look at Basho's journey.

In the Muppet movie,  Kermit the Frog serenaded us with Kenneth Ascher & Paul Williams composition's  "The Rainbow Connection.", nominated for Best Song at the 52nd Academy Awards.
If you are a lover, a dreamer and believes in magic, wishes & enchantment, listen to  Jason Mraz or Sarah MacLachlan's intepretation of the Rainbow Connection.

Jessie Evans & Evelyn Elridge Twin Effect & Wacky Cake

 While on her way to submit two pieces for Kalligraphia 13, Evelyn kindly showed me the two pieces.   I said, "They looked like they were done by the same person." Evelyn said, "We took the same
 Visigothic Versals' workshop under  Risa Gettler ".




Jessie Evans "The Difference Between Something & Nothing"



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Evelyn Eldrige "Calligraphy is a Dance"



When Claude Dieterich celebrated his birthday on the last day of Copperplate class, Evelyn brought a delicious cake, finger lickin' good. Students asked for her recipe.

EVELYN ELDRIGE'S WACKY CAKE: A CAKE WITHOUT EGGS & MILK

 Evelyn responded via email (posted with her permission) on the cake's recipe.

Here is the recipe for the cake that I brought to class tonight. My mother got this recipe during WWII, when food rationing made it difficult to get eggs and dairy products. A couple of plusses are, this recipe is extremely easy to make, and it is vegan. As those who tasted it tonight will attest, it is a moist, flavorful cake. Our family tradition was not to frost it, but to sift powdered sugar on it. I don't know why, but it's called Wacky Cake. Maybe because it was thought strange not to use eggs and milk.

WACKY CAKE

Sift together into ungreased baking dish and make three dents in the ingredients:

1 - 1/2 C flour
3 Tablespoons chocolate powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 C sugar
1 tsp soda

Into large dent put 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil.
In medium dent put 1 Tablespoon vinegar.
In small dent put 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour over all 1 C cold water. Stir well with fork, being sure that all lumps are removed. You could probably put everything in a bowl and use a mixer, but part of the allure for us as kids was making the dents and stirring it all together--it was a kind of ritual.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 350 F.

Check out Cake Boss Sketches, an idea how you can make sketches from your journal become REAL.
Sketching an image in your journal may become real like the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci.

See as I told the readers of this blog. I can write almost anything - from Visigothic Versals to wacky cake, cake boss, sketch journals to Leonardo's Notebooks.

Triggers to Write from Kalligraphia 13 Pieces

Flowers at Kalligraphia 13 Reception

I'd always love to write. Thanks to the visually stimulating pieces at Kalligraphia 13 I'm writing about these pieces not to critique but how a piece triggers me to remember experiences & memories to allow me to begin writing about almost anything. Picasso said, "I'm a creator, whether an art piece is good or bad, I leave it to the critics." 

All the pieces at Kalligraphia 13 are winners and unique  and the pieces that I write about jump on my inner writing mode that whispers, "Write about me, write about me."  That's why judging an art piece is so subjective, it depends who is viewing the piece because it calls all the memories,experiences, & background of the judge.




Flowers at Kalligraphia 13 reception

 

I'll be writing on several pieces that catch my attention until the end of Kalligraphia 13 exhibition and some calligraphers/lettering artists have given me permission to write about their piece. I'll be linking songs and music that may connect me with the pieces.

Christina Schneck's Butterflies With Haiku Reminds Us to Slow Down

The saying inside a circle of butterflies written in Copperplate,  "Even when chased, it pretends not to hurry- the butterfly    / Garaku" made me stop and reflect on this piece.   The word 'garaku' is new to me. I can't seem to find one definition of Garaku.

Christina Schneck's "Butterflies With Haiku"

In a fast paced world of cellphones,tablets,tweets,emails -  trying to get our precious attention for the moment, Christina's piece reminds us to slow down.I saw a young couple having dinner in a restaurant instead of talking to each other, they were all moving their fingers on the  cellphones. There goes the art of conversation even on a date.

No wonder slow movements group are growing like slowfood to counter fast food.

Lao Tzu said,"‘A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.’Our projects, tasks,activities,goals, ambitions are always 'chasing' us to arrive at something.

For what? To be a Burnout?  How fast can we go?  Fast? Where are you going?

We have best sellers like The  One Minute Manager, The  One-Minute Negotiator, The The 30-seconds Lover.

Author of  "In Praise of Slowness"  Carl Honore an advocate of Slow Movement says, "I like a quickie as much as the next person, but I think that there’s an awful lot to be gained from slow sex — from slowing down in the bedroom. You tap into those deeper psychological, emotional, spiritual currents, and you get a better orgasm with the buildup. You can get more bang for your buck, let’s say.”

Remember the Hare & Tortoise Fable? In the end the slow-moving tortoise was the winner. Actress Lily Tomlin said, "Even when you win the rat race, you're still a rat."

One of the reasons I'm studying calligraphy is  to  slow down , breathe in, breathe out. enjoy the moments that will no longer stay with me because time goes by, to slow down and keep dreaming so creative juices will flow longer.
Christina's piece tells me to fly like a butterfy and smile ; Stop and smell not only roses but all the flowers and feel the thorns. Slow down and Savor the Flavor of Moments.

Butterflies remind me of  the author of a bestselling book  "Lolita" : Vladimir Nabokov who was a novelist,poet, short story writer. He was a lepidopterist who studied butterflies which goes to say that you don't have to major in Literature to be a writer.

SF Giants' Fan Displays 2010 SF Giants World Series Championship Design at Kalligraphia 13

October Is In Love with the Impossible at Kalligraphia 13 (  Click Title to hear Frank Sinatra &  Gene Kelly Sing and Dance "Take Me Out to the Ballgame")

Elizabeth Nisperos  SF Giants' World Series 2010 Logo. Big S covers Giants,Series, Champs a playform design deforming Roman Caps

Oracle Consultant Alex & wife Evelyn from Nova Scotia,Canada read the label of Giants' diaplay

Recently, Giants fans have been branded  as  best fans in the Baseball Universe by SF Giants players  for rocking the ballot boxes  and skyrocketing their favorite baseplayers  into starting positions at the All Stars Baseball break.: Don’t forget the SF Bay Area has Silicon Valley, high-tech expertise (Google,Youtube,Facebook,Twitter, Apple, etc) and millions of fanatics following their games.

Fan taking video of the  Giants' display

The intense fanaticism of the Giants fans votes  caused tremors and indignations from other teams. Baseball Commissioner Selig admits voting for your favorite player ‘is part of the process’.   The selected players (Cain,Cabrera,Sandoval,Posey) proved the fans got it right. The SF Giants players were indeed the stars in the lead roles in  the  2012  All-Star-Baseball show on July 10.

An example of Giants’ Fanaticism  in a quiet way  is by  using an ancient lost art and in an unhurried fashion is to display her design on Kalligraphia 13 Exhibition. 

 Friends of Calligraphy member  Elizabeth Nisperos believes impossible things are happening to the Giants even though it’s only July with the Universe playing its tricks just for the fun of it. Instead of high-tech gadgets, she used the low-tech pencil ,pen, paper and colors to design by  an original logo honoring the Giants 2010 World Series Championship. The piece’s title “October Is In Love with the Impossible” came from a prose poem she wrote chronicling the Giants’ underdog role and the impossible task to win the World Series. The poem ranked number one for two months as the most popular article at the Patch's website.  The poem’s form arose after taking a poetry workshop under award-winning poet Gary Young “The Sentence As A Poetic Form.” and  from Pulitzer Prize winner poet Robert Hass .poem "Human Wishes".

Lettering Artist & Teacher Liesbet Boudens of Brugge, Belgium holds the SF Giants logo created at her workshop

The playful black, orange, and gold logo Giants World Series piece came into existence by  deforming the ‘serious’ Roman Capitals  during  a workshop taught by Liesbet Boudens who comes from a famous clan of lettering artists in Brugge, Belgium.

“October Is In Love with the Impossible”  is on display at the Triennal Exhibition Kalligraphia 13  at the San Francisco Main Library, Skylight Gallery , Sixth Floor,The Marjorie G & Carl W. Stern Book Arts & Special Collections Center . The Friends of the Library and  the Friends of Calligraphy are the show’s sponsors for the 98 artists from around the globe.. The exhibit is from June 16 to August 26, 2012. Esteemed calligrapher Georgianna Greenwood , a Reed College graduate  created the “Kalligraphia 13” logo . Reed is the college where Steve Jobs studied calligraphy.

Sharing the display wall with the SF Giants “October Is In Love with the Impossible”  

are :

• Calligraphy teacher  Antonia Smith, “Forgetfulness” a Billy Collins’ poem;


Raoul Martinez 'Sleep'


• Raoul Martinez, Shakespeare's  MacBeth “Sleep” a combination of Blackletter and Copperplate scripts

Igael
Gurin Malous "I have Found What My Soul Loves/Safekeeping"

• Igael Gurin Malous, a Belgian-born artist from LA.”I Have Found What My Soul Loves/Safekeeping“a bleeding heart with a Hebrew text.

The unexpected mapping of  pieces  placed by the exhibit staff resulted in unexpected meanings and connections for  the Giants. Smith’s Forgetfulness reminds us not to forget it has been 52 years since the SF Giants won the World Series. Martinez’ Sleep concurs that the Giants were ‘sleepers’. A ‘sleeper’ is  like a movie you didn’t expect to be a boxoffice hit or a book that wasn’t expected to be a bestseller. Malous’ image of a Bleeding Heart is a good example of  the popular word “Torture” on Giants' way to the World Series.

World-class Calligrapher & Typographer Alan Blackman said “I like the Giants World Series design.” Blackman, a  designer of Adobe’s Galahad font has his own piece, “Checkmate:Amen.” Initially when the Giants’ poem appeared, renowned French Calligrapher Claude Dieterich demoed the poem’s title in Italic. Dieterich who’s currently in Peru submitted “I Speak With My Hands.”

The opening  reception of the exhibit was on June 16. Visitors from the Bay Area filled the entire 6^th Floor.Guests from other countries such as Michael Harvey, a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his Lettering Arts given by Queen Elizabeth and Oracle Consultant from Nova Scotia, Canada Alex MacEachern and his wife Evelyn dropped by  the gallery.

Previously in Kalligraphia 12 , Nisperos’ entry “Professor Knuth Enters a Number” honored one of the century geniuses : Stanford professor Turing Prize Winner and Faraday Medal recipient Donald Knuth(Bill Gates once said if you had read all Professor Knuth’s books and understood them, send Bill a resume so he can you give a job).

Two Helens With Illumination Pieces

During the Medieval Ages, illuminated manuscripts were used by the Church so people who cannot read can see the message of the Gospels or the Word of  God in beautiful drawings and illustrations. Iluminating in Latin means to "light up". Gold and coloring pigments were placed with letters  and words to make the prayers more meaningful to priests, monks and religious believers.



Helen Fung "Gilded W" done at Cheerios' workshop



The earliest surviving handmade manuscript with evidence of illumination dated back in the fifth century.


At Kalligraphia 13, two Helens: Helen Fung, Elena Caruthers have marvelous pieces to share with the public.  Elena is a variation of Helen meaning the 'bright' one.  Helen of Troy was the Queen of Sparta, the cause of the Trojan war in Homer's masterpiece the Iliad. 

Nowadays,  Advertisements use the phrase "the face that launched a 1000 ships." to describe a beautiful woman.

Here's a clip of poem from poet Christopher Marlowe.

Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies!
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy, shall Wittenberg be sack'd;
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;
Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel,
And then return to Helen for a kiss.
O, thou art fairer than the evening air
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter
When he appear'd to hapless Semele;
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms;
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!




Elena Caruthers Locked in My Heart

 

 

Listen to Maria Elena waltz and view gorgeous flower paintings. 





Mary Ann Wight's Screenshot Transforms High-Tech to Low Tech

One of the pieces that got my attention at Kalligraphia 13 was Mary Ann Wight's "Screenshot". This term is  used in high-tech projects. A system or a database designer has to design how a screen will look to the user. Mary Ann transformed a high-tech  concept and created it handmade not through computers.

Mary Ann Wight "Screenshot" with MacOsX operating system

See detailed stitching

It's computerese but handmade.

I was part of a project for 2 and a half years and there were meetings all the time in a large room which has the size of three regular sized rooms. People who attended brought their laptops along to take notes.

We were grouped  by units per expertise. I was with the IT team. Usually I bring my laptop too but this time I brought my notebook, you know the one with spiral wires and I pulled out my Osmiroid calligraphy pen. Peter  said, "Look, Lizzie has a calligraphy pen". A lawyer on my left saw my calligraphy pen and joked, "Uh-uh, my technical confidence in this project just plummeted to the lowest low."   The subtext was--- this person represents the high-tech team but she's using an ancient instrument. " Goodness, gracious. 

I laughed and didn't say anything. I forgot that Steve Jobs touted calligraphy which inspired him to design Apple products. I should have answered, "Tell that to Steve Jobs."

Well, the lawyer's comments were not on the money. Not only we finished the project but it won the 'Honours Laureate Medal". And recently our project team got an award on the upgrade for saving tons of $$$$$$, chunks of it.

Fortress of Enchantment - Sheroes Magical Place

Superman's Fortress of Solitude inspired me to call my blog a Fortress of Enchanment = a Place for Sheroes to concoct  creations in all fields of life especially art and inventions. A place where creativity is most active and where I can spin any inventions, designs, patterns, color mixtures  with the wave of my hand. Of course you have to chant words to open the secret vein of the creative muses from the Universe and Unconscious. The Fortress of Enchantment is a place where I'm transformed into a Superheroine who can write anything about the Universe . If on Some Enchanted Evening  , you may see a stranger across a crowded room or  park , a  supershero, you can be assured  she emerged from this Fortress of Enchantment. ***

I took screenwriting class from Professor Richard Walters and he recommended reading Bruno Bethelheim "The Uses of Enchanment" for storytelling. I also painted Bird of Enchantment  which became a poster in 2006.

 Guy Kawasaki's book  "Enchantment" is a fascinating read for enterpreneurs in technology.
Sheroes is a word for women heroes concoted by Varla Ventura.



***To enjoy listening to songs linked by this enchantress , you have to turn on your audio and connect your stereophonic speakers.

Liesbet Boudens' Effect- Five Pieces in Kalligraphia 13



Anna Fong Lum "Love Generously"

 

Nowadays, you can look at calligraphy pieces tinged with watercolors and other media interpersed with calligraphy scripts, you can’t really tell immediately the name of the calligrapher.

Only a few calligraphers can say that they’ve a signature look like Alan Blackman’s Galahad; Liesbet Boudens has a signature look with her letterwork that is distinctly hers alone.

Liesbet Boudens comes from  a talented family of artists in Brugge, Belgium. Liesbet’s father Jef was a celebrated calligrapher in his time. Her mother Dymphna is an art teacher. Sister Joke is a calligrapher. Pieter letters on stone;  Jeroen letters in stained iron ,metal and stone to make sculptures; Kristoffel letters in stone and pebbles; and Liesbet creates her letters on paper, walls and canvas.

Liesbet Boudens' effect cannot be ignored. Five pieces in the current Exhibition of Kalligraphia 13 sprung out her workshop. She taught the class how to make letters that will give the students their  own look and not anybody else’s. Liesbet is an art teacher in Belgium, France and Netherlands.

Liesbet Boudens wins easily as  the workshop teacher  who influenced five lettering artists to exhibit their work done in her class.

In the Kalligraphia 13 catalogue:  :

Sarah Loesch Frank –“Dragonfly” – Sarah says, “This piece was inspired by last year’s Liesbet Boudens talk and class.”

Anna Fong Lum : “Love Generously”, Anna states, “Classwork in Liesbet Boudens’ workshop, August 2011 with the Sea Scribes Marina, CA.”

Georgianna Greenwood “Improvise”, Georgianna writes, “Most of the work on this piece was done during an enlightening weekend workshop in 2011 with Liesbet Boudens from Belgium in 2011.

Elizabeth Nisperos, “October is In Love With the Impossible”  Elizabeth writes,”At the Liesbet Boudens workshop. I deformed the roman capital letters to draw playful letters to form the 2010 San Francisco Giants World Series Championship logo”

Ruth Korch “Hyacinths for the Soul” from Persian poet , 13^th Century “If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft/And from slenderstore/Two loaves to thee alone are left/Sell one and with the dole/Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.”

Ruth Korch "Hyacinths for the Soul"

Though Ruth didn’t say the piece was created at Liesbet Boudens’ workshop, the photos taken during Boudens class showed it was done at Boudens’ workshop.



Sarah Frank 'Dragonfly'



Georgianna Greenwood 'Improvise'



Elizabeth Nisperos 'October  Is In Love with the Impossible'

Judy Detrick's Simplicity for the 4th of July



Judy Detrick's piece at Kalligraphia 13 'Simplicity is the Final Achievement'


Judy Detrick's Simplicity exemplifies that 4th July  can be celebrated with simple things such as Timothy Matlack's Handcalligraphed "Declaration of Independence",  a song God Bless America by an immigrant Irving Berlin and Katherine Lee Bates' poem "America the Beautiful".
'

Kalligraphia 13 Opening Reception Visitors

Video of Visitors at the opening reception of Kalligraphia 13 spotted at random

Fort Mason Students & Teachers Exhibit at KALLIGRAPHIA 13

Fort Mason Center Bldg C Room 210 or 205  is like a 'ClubHouse' for learning Calligraphy. It's nice to know that  students & teachers who brought their bodies,minds and souls to Fort Mason calligraphy night classes starting from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm are among the artists  exhibiting their artistry at SFPL Main Library, Skylight Gallery. Though the classes were meant for beginners, others kept  enrolling to advance their craft. You'd be surprised some of the students who kept enrolling have 20 to 40 years of experiences already.

STUDENTS OF FORTMASON ( for the night classes only not the advanced workshops*).

Laura Bernabei - Peace

Loren Bondurant - Revenge

JoAnn Brand - Invisible

David Brookes- Black Sabbath Farewell

Elena Caruthers - Locked in My Heart

Barbara de Maria - Magnificat

Teresa Doane - Things that Make the Heart Beat Faster

Evelyn Eldridge - Calligraphy is a Dance

Jesse Evans - The Difference Between Something And Nothing

Georgette Freeman- A Happy Larder

Helen Fung -Gilded W

Jocelyn Hunter- Yes

Bryan Hyunh - Not in My Heart

Katie Keller- it is the Dream

Meredith Jane Klein- Here in this World and Not Yet Here

Victoria Lee -Johari Window

Jerry Lehman- Life By the Sea
Ilyana Leveque- Sphere of Conditionality

Linnea Lundquist - I'm thinking About This , #1,#2,#3

Linda Mahoney - Don't Call Alligator Long-Mouth

Raoul Martinez- Sleep

Chris McDonald- Me & Mrs Jones
Jody Meese - Grace

Elizabeth Nisperos- October Is in Love with the Impossible

Maurice Palumbo -75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge

Dean Robino- In Theory

Christina Schneck - Butterflies With Haiku

Dena Sneider - Leaf Letters

Lily Stevenson - From Dawn to Dusk

Akihoo Sugiyama - In the Desert , Inspired by Le Petit Prince(The Little Prince)

Michiko Toyama - Chikara
Joanna Witzel- Love- Dreams-Passion
*advanced workshop is under a different coordinator
Raoul Martinez has a Picasa Album displaying pieces in the exhibition.

TEACHERS (Those who Taught Basic Calligraphy Classes from 1999-2012)

Alan Blackman-  Checkmate-Amen

Patricia Coltrin-  Basho - On Poetry

Christine Colasurdo- Calligraphy Is At the Center of Everything

Judy Detrick - Simplicity,Demonstration Uncial & Rustic

Claude Dieterich - I Speak With My Hands

Ward Dunham- Blackletter, demonstration Blackletter

Monica Dengo - Demonstration Improvised Compositions
Georgianna Greenwood -Improvise, also creator of Kalligraphia logo,demonstration Italic

Thomas Ingmire- Afghanistan: A Visual/Verbal Book by Thomas Ingmire and Robert Shephard

Sherrie Lovler - Launched

Antonia Smith - Forgetfulness, demonstration Foundational script

Melissa Titone -Earrings from A to Z,demonstration Copperplate 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEACHERS FOR PASSING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM AND TO THE STUDENTS FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO SHARE WHAT THEY'D LEARNED TO CONTINUE THE LETTERING TRADITION.