Maria Giudice "You Know It Was Good" Reminds me of Genesis

Maria Giudice Instills Confidence In Me  & Leads Me, Hopefully You  to Believe "You Know  It Was Good"

 


Maria Giudice "You Know It Was Good"

  

I cannot read Maria's text  but I liked her title. It was Maria's title "You Know  It Was Good" that led me to search her piece. It’s black and white but Maria knows it was good. Is her piece some kind of obliteration in which you can only see parts of the letters  or words? Whatever is inside her piece, Maria knows it was good. And for me that's great attitude.

The great inventors, artists, writers, and a lot of great human beings who shared their genius  and wonder  all knew inspite of all the rejections, put downs and exclusion by  the other human beings, they all knew  what they'd created "IT WAS GOOD."

Consider , the inventor Thomas Edison who failed in his experiments 10,000 times but he kept fiddling and trying his experiments because he knew his ideas were good. We're all recipients of his inventions like the electirc bulb.

Consider, Dr. Seuss who is now a popular children's author. You'd think he was published immediately. Depending on who you read, he received from 15 to 128 rejections before his books were published.  But Dr. Suess kept on writing because he knew whatever he was writing "it was good".

I was watching one time Larry King interviewing Paul Harvey who was celebrating his 65th years as a radio host. King asked him if he regretted something he had said on the radio in his 65 years career. Paul Harvey recounted something like this "In the 1950's I was the most popular radio personality. Singers and songs get to be a bigtime hit if radios promote the singers and their songs. So I was asked about my opinion of this new singer. " After listening to this singer, Paul Harvey said , "This young man WILL NEVER GO ANYWHERE!".  Paul Harvey said, "I wish I'd never said that  and could take my words back."  Guess who that young man was. Paul Harvey said, "That young man was ELVIS PRESLEY."  Elvis Presley was also fired after his first performance in Grand Ole Pry and was told to go back being a truck driver. But somewhere in Elvis Presley  soul said his voice 'was good enough."

 Emily Dickinson was not known during her lifetime for her poetry. She sent in a few poems to an  editor to check if her poems 'breathe'. The editor who didn't know new forms told her they were not good enough for publication. Emily kept on  wriiting her poems and binded them together in packets.  She knew inside her soul "They were good." Her poems were published after her death.  In the Lannan biography of Dickinson , the narrator said, "I'm so glad she didn't publish  her poems during her lifetime. There was no editor or critic to tell her what she can or cannot do. Her poems would be revised and edited and her great originality would have been lost."

The prestigious gallery Salon didn't want to give the  Impressionist painters any time slot or spot in the Salon's schedule in Paris . Did they say no way, our art will never get anywhere?   The Impressionists who imagined  a  new form of painting at the early days of their art formed and sponsored their own exhibition show. They knew Impressionism was good as history now tells.

Chicken Soup for the Soul (Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen) an international bestselling book series  with millions of copies sold were rejected 140 times because publishers believed nobody would  want to read an ordinary topic about chicken soup.  But authors knew that chicken soup is good not only for your health but also for the soul.

 In Genesis , God speaks , "Let there be Light....And it was good."   Now this gives me an idea about creation.

When I start creating on a canvas , I would say, "Let there be a painting ... And it was good."

"Let there be a calligraphy piece on page ...And it was good."
"Let there be a design on paper ...And it was good."

When facing blank leger lines , "Let there be a song composition...And it was good."

When I  staring at a blank page - "Let there be a poem, .... And it was good."
"Let there be a story...And it was good."

I will still face failures, exclusion and putdowns.  Those creations will still need  revisions or rewriting but instead of asking  "Is this good enough?" I will say, "I know it is good, was good, it will be good."

 Maria Giudice "You Know  It was Good" piece  helps me be confident. Thank you Maria.  Cheers-- I know your piece is good. Just today, I was posting this writing and I  checked if I can link Maria to any website. Yes, I found out she is a creative designer with her own website.

Brian Huynh Offers Halsted’s Love Letter to San Francisco

Brian Huynh "Not My  Heart" Contradicts  Tony Bennet "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"  in a Sentimental but Delightful Way about the City



Brian Huyhn "Not  My Heart"



San Francisco is the host for Kalligraphia 13. The San Francisco Public Library managed by the city is the venue for the exhibition. Yet only one calligrapher bothered to pay homage to San Francisco. Most viewers look for pieces of star calligraphers or which piece is cute or which one has perfect letter.  Not me- I look for content, heart, originality and strangeness. Whimsy, passionate - a piece that has a narrative, tells a story .

Brian Huynh has a piece on Halsted’s “Not My Heart” addressing a  letter to the City of San Francisco . It contradicts “Tony Bennet's crooning of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. Halsted writes she didn’t leave her heart in San Francisco

  

Yet if the San Francisco Mayor were to give an award to an exhibit piece for offering a heart-wrenching note  to San Francisco, it is Brian Hyunh’s “Not my heart”.

Brian Huynh writes  a  story  about “ Not My Heart”-- “Halsted, a Library Tech Assistant at the San Francisco Public Libray moved to Scotland. Here are thoughts on the City.”   The city refers to San Francisco

San Francisco

by Halsted

San Francisco

You taught me what it meant  to expect beauty

down every alleyway,

to believe in magic

because living without it is dying a little each day.

I left something with you

But not my heart

You gave me my heart.

It’s The San Francisco Spirit –  a loving ode to San Francisco, Brian & Halsted are winners.

Dough Jones Makes Us Aware of Homelessness

Dough Jones " Homeless Man #2 " Appeals Artistically While Provoking  A Social Issue




Dough Jones "Homeless Man #2" is at the wall near the door



Dough tells us a story "While waiting on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant, a homeless man began speaking  As I listened to him, he said some things that were very profound. Quickly, I wrote down some of his quotes. This paper sculpture is base on one of the statements he made."

One of the main attractions of this exhibit is Doug Jones "Homeless Man #2". It's big, it's near the door and his sculpture and his brush writing are visually appealing. Additionally ,  the content  is profound &  laced with spiritual and psychological meanings . Dough's piece can become a poster to awaken people's sensibilities on homelessness.


Detailed look at Homeless Man Quote

 Dough also shows us how an artist can create art by observing your surroundings and  even people who are often  overlooked by society can offer deep insights on life.  He is also thoughtful by suggesting that he has a photograph of his piece without the glass on (no glare in the photo). I think the glare adds a spiritual sparkle in the homeless man quote. Don't you think?

I told him it's ok to have a  glare on the photo since this gives evidence that his piece is really on EXHIBITION.

After all blogs are supposed to be opinions of a blogger who presents real-life situation.

David Eakle : Gerard Manley Hopkins "The Windhover"

Pointed Pen Enthusiast from Arizona David Eakle Executes Elegant Engrosser's Script or  Copperplate to Beautify  "The Windhover"  Poem  at Kalligraphia 13





David Eakle "The Windhover"



The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins - published  in 1918
To Christ our Lord
 
 
I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, kingdom
 of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding 
  Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding 
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing 
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,        
  As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding 
  Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding 
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing! 
 
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here 
  Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion        
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier! 
 
  No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion 
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear, 
  Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion. 
 

The windhover is a bird that has the ability to hover in the air while it searches for its prey. The poem is dedicated to "Christ Our Lord" . The word 'chevalier'  features Christ as a knight riding  on a horse, a medieval symbol of Jesus. The Crucifixion of Christ is also subtly hinted in 'gash' - blood in gold-vermilion. Hopkins known for his spiritual poems usually delving on nature and sadness pay tribute to Christ  with awe and love as the windhover, the dauphin or the Crown Prince of daylight.

Though Hopkins wrote this poem in 1877, it was only published in 1918. Most of his poems were rejected  for publication since his style 'Falling paeonic rhythm, sprung and outriding' wasn't understood by the editor during his time.  Here's a lesson - don't get your spirits down if you're rejected. Keep writing.

I had no idea that David Eakle was from Arizona until he told me that he wanted to view the exhibit but couldn't come in person .  He asked me to give a link on this blog to see some of the pieces of the Exhibition- even only a few of them.

Thanks David for representing the pointed pen artistry. I heard a lot of viewers say  that his Copperplate or Engrosser Script  is elegantly executed. A great tribute indeed to Christ Our Lord.

Why is Melissa Dinwiddie Encouraging Folks to Dive Deep ?

Melissa Dinwiddie, Creativity Goddess  Shares her Creative Statement  "Dive Deep- You are the Pearl You Seek" at Kalligraphia 13



Melissa Dinwiddie "Dive Deep"

 Sometimes you've to look more than once at a piece that's on exhibition. Although her title caught my attention, I didn't see immediately where do I dive deep? Melissa uses a muted palette of earth tones and cool light blue colors, thus I didn't see her quotation.  It wasn't until I was exploring the photos when I saw the quotation on top of the left side "DIVE DEEP- YOU'RE THE PEARL YOU SEEK".  What an enchanting quotation for my Fortress of  Enchantment blog.

I've many friends from India who have long , complex, hard-to-decode but exotic names. So I asked Madhu what those names mean. She explained that those name are for Gods & Goddesses in the Indian Culture. Like the Goddess of  Money or God of Fortune, Goddess of Luck or God of Happiness.  Melissa gave me
her site, I found out she's a Creativity Goddess.  At the bottom of her email it reads, Melissa Dinwiddie :
Artist, Inpirationalist & Creativity Instigator. I'm on a mission to empower people to follow creative callings. It's a movement baby. Her website is Living a Creative Life - get sparked, get stoked, get creating. Check her website to listen and read her point of view what creativity is all about if you're getting an artist or a writer's block, or her story about meditation. Aside from being a calligrapher, she is also a dancer,singer/songwriter, coach consultant and tour guide.

She hits the nail right and she knows what enchantment is all about - a reason why she's being written on this blog.

Now , how do you get a pearl? First an oyster has to produce the pearl. A contented oyster which doesn't get any irritation, annoyances, problems from an outside object never produces a pearl. Only when an object like a piece of sand gets inside a living oyster flesh when the oyster starts producing a mucus-like substance to cover up the intruding irritaton -- a pearl arises.  Same as life. You become stronger when you overcome obstacles,problems, annoyances who intrude your everyday life.

Dive Deep into your intagible, invisible self, the unconscious, the soul,  through meditation. The magic you seek for is already there inside of you.

I was in Morroco , a country near Istanbul. I'd the most fascinating adventure last year. Morocco was a mixture of several religions and languages.

Join Melissa in Istanbul Sept 30-Oct 7 2012- creative workshop and creative vacation of a lifetime.

Monica Dengo Tangoes With Illegibility

Monica Dengo Demoed How to Loosen up with Letters-  with  IMPROVISED COMPOSITIONS  at Kalligraphia 13  .

Monica Dengo Demoed Free Handwriting Compositions

Monica Dengo of Arrezo, Italy  though originally from Italy used to be a San Franciscan resident until 2003. This year she came back to teach 5-day FOC workshop  at Fort Mason . On  August 11, 2012  she joyfully  demoed some techniques of her 'freehandwriting' concepts. She also teaches schoolchildren at Italy 'scrittura a mano' to encourage kids to improve  their handwriting. I also found an old flyer "The Handwritten Manuscript ' with Monica as the teacher at the Fort Mason calligraphy night classes.

Monica brought samples of her handwriting works, handmade books, and a book she had written especially for teaching schoolchildren. See samples below.

Materials used for demo



Books for Schoolchildren



Marks  with a Background Color







Handmade Books Arise from her Handwriting Exercises





Playful strokes with hints of thin & thick lines



Carl Rohrs, He Roars: With Energy & Enthusiasm

Carl Rohrs Demoed a "Master Class"  on  Brush Writing at Kalligraphia 13 Free Demo Series 

Carl Demoes a Linz Bounce during a Free Saturday Brush Writing Demo

I've read somewhere on the Net , a guy proclaiming Carl Rohrs as "the best sign painter,typographer, & calligrapher in the planet". Who can argue that one? Probably coming from one of his students at Cabrillo College. At the 8/04/2012 Kalligraphia 13 Saturday demo,  a front-row attendee, a lady who kept Rohrs busy with questions after question remarked in the end,"Rohrs demo  was like  a 'Master Class' in calligraphy for two hours." Rohrs not only showed flat and pointed brush techniques(press & release) but also  how to use a brass  pen and how to make pens out of bamboos(Barbara who grows  bamboos brought free samples of  bamboos). He also showed the Linz bounce and described techniques of several European Masters.

 I'd to agree with the lady if I didn't take Carl's class, I wouldn't understand too all the techniques he described and demoed.  Rohr's free demo was an SRO (Standing Room Only-he had the entire room; it was not divided into two rooms as in some demos)  that's why you see the video clip with his back, I was standing on right side of the room while he was demoing. He told me, "I didn't know I was being videotaped( My instrument is a tiny Nikon camera with James Bondish video capability ) . But he said, "Ok, you can post a clip." ,  though he always wants to be in control of his work.

The front-row lady asked him to  demo the word "Kaleidoscope". ( the video clip was too long I couldn't post it here  since it keeps aborting). For his exhibit piece, Rohrs submitted a gorgeous letter S which looks better when viewed in person than in a picture.

                                                         Carl Rohrs  "The Letter"


Rohrs describes his piece as "...the transformation cut paper brings to one's calligraphy...my endless fascination with marbled papers...I try to make multiple patterns and colors work together and the addition of Chiyogami papers has shot me into a paradise of gaudiness."
Not only he's one heck of a lettering artist, he's also  generous and kind. Last year, he donated his lecture fee to a  sick student.
Below is a description of him in one of his classes published on:
Alphabet Vol 34, No. 1, Fall 2008 p 5.***
Bailando Con Carl Rohrs (Dancing With Carl Rohrs) by Elizabeth Nisperos;
 "Big of heart, Rohrs has a surplus of love for his students. There was no exclusivity; he made each student special by inscribing his or her name on the inside cover of his manual. The hard-to-find manual are enough to last for a lifetime of practice.By the end of the workshop, he knew each student by name because he sat at each table writing their names as a demo subject."

Rohrs shares a discovery, "The German meaning of Rohrs is pen, tube, barrel. I didn't know that I was Carl Pen all this time."

.***email the blogger to get a  pdf copy of the article in  brush lettering  workshop if you don't have the Alphabet issue.

David Winkler Map to Graffiti - Lead Us to Amharic Calligraphy

David Winkler Introduces  Ethiopian artist Wosene Worke Kosrof  Who Uses Amharic Letters in his  Map Grids.



David Winkler "Map to Graffiti"

I'm  glad entries like David Winkler brings me to a new journey  to meet and check out something new: an  artist who uses an exotic lettering Amharic letters.

David Winkler writes, "MAP was inspired by Ethiopian artist Wosene Worke Kosrof who incorporates Amharic letters,often in grids. in his paintings."

Quote:  "In his paintings, the calligraphic forms of Amharic are broken apart, abstracted, and reconfigured to create a new visual language that draws upon the artist's Ethiopian heritage while incorporating his experiences as an expatriate living in the United States"

David Winkler's house  has been the site for most Christmas party, an FOC Annual Holiday gathering. A gigantic thank you David Winkler for sharing his  Amharic Calligraphy knowledge to widen other calligrapher's perspective. Can you imagine a Bay Area calligrapher telling Wosene he couldn't possibly do a solo in major museums and galleries because he doesn't have a collection of Italic,Roman,Uncials, Bookhand etc. Those scripts  have been seen before.

The reason Wosene Worke Kosrof  can do solos because he brings something new,mysterious, exotic, unusual, unexpected calligraphy. This is what makes him an international acclaimed artist.

Hurray to David for taking us to a world of Amharic calligraphy.

Can street graffiti be considered Art? For those young folks who like to write graffiti can we as calligraphers help them make use of their hands in a positive way.

David Winkler reminds me to create Maps of different areas & uncharted territories to a land of enchantment and magic - This is why  a Fortress of Enchantment exists

Iyana Leveque -- Sphere of Conditionality

Iyana's Sphere Looks Like the Ball Out of the Big-Bang Theory



Iyana Leveque "Sphere of Conditonality"


The first time I came upon Iyana's title "Sphere of Conditionality". Hmm, Too Abstract but deep and I didn't really pay attention much to her piece. However this month , I was listening to a Particle Physics lecture, and  the Big-Bang Theory on how the Universe  was being discussed.  There was a lot of photos and videos accompanying the talk. All of sudden one of the photos reminded me of Ilyana’s piece, the colors with a yellow bright spot in the middle encircled by black-blue rings exploding into orange-golden
rays of light particles.

When I saw again Iyana’s piece again I took a photo of it. I took a lot of photos of Kalligraphia 13  since the exhibition's opening.  Later on  after attending the demonstration I go to the sixth floor to get shots of the pieces.

 Iyana's piece made me write something in my journal.

KABOOM

            when the  Universe

            began

Marks

            came out

            so did the

           Letters

    author: en

.

I usually count my syllables as I write to follow the 15 or 17 rules for a haiku. However, I wrote the above lines spontaneously without any thought on the number of syllables  and guess what a haiku came out-- 15 syllables all together.

What are the spheres of conditionality? Are they conditions for a sphere? Or conditions became a sphere of endless loops? Try to think about the title?

In many spiritual retreats I attend , the retreat master usually emphasizes Divine Love as a sample of a Love without conditions. The reason human love fails because humans put so many conditions on a relationship. Human beings are not perfect and they cannot fulfill all the conditions placed by another human being.

Bill Joel's song "Just The Way You Are" does not put conditions on the person he loves because he loves her just the way she is without changing anything about her.

Below is a wonderful quotation to love another person unconditionally.
“Nothing you become will disappoint me; I have no preconception that I'd like to see you be or do. I have no desire to forsee you, only to discover you. You can't disappoint me”
― Mary Haskell

  

Seven-Year Old Illuminator & Lettering Artist Winner

2011 Google Doodle Winner from Our Local Town  SSF:  Seven-year Old  Mateo Lopez Inspires me to Use Letters to Create a Theme Logo


For three months, Kalligraphia 13 exhibit  has been spotlighting calligraphers & lettering artists.

 This is not news , it was news in 2011 but this is Kalligraphia topic. Not even 'superstars' in the calligraphy and lettering world can claim their pieces have been seen by billions of viewers, or have been exhibited in major museums  in NY or SF  for one month after another or have bested 107,000 entries in a contest. Who says the lettering arts has a limited audience nor it is not recognized by major museums? Not me.

Introducing our local South SF kid:

When I first heard that seven-year old  Mateo Lopez won the Google prize  in 2011,  I was happy since he was creating a lettering art out of the word GOOGLE.  His parents were happy, his school, teachers & schoolmates were happy. The whole town folks were happy. And I was happy & proud that in our town there is a 7-year old illuminator who created something I loved doing- making art out  of letters.
Yes - a 7-year old continuing an old lettering tradition.

 He emerged  a winner out of 107,000 entries from different schools. His Space Cadet Google illumination  was  for the theme  "What I'd Like to Do" someday.
The celebrity judges were actress Whoopi Goldberg, Olympian gold-medalist skater Evan Lysansek, the winningest Olympian gold-medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, & children book author Beverly Cleary.



Mateo Lopez winning Google Space Cadet which was used in Google Search in 2011, Billions of viewers saw it. 

 His prizes & perks were:

• $15,000 college scholarship award
• $25,000 technology scholarship for his school
• piece exhibit at Whitney Museum of American Art , NY & SF MOMA
• appearance at Today Show
• recognition at local Council and State Legislature

If you're wondering where the word google was derived. I remember reading a Physics journal : a particle physicist was trying to describe and write something huge, extraordinarily out of this world big and large and his 7-year old son blurted out 'googool'.

If a seven-year-old can come up with something new and creative way to use letters, so can I and so can you.

Thomas Ekkens Presents "Sentani Man"

Thomas Ekkens Shares Something Unusual : a Sentani Man , Inspired by De Young Museum Polynesian Exhibit


Thomas Ekkens "Sentani Man"

 
As in Vicky Lee's Johari Window, I've never heard of a Sentani Man before. Thank you Thomas for bringing something new to the exhibit. It's nice to see something from a different culture, different perspective from an ethnic world
.
Not the 'cutey,cutey look'. It's taking primitive culture to the digital age.

Thomas Ekkens who has his own Tae Gallery website writes,"This piece was inspired by a New Guinea housepost sculpture in De Young Museum Polynesian Exhibit , On a monoprint field is a linoleum block print, an original poem in the Uncial hand with gold and silver gilt capitals." Thomas is also a photographer,painter and a poet.

From historical research, it was in 1858 that the Dutch Etna Expedition discovered the Lake Sentani island. Since then western explorers started collecting pieces from the Sentani culture. Quoted
"Collectors in the West greatly admired the highly stylized and abstracted forms of wooden sculptures and the decorative designs of barkcloths (maro), and Surrealist artists in Europe found inspiration in them.

The ordinary viewer would often lean toward what is pretty or 'cutesy" -the usual expectations. It takes a mind of a collector (Rockefeller Memorial Collection) usually of professional galleries and large museum(Metropolitan Museum)  to see art in abstracted forms in sculptures and designs in barkcloth. And Thomas' piece would be overlooked by an average viewer. But hey, De Young recognizes it as an art form.

In Kalligraphia 2006 , I presented "Baybayin" (The Lost Alphabet of the Philippines which was destroyed by colonizers) and I was asked to do a solo because the National Geographic had an article and a project on it.

I was telling  about the solo invitation to a person because I'd an  ethnic piece in Kalligraphia 2006  and the person was aghast in disbelief that only somebody who has already collection of scripts - European that is (Italic,Uncial, Roman,Bookhand, Carolingian, Blackletter) would be able to do a solo.(Not somebody like me!)  What a narrow view. Calligraphy is not only the Western or European alphabet , there is a  world of calligraphy, marks out there - Hebrew,Arabic,Japanese,Chinese, Aramaic,Cyrillic, Ethiopian, Javanese, and thousands of scripts  that make up the calligraphy world that you've never heard of. Like the Sentani man, the Sentani culture.

If you read the evolution of the Alphabet it came from primitive marks. Hurray Thomas Ekkens for exhibiting the Sentani Man.





Vicky Lee's Johari Window



Vicky Lee Has a Special Window to Share - a Window  To Discover Your Self

Vicky Lee "Johari Window"

I told Vicky I learned something new about her piece. At Kalligraphia 13, I encountered a new term and a new window about my self. It's my first time to encounter this Johari Window. It falls under Psychology to discover a journey for your self and learn more about the conscious and unconscious areas in your  life.

The Johari Window defined by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham has four basic forms of the Self:

•  Public
• Private
• Blind
• Unknown

Since I don't know much about Johari Window, check out this site to look inside a new window for your Self.

On this site where I found about Johari Window, also read about the Creative Mind articles since lettering artists are creators . For writers, read Harry Potter's author JK Rowling Never Happier Than When Writing   and Philip Pullman Write to Please Yourself.

Erma Takeda's Birthday Greetings & Kristine Zavoli's Greeting Card

Erma Takeda & Kristine Zavoli Show Us  A Way to Make Use of Your Letters at Kalligraphia 13 - Create  A Greeting Card.

Erma Takeda  "Birthday Greetings"

I opted to include the glass window in Erma's photo to show  a pathway- an opening to other people's lives to gladden someone's heart with a card. The late Anne Yamasaki who was in-charge of the Little Brothers Project was  sending birthday greetings to senior residents. She would request FOC members to choose a month to letter the cards and those cards bring joy to the folks when their birthday arrives.



Kristine Zavoli "Greeting Card"


Kristine Zavoli incorporates Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran  quote who is famously known as the Prophet. Do you know who are the bestselling poets throughout the history? Shakespeare, Lao-Tzu, and Kahlil Gibran.

When you're sorrowful

Look again in your heart

and you shall see that in truth

you are weeping for that

which has been your delight

          Kahlil Gibran - the Prophet

Kristine adds a line to another card. For those who dread birthdays, she reminds us:

Birthday are good for us. The more we have , the longer we live

 

I like to create cards with my own quotations. I used to define calligraphy as a special kind of beauty to make people happy. At work, I'm called upon to make birthday cards to people who are celebrating birthdays, retiring or getting promotions. I create cards with my own homemade poem. Believe , people don't care if you're using your 45 degrees angle or an awesome technique you learn in your workshop. A card that's handwritten beats any card in a commercial store.

Make use of your lettering gift by placing them on greeting cards. Brighten someone's life who is celebrating a birthday, having an anniversary, doing a good job. Send a card to an injured soldier or a lonely soldier away from home.

This year I made a card for Nancy on her 90th birthday because I see her always helping in the church like cleaning the pews. She was happy to receive it. Two months later,  it was published in the Sunday newsletter Nancy was voted "Parishioner of the Year."

Terry Spodick's Gift of Time

Terry Spodick provides  inspiration with her "Gift of Time "




Terry Spodick "Gift of Time"





Terry writes in the Kalligraphia 13 catalogue ."This piece was created to celebrate my 20 years of living cancer free.It uses an old box camera from my aunt.   I thank all my friends who did good deeds in honor of  my 20th anniversary. "

In 1758 ,Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac wrote: 

" Time is your most precious asset. Frittering away time means wasting your most valuable possession; the limited days of your existence. You cannot recover wasted time or recapture it when you need more hours to complete some crucial task. Whatever time on Earth is alloted to you will never be enough. Spend it wisely"



Jane Brenner's Elected Silence

In a Presidential Election Year, Jane Brenner Elects Silence for a Change at Kalligraphia 13



Jane Brenner Elected Silence



Jane Brenner is former Editor of the journal Alphabet & she likes Literature as well as calligraphy.

Her piece contains as she describes the verbal eccentricities and the "Sprung Rhythm" of
Gerald Manley Hopkins and  music written by Francois Couperin, French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist

ELECTED Silence, sing to me 
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear.”
  - Gerard Manley Hopkins

Although I compose music, I'm not familiar with Francois Couperin works. Thanks Jane for introducing  the  Couperin's music.

The first poem I'd read by Hopkins  years years ago was  "Spring_Fall Margaret Are you
Grieving?"
Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?

Hopkins poetic structure is known as "Running Rhythm" based on repeating group of two to three syllables, with the stressed syllable falling in the same place on each repetition. Hopkins called this structure "running rhythm" or "sprung rhythm"

Don't despair if you are a writer or a poet who is not published or doesn't get known during your lifetime. Like Emily Dickinson, Gerard Manley Hopkins was an obscure poet during his lifetime with only a few poems that were published but both Dickinson and Hopkins  were "ahead of their time."  Hopkins friends were responsible for publishing poems and making them  known to a wider audience.

This question has been asked often:  does one hear a tree fall when nobody is in the forest? Does one  hear one hand clapping? This is silence. Does one think beauty is wasted if a gorgeous flower blooms alone in a desert?

Even when no one reads your poems or writings ,are you still a poet or an author? If  you leave your thoughts behind in a manuscript, eventually your silence will be heard like Gerard Manley Hopkins.
"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”
― Ansel Adams

One of my favorite songs that has silence in it is "I loved you once in Silence" in Camelot expressing  hidden love.

Martha Dahlen's Declaration of Dependence

Martha Dahlen Expresses a Universal Truth at Kalligraphia 13 : A Declaration of Dependence on  Water


Martha Dahlen "Declaration of Dependence"

I don't know anything about Martha nor have met her in person .  I chose her piece because it looks simple but the content is profound. It's also goes against the grain on the  "Declaration of Independence".

Thanks Martha for representing the pointed pen style. I've read that there's some 'bad blood' that exists between the broad-edge pen and pointed pen artists. Why? I don't understand it? It's like what's more important your left or right eye? Left or right  hand? Left or right leg? My answer is : BOTH. We need both pointed and broad pens style to get contrast.

I used to  stay my Aunt Carmen's home in my younger years. Her husband Uncle Maning was the Steel Mills president and he took the AIM (Asian Institute of Management) MBA training; AIM  has the reputation as being the best management training  in Asia. I'm usually curious about anything so I checked out his binders to learn what the scope was . One of the exercises for top management was this : If you were stranded in an enclosed environment whose resources can be turned off or removed anytime, choose only three items and rank them by importance in order to survive since no help is coming for one week .  The lists had more 100 items which included lots of luxurious things like cars, helicopter, radios, books, lounging chairs, tables,music cds, tv, nuggets of gold, fancy designer clothes, cigars , flashlight, life savers, candles, matches, movies, magazines, diamonds, million dollar check, cash, etc and not-so-glamorous stuff like  gallons of water and oxygen tanks.

If you chose all the fancy things like the cash, million dollar check ,cars, gold  instead of oxygen tanks , you'll be dead in a few minutes after oxygen is sucked out of the enclosed  environment.  This was an exercise to teach priority and importance of things. The three best answers by rank: oxygen tanks, gallons of water and food.

Reasons to Choose : Oxygen tanks and gallons of water

• In 10 seconds if  your brain is cut off from oxygen, you will be unconscious. The body will go into hypoxia and then anoxia. Within 4 to six minutes without oxygen, the person dies(exception for those divers who train their lungs to save oxygen but they will collapse later).
• A day without water is enough to make a person weak. After three days without water, a person can die since a human body is approximately 75% water and it needs water for normal functions of the body circulation.
• It's good to have food but it has been proven-- people can survive without food for a month if they drink water and  breathe oxygen.

Martha's "Declaration of  Dependence"  hits the mark what is important in our daily existence. I attended a Motivational Seminar and I still remember Zig Ziglar's quote: 
"Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the 'gotta have it' scale."  Zig knows oxygen is up there to sustain life.
 I hope readers are aware of the need to conserve  and use water wisely.  Although our planet is surrounded by water,  majority are salty oceans & seas.  It is fresh water we need to drink and in some states and countries, water   has become a critical issue.

To have fresh oxygen, we need to plant trees. For without plants, Carbon dioxide will be hovering  in the air. Plants take in C02 and release oxygen for humans  to breathe.

Be a nature conservation activist for the future.

Congratulations Ruth Korch - 2012 Graceful Envelope Winner

Kalligraphia 13 Participant  & FOC member from Santa Cruz,CA- Ruth Korch is Graceful Envelope  Best In Show Winner

Ruth Korch whose piece "Hyacinths for the Soul" at Kalligraphia 13 and also  featured in  this fortress of enchantment blog is winner of Graceful Envelope  2012. The 2012 theme  "D-liver D-letter D-sooner D-better," paid homage to our mail letter carriers. Congratulations Ruth.

See winning envelopes  posted by the Washington Calligraphers' Guild.  Ruth has been a past winner in 2006.

Another 2006 Graceful Envelope winner featured in the same thread of this blog is Anna Fong Lum. whose Kalligrapia 13 piece is "Love Generously".

The ladies featured in the Liesbet Boudens  enchantment thread are pretty amazing.  Georgianna Greenwood is the creator of the Kalligraphia 13 logo and also demonstrated Italic at the exhibit.

Sarah Loesch Frank also demonstrated illumination and gilding at Kalligraphia 13.

Because the piece celebrates the SF Giants World Series Championship, Elizabeth Nisperos "October is in love with the Impossible"  has been highlighted as SF Giants sports and celebration event listings  in several newspapers (SF Chronicle, Times Herald,Contra Costa Times,Marin Journal,Pacifica Tribune) and in mobile units in Travel Section.

Claude Dieterich & Jean Larcher - Two Frenchmen - Two Masters

Two Calligraphers & Lettering Artists of  Verona, I  Mean Paris ,  Display at Kalligraphia 13





Claude Dieterich "I Speak With My Hands"

  Shakespeare's "Two Gentlemen of  Verona"  is a popular play that I can't help but refer to it.  However, equally huge in scope in the lettering arts are two world class masters from France whose works have been published in several books and whose names are internationally recognized.

The Olympics are happening in London, England and you may assume England ranks number one in terms of tourist visitors but statistics show tourists prefer France as its number one European country to visit  throughout history.  France is known for its romantic language,music, cuisine, fashion,  arts and bohemian life. Louvre is considered the "mother of all museums".  Paris is never boring; it is always dramatic,mysterious, and brimming with romantic illusions & passages.  And so are their artists. Two of them are sharing their artistry at Kalligraphia 13.




Jean Larcher "Senatus Populesque Romanus"

  French teachers who are known for their strict and disciplined ways usually bring out the best in their students. "Etudiante"  or student as Claude  calls me made realize that all those "Etudes" pieces that you'd pratice for your piano,guitar or violin lessons are part of your studies to learn music.

Fortunately both Claude Dieterich   & Jean Larcher have their own websites. Rather than talk about how beautiful, elegant and terrific their artistry are - why don't you check out their websites.

To fall in love with Paris again, I recommend viewing  Woody Allen's screenplay  Midnight in Paris . I saw this movie without knowing any background about the film while I was on a 13-hour  Air France flight  on my 2011 October vacation.

To put you in an enchanting mood and live in a life of pink listen to "La Vie En Rose".

Phawnda Moore - At Retirement with Thoreau

Phawnda Encourages Retirees to Take on New Paths



Phawnda Moore "At Retirement"

  According to statistics, the biggest batch of retirees from the US are  the baby boomers. What do you when you retire? Phawnda's entry suggests "Pursue some path however narrow and crooked in which you walk with reverence and love" by Henry Thoreau.

Thoreau meditated on Walden Pond and wrote the finest nature writing in his journals. He also inspired  revolutionary thinking in Ghandi and Martin Luther King inspired by his essay Civil Disobedience.  A new thing I learned about Thoreau , he is said to be "Patron of Swamps". The nineteenth-century philosopher and nature author Henry David Thoreau wrote "when I will die you will find swamp oak written on my heart."

Phawnda used Acanthus leaves for  borders. Ancient Greece ,which had plenty of this plant species,  takes the honor for using the Acanthus leaf in the Arts. Greeks used Acanthus in the arts for decoration as well as in sculpture. The Acanthus leaf became an important decor motif in the 5th century when it became the main ornament in Architecture - buidlings built had Acanthus leaves as part of wall and  post decorations at the Corinthian capital.

Today, any leafy ornamentation resembling the  leaf structure is called  'Acanthus' style.

If you want to know more about Phawnda read how she created the piece and visit her website linked below:

Description of Entry:

At Retirement . . . 

Paths of life have always fascinated me  – paths I've taken, those I am pondering and 

others that await in my dreams. Thoreau's 19th century quote is a hand drawn Roman 

variation in humble graphite on Strathmore drawing stock. The border was influenced 

by classic manuscripts' acanthus-styled leaves, which was blended with several shades 

of Caran d'Ache Supracolor II Soft pencils. As I created this piece, I merged elements 

from the past with contemporary techniques, thinking of then and now. When I 

imagine the scribes' working conditions from long ago though, I'm so thankful to be in 

the  comfort of my modern studio!

14.5" wide x 20" tall

Artist's bio: Phawnda Moore continues a love for letters into the fourth decade. She

teaches calligraphy at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento,  and community libraries. 

This year's focus  is on the blessing of integrating Medieval scribes' work with modern tools.

Michiko Toyama- Chikara - Power

Michiko Toyama    Chikara reinforces "CAN DO " spirit at Kalligraphia 13.

Michiko Toyama "Chikara"

 (Chikara), the Japanese word meaning power, capability, or influence
I asked Janet Glessner permission if I could use her piece for my writing activity. She smiled, "Sure".
Looking through the Kalligraphia 13 catalogue, I zoomed to the G names, no Glessner listed there.
However when I was checking out the names for students  for the Fort Mason students who were in the exhibition, I finally found out that Janet used her Japanese name "Michiko Toyama", I recognized her name from her emails. I liked it when Janet opted to use her Japanese name. Our VONA writing  conference always reminds the poets & writers attendees to celebrate,honor & remember your heritage.

Janet's quotation "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." is almost similar to the Bible's Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

When in doubt or  afraid, I usually pray "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This prayer revives my power & energy again to move forward and make things happen. Once, I was about to enter a room when I heard Big J, the chief and my immediate supervisor talking about me, so I hid in corner door and listened in. They were discussing if I'd completed the assignment for a project.
Big J said, "When she says, it's done, it's done. She's a 'can do' person." Big J has passed away but I'll always cherish him for believing in me that I'm a 'can do' person.

One time, I wondered where the soul of Big J was  and when I clicked remote control of the tv and as if answering my question - there was George Burns who played God in Oh God (I & II sequel) movie , singing to a kid " I've got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere "- 'can do, can do' .  Yes, I know Big J soul was somewhere in Heaven.