Zoomorphic Calligraphy

"This new mode was not a matter of script metamorphosing into living
forms which are also readable letters, but of using script to delineate
such forms. Seldom had the flexibility of the Arabic alphabet been so
tested.

This practice established itself only relatively late in
Islamic art, when the taboos outlawing religious iconography had lost
some of their power.

[Zoomorphic calligraphy] developed [..] in Ottoman Turkey, India and Qajar Iran [and] was known as early as 1458."


FIGURAL CALLIGRAPHY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

The images of living
creatures fashioned by Jila Peacock from Persian poetry fall naturally
into a long and distinguished tradition within Islamic art. Unlike many
such traditions of that art, this one is still full of vitality in our
own day, and has shown an impressive capacity to regenerate itself.
Indeed, it could well be argued that the art of beautiful writing – for
that is what “calligraphy” means – has, alone of the major Islamic
visual arts, continued its creative evolution without a break from the
first Islamic century until the present day. In other words, it has
been less subject to failing inspiration or to the dominance of ideas
from outside the Islamic world than have all its sister arts, from
architecture to painting, from pottery to carpets. If any one art can
claim to evoke the essential character of the Islamic world, in
medieval as in modern times, this is it.

Read more of Peacay's Zoomorphic Calligraphy Article

Calligraphy Draws Student Interest

by Minh Thu

Art of the word: Members of the Young Calligraphers Club demonstrate their handwriting skills at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ha Noi. — Photo courtesy of the club

HA NOI — Calligraphy is considered to be a classic art form pursued by adults, but the fact that nearly 1,000 young students are studying it in Ha Noi belies the claim. They gather together at various clubs like the Young Calligraphers Club of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

"We founded the club in November last year with an aim to provide a meeting place for calligraphy aficionados," said Chairman Nguyen Duc Ba. "Anyone fond of this art can register to be a member, free of charge."

Moonlighting Brings Extra Money or Pleasure

For many people the daily grind of 9-5 is enough - life's unrelenting burden to be grumbled about over a can of beer as the sun sets at the local watering hole.

But for others the end of the regular work day does not mean the end of their labors. Rather, it's time to switch hats and move on to the next routine. It's a growing trend. According to the U.S.
Department of Labor, the number of workers in the United States who have a full-time job and a part-time job on the side reached 4.17 million in 2007, up 5 percent from the year before.

For love

A second job isn't always about a getting another paycheck to make ends meet. For some, it's about practicing a craft that one loves and getting a little money for it.

Diane Ellzey of Oak Grove has taught art classes in the Hattiesburg school system for 25 years,
including the last six years at Hattiesburg High School. On the side, she does calligraphy and caricatures. Her calligraphy or artistic handwriting assignments are usually for wedding invitations. Brides send invitations for her to complete their addresses on the envelope
using a special calligraphy pen. She charges $1-$1.25 for each invitation.

"It's a great thing for the bride," Ellzey said. "They have so many other things to deal with. This is just one less thing to worry about." She has practiced this art, off and on, for 30 years since high school. She doesn't run a business and doesn't advertise her work.

She said the work she gets is purely by word-of-mouth, because she doesn't see it as something she has to do. "It's just about what I want to do for fun," she said, "and also about helping people." Nonetheless, it keeps her pretty busy. Currently, she is working on a wedding with
500 invitations, with another wedding lined up calling for the same number of signatures.

"I stay busy and don't even try to be," she said.

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  and Smooth Edge Calligraphy, are perfect for inking comic books or
  doing calligraphy

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• NEW Sargent brush: lets you paint in the style of master artist John Singer Sargent

TMCA Show to Display Traditional Calligraphy Tools

Tehran Times Art Desk

TEHRAN -- The Tehran Museum of
Contemporary Art (TMCA) will be displaying traditional instruments used
for Iranian calligraphy this summer.

The tools, which include various kinds of pens, penholders, penknives, and scissors, are gathered by private collectors.

This is part of the great exhibition of masters of the nastaliq style of calligraphy which opens in early July.

Nastaliq is one of the main genres of Islamic calligraphy. It was developed in Iran in the 14th and 15th centuries and it has been popular in Persian, Turkish, and South Asian cultural spheres of
influence.

Three copies of the Holy Quran inscribed in nastaliq style by masters Hossein Mirkhani, Seifollah Yazdani and Ayatollah Najafi-Zanjani will also go on show.

Seminars on traditional and contemporary art of Persian calligraphy will also be held on the sidelines of the month-long event.

The Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry’s Office for Visual Arts, the Association of Iranian Calligraphers, and the Visual Arts Department of Tehran’s Art Bureau are the cosponsors of the event.

Tehran Museum is located on North Kargar St., next to Laleh Park.

Chinese Calligraphy: HAPPINESS

June 17, 2008 in Christian Living, Daily Journal, Encouragement, Faith, Life, creativity, learning by brucefong

Tags: calligraphy pictures, Chinese calligraphy, Calligraphy alphabet

An
old Chinese proverb says that a picture is worth a thousand words. My
recollection of the first time that I heard that adage is foggy. But,
I do recognize that I have heard it repeated many times in my lifetime.

It’s one of those sayings that fits with my psyche. For a long time
I have known that I am a visual person. That is my style of learning,
speaking and thinking.

The Chinese language in its written form is a system of pictures not
an alphabet. That makes for a complicated linguistic system that is
not easily mastered. Yet, it gives its written language an embedded art
form of calligraphy that is highly prized.

Culturally, the best educated have learned the discipline of
calligraphy. The product of putting ink on paper is an artform. It is
highly revered and beautifully symbolic as an expression of the culture.

You can read more of the story by Bruce Fong about chinese calligraphy

Renowned Calligrapher’s Art On Display

The exhibition at the Dalat Exhibition Information House is called “Fragrance Comes from the Brush” and is the result of Luan’s labors since the beginning of the year.

His inspiration comes from famous sayings, poems and literary works from all over the world.

Calligraphy means “the art of writing” in Greek. Originating in China, calligraphy made its way to Japan, where it was imbibed with Zen, and also spread south to Vietnam, a land where “life becomes art, and art becomes life”. Here it was simplified to make it more popular.

VietNamNet Bridge - More
than eighty drawings by the renowned calligrapher Nguyen Luan are on
public display in the Central Highlands town of Dalat until May 14.

When the first wave of Western culture came to Viet Nam with the French in the late 19th century, calligraphy began to fade. Feeling sorrow for the decline of the art of writing, a poet of the time wrote, “Sorrow fades the pink, and sadness drains the ink”.

In recent years, this valuable tradition of Viet Nam has been revived to regain some of its former prominence. A love of calligraphy among elderly scholars is once again being handed down to younger generations.

Moreover, a new trend has developed within the reincarnation of the old ways of Vietnamese calligraphy.

Latin characters have replaced Chinese characters to a degree and made the elegant art form more appealing to the general public.

Source: SGGP

Designer Imposters

The current plan for addressing the wedding invitations is to use

large circle stickers with printed addresses to match our stationery
design. However, after reading several posts stressing the importance
of calligraphy, I decided to explore my options before blindly
committing social suicide.

I recently ordered a sample of Laura
Hooper's work on etsy. I have to admit, seeing my name so beautifully
scripted on a USPS Priority mail envelope did woo me. My first thought
was "OMG. OF COURSE I need calligraphy!" But,
by the morning, I was back to thinking that it was too expensive. I
certainly appreciate the art form and it's purpose in the grand scheme
of the event, but at the end of the day, I am buying wedding shoes on
ebay and veils on etsy. A budget's a budget.

I started a discussion on The Unbrides Network to get some opinions and a gauge of my gaucheness. Justine Ungaro suggested that I check out Pretty Pen Jen.
Jennifer Cota's work is both adorable and affordable. And it also had
me thinking that I could try my hand at calligraphy. "Try" being the
operative word.

Pretty Pen Jen's Aubrey Font:

Image: Pretty Pen Jen

My attempt at an "inspired by" font.

When
I showed my six pages of samples to Andy, he said, "Ugh, I don't know."
My work didn't even warrant a "I guess it looks nice." It looks like a
5-year-old girl was trying to be fancy on the invites for her "tea
party" for Tickle Me Elmo, the cast of High School the Musical, and
Hannah Montana. The post office would probably scan all of them for
explosives.


You can read more of the story at: Tina's site

Calligraphy Artist: Laura Hooper

Laura owns LH Calligraphy and is pleased to be a full time calligrapher. She creates and custom designs maps, invitations and envelopes with the traditional feel of calligraphy with a modern twist.




Calligraphed design for your invitation suite is the perfect way to get the traditional look of hand-lettering that is customary for an elegant wedding. Each piece is hand-lettered in the style you prefer and then reproduced using high-quality printing methods such as letterpress, engraving, or offset printing. It looks great and is sure to make a lasting impression on your friends and family.

Visit Laura at her new Calligraphy site: Laura Hooper Calligraphy

Fun with the Alphabet

Two creative paths from A to Z. by Raymond Pirous|Fun with the Alphabet

Charles Roper thought I might like abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, a short film directed by Roel Wouters, featuring the work of his son alongside that of his brother and calligrapher, Job Wouters in a live jam session juxtaposing the lettering art of the youthful amateur vs. that of the aged professional.

The image below is a compilation of both sets of the alphabet as drawn during the film: