I thought I’d share this piece I didn’t submit but created for the Friends of Calligraphy member show that’s on display at San Francisco Public Library’s Skylight Gallery. 
Artistry on Display at Friends of Calligraphy’s Kalligraphia XIV Show June 13-Aug. 22
I blogged about that experience — loving seeing Monica Dengo’s demo I videotaped it and you can see it in this entry: “Sense the Space: Improvise!.” And I had met Mr. Thomas Ingmire briefly in 1996 so it was a thrill to see him and his work there: “Inspiration from the Work of Master Scribe Thomas Ingmire.”
Three years have passed and it’s time for another Friends of Calligraphy members show at the San Francisco Public Library. The Opening Reception for Kalligraphia XIV is 2-4 p.m., Sunday, June 14, sixth floor, Skylight Gallery, 100 Larkin St.
I decided follow my passion for lively lines and became a member of the Friends of Calligraphy. The “Be Brave” image in this blog post isn’t the piece I have in the current show. Drop by if you can and take a look!
The viewing hours are:
Sunday Noon to 5 p.m.
Monday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday – Thursday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday Noon to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After the opening reception tomorrow from 2-4 p.m., there’s a full schedule of events at the library this summer that are free and open to the public.
June 20: 2-4 p.m. Gallery Walk & Talk
Meet at Exhibition Entrance, Skylight Gallery, Sixth Floor. Friends of Calligraphy members Georgianna Greenwood, Thomas Ingmire and Chris McDonald will walk through the exhibition and give an overview of the pieces on display.
Calligraphy Demonstrations
Seven Saturdays this summer noted calligraphers will offer demonstrations of calligraphy, materials and methods.
Where: Latino-Hispanic Community Room (lower level), 2-4 p.m.
These demos are free and open to the public.
July 11: Ward Dunham
Blackletter
July 18: Carl Rohrs
Brush versus Pen
July 25: Georgianna Greenwood
Roman & Celts: Early Book Scripts
August 1: International Talents from Passionate Pen
Gemma Black
Words are more than ink on a page
Pat Blair
Letters and Petals: Copperplate, Flourishing & Painted Petals
Monica Dengo
Intercultural Calligraphy
Suzanne Moore
Finesse: Detailing the Zero Edition with Pigment and Leaf
Carol Pallesen
Lots of Boxes
Marcy Robinson
Simple Marbling Techniques Using Pastels & Shaving Cream
August 8: Judy Detrick
The Men in Tights Who Invented Italic
August 15: Sara Loesch Frank & Evelyn Eldridge
Calligraphy Tools & Materials
August 22: Raoul Martinez
Copperplate
See the San Francisco Public Library’s webpage about Kalligraphia XIV here.
Hope you don’t miss this opportunity to see some exquisite work!
Sense the Space: Improvise!
Here’s another Rock Star in the World of Calligraphy.
She just gave a five day workshop at Fort Mason in San Francisco. It was sold out.
Dengo lives in Arezzo, about an hour south of Florence. I met her for a nanosecond during the time she lived in San Francisco in the 1990’s.
She teaches in Italy and worldwide and her work is in public and private collections. You can find out all about her courses at her calligraphy teaching website, freehandwriting.net.
I’m especially drawn to artists like Dengo, whose work exudes a vibrant aliveness.
It’s not about a literal reproduction of what we see.
It’s more an EXPRESSION of it.
It’s art that goes where words can’t.
Gestural art captures a feeling.
Gestural art is alive!
I did my own experiment and created some improvisational calligraphy. The piece below I worked a little further on with some improv digital a la Adobe Photoshop.
Hopefully Monica Dengo will be back next year for another demo and class. You can find one of her large scale pieces in the permanent collection of the Mountain View Public Library on the second floor.
Though Kalligraphia 13 is over, there’s a calligraphy demo by David Goggin on Friday, August 31, 6:30 to 8pm, at the Red Vic, at 1665 Haight Street, San Francisco, and he’s teaching a class there on September 1st.
You might also enjoy:
–The 2011 TED Prize Winner – JR
–My Tribute to Adolph Gottlieb
–Window at the Dakota
Inspiration From the Work of Master Scribe Thomas Ingmire
Now, I want you meet a rock star in the World of Calligraphy you may not know about.
He was the first American elected to England’s Society of Scribes and Illuminators with a craft membership status. He lives in San Francisco and his work is in public and private collections around the world including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Stiftung Academy of Art in Berlin, Germany.
A friend from the Capital City Scribes (of Austin) referred me to Thomas Ingmire in 1996. I met him briefly, long enough to get his beautiful book, Words of Risk: The Art of Thomas Ingmire, written by Michael Gullick.
In the Kalligraphia 13 show of the work of the Friends of Calligraphy you can see one of Ingmire’s pieces on display at the San Francisco Public Library’s 6th floor Skylight Gallery (last day is August 26th).
During a walk-through of the art on display, Ingmire flipped through a book he has in the show which was a collaboration with Robert Sheppard. It’s called Afghanistan: a Visual/Verbal Book by Thomas Ingmire and Robert Sheppard and it’s open to a page (see previous post) that gives you a glimpse of Ingmire’s work.
You can see more of his creations on his website or more at Scriptorium St. Francis, and some of his works are for sale.
I still get inspiration looking through the book Words of Risk. Fortunately it is in print.
“Thomas Ingmire writes pictures. He is a visionary artist whose work resonates with warmth and passion….Ingmire has turned words into images, and combined words with images, to make potent visual magic.” – Michael Gullick, author of Words of Risk.
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–3 Discoveries About Intuitive Painting
–Celebrating Cameraless Art