Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Rumi 's Words in my Calligraphy

Here is an example of my calligraphy that uses the words of one of my favorite poets, Rumi. A 13 th century Persian poet, scholar, and Sufi mystic, he is one of the more popular and best selling poets in the world. Perhaps even here in Sedona, AZ.   
I was doing this piece for a client, so they chose the alphabet. It is called  Foundational . English calligrapher, Edward Johnston, started teaching this in the Central School of arts and Crafts in 1899. It was the beginning of the modern study of calligraphy as an art form. This was an alphabet I taught at NAU. Now most of you turn to your computer to write out everything. But look closely, isn't this similar to one of the fonts that you often choose ? 
As the artist, I  added the flourishes. After all, I have to have some fun, and show where the human hand differs from the machine.   
I like this quote because we all seek certain elusive answers to our life's challenges, especially depending on what is going on in our lives. I will end this blog with another quote of his: "Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."