On the last working day of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy, the interest of the public surpassed all expectations. On this day, the lectures and master classes as well as the project’s exposition attracted a huge number of visitors.
The first master class entitled “Calligraphy as a Spiritual Journey” was conducted by Izzy Pludwinski, a calligrapher from Israel. This is what the master says about calligraphy:
“When a person is engaged in calligraphy, she plunges into another world — the world that differs from the one she lives in. The hard-to-get-to secret corners of the soul open up. By expressing herself on paper, a human being purifies its soul. Just imagine how many emotions she experiences during the day! What beautiful piece of art it will be if she expresses these emotions through calligraphy…”
The second master class allowed the audience to understand the philosophy and aesthetics of the sacred Hebrew calligraphy. This master class was conducted by Avraham-Hersh Borshevsky,an Israeli calligrapher, expert on sacred Jewish texts.
“The history of Israel cannot be imagined without calligraphy. In Israel we still put much emphasis on this art for there is a plethora of ancient texts written by means of calligraphy which represent the history of my country”, the Master explained.
One more master class focused the attention of the audience on on understanding the peculiarities of calligraphic skills. Pavel Semchenko, Professor, a calligrapher from Minsk, prizewinner of the Spiritual Restoration Award concentrated on instruments and tools for calligraphy.
“Expressionism, primitivism, and functionalism have emasculated the culture of communication. They have deprived graphic writing of the possibility to develop artistically and people of growing spiritually with the help of the simplest means like paper, ink or Indian ink, and a pen or a brush”, Pavel Semchenko stated.
A young but talented calligrapher Sabina Aliyarova, a young but talented calligrapher, the student of Pyotr Chobitko, taught the elements of calligraphy.
The age of people attending the master classes varied greatly. Calligraphy fascinates specialists, young people; anyone can find here something close to her heart, enjoy this wonderful art, try one’s hand in it, feel the delight of the first written calligraphic letter…
Calligraphy is a kind of music not for the ears, but for the eyes.
(V. Lazursky)