Welcome to My World of Calligraphy
It seems that when we are writing – and that’s what calligraphers are engaged in during the entire day – we do not just mechanically copy the text; we live by it, it becomes a part of ourselves. I always select texts that inspire me, that reflect my thoughts, poems that I can live. Most of these feelings are shown in works by Henning Sabo, Bettine von Arnim, Emily Dickinson, Hildegard von Bingen, in 81 poems by Lao Tsu, East Asian hokku, the poetry of the Buddhist trend of Dzen. I find texts for my creative work in poetry, mysticism, religion and philosophy.
I sometimes do not manage to find a text that meets my emotions or a topic I would like to write about. Even though I admire the work of modern literature, I can be absolutely helpless before selection. Once I discovered I am able to transfer my own thoughts to paper. And I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the result. “Could that be written by me? It seems so familiar”. Then I sat at the table and wrote the same text by hand or on the computer again and again. I was overwhelmed with words; like a vehement flow, they flew from my pen to a clean sheet of paper, as if they sought to harmoniously fill the entire space, with the rhythm and melody that are typical of them only. The text is singing; the words are dancing; and thoughts are transformed into calligraphy.
Now you are looking at the lines with pleasant surprise and forgot what you knew: they (the lines) can be read. Try just to surrender to the flow offered by the world of writing itself together with me; feel it together with me; let’s plunge into this source together.
The world of writing, just as the reality that surrounds us, is multi-faceted, it helps us understand our culture and our origins. Perhaps, there is no other type of art that lets us render both emotions and thoughts. Intuition, on the one hand, and knowledge, on the other hand, shapes a harmoniously developed personality. When a person is writing, both hemispheres of the human brain start to interact with each other; the infinite flow of thoughts, feelings and emotions connects them into the single whole. The only thing required for that purpose is correctly selected fountain pen and paper. I would not like to speak about the process that precedes the birth of beautiful letters, because this topic is very frequently touched upon. The 25-year experience and the 25-year practice of calligraphy teaching have taught me much. Nonetheless, I still discover many new things, by visiting courses, reading books, talking to people from different cultures and nationalities having extensive experience. All of us are united by the common goal – to bring beauty to our world.
