As a culture we are surrounded by technology; computers, tablets and phones… thoughts and ideas reduced to 140 characters, micro-bits of information swarming from every direction and then gone forever. I am guilty of this as much as anyone else. The text or a quick email it is fast and efficient and sometimes only a reactionary response.
Each day when you open your postal mailbox what do you receive; bills, advertisements, catalogues, maybe a card or letter… which of these do you open first?
I have been teaching Calligraphy in the Chicago area for almost 10 years. It all started when I wanted to create my own title cards for an art exhibition I was participating in…and I just kept learning more and more scripts. I fell in love with the letters, the smell of the ink and the scratchy feel and sound of the pen nib on the page.
I teach calligraphy because I enjoy seeing people become interested in an art form that seem to be slowing slipping away. To watch them sit and figure out the process and learn something new and exciting. It makes me happy that I can share something with them, a new way for them to express themselves.
So maybe sometime when you open your mailbox there will be a special card or letter that someone loving addressed in the finest of Calligraphy they could do, sharing with you a very special moment.
I wanted to share some of the images from my last two workshops this week…. and maybe you might want to participate in one of my workshops or maybe host a workshop at your venue. Contact me at johnmichaelkorpal@gmail.com for more information about future workshops… The next best thing to receiving a hand written letter is sending one.
