I STARTED to study calligraphy because I was interested in different styles of lettering,u201d says Barbara Calzolari, the first woman to be awarded the title of Master Penman by the International Association of Master Penman, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting. For this, she needed to be voted by all the 11 master penmen from across the globe to become their 12th.
With Sanjana Chatlani, founder, The Bombay Lettering Company, Calzolari hosted a series of calligraphy workshops in the city last week, teaching European Copperplate style of calligraphy and the American Spencerian script. The two first met during a one- week retreat in Siena, where Calzolari was teaching calligraphy. u201c I was noticing a growing demand for exploring and learning pointed pen calligraphy, which is a Western script that no one taught in India correctly. Over time, the more we spoke, Barbara encouraged me to introduce this here to grow a community of calligraphers in India,u201d says Chatlani.
With all three classes selling out, Chatlani explains, u201c When I started learning calligraphy years ago, I couldnu2019t find the right tools, knowledge or people to learn from, which is what led me to Italy. However, I realised, not everyone can pack their bags and jet off to pursue a hobby, and I wanted to help bridge this gap. In each class, more than teaching letters, Barbarau2019s lessons taught everyone the alphabetu2019s history, the form each letter takes from another.u201d Itu2019s important, Calzolari says, for a calligrapher to understand the origin of a letter. u201c Once you have the original structure in mind, you can build on it. If you see the present style of the letter u2018 Au2019 and compare it to its Roman counterpart, you will start to visually understand how it has evolved over time,u201d she says.
On being recognised as the 12th master penman in the world, Calzolari is humble to a fault on her incredible feat. u201c I donu2019t believe in having collections of honoursu2014 I donu2019t consider myself better or worse for it, or special or different; because, just like our handwriting and penmanship, weu2019re all special in our own ways. We donu2019t need honours or certificates to celebrate it.u201d Through her career, which initially started in the fashion industry before she found her calling in pen and ink, she worked on the Deus Caritas Est ( the 2005 encyclical, which translates as God is Love, written by Pope Benedict XVI) and a national anthems manuscript, which was presented by the Prime Minister of Italy as a host gift to the assembly leaders of the G8 summit.
She dreams of the day she can get a group of calligraphy artists to build a school together to teach the letterings of penmanship from around the worldu2014 from designing and engraving Roman capitals to strokes and styles from times forgotten. u201c Itu2019s very interesting to learn the history of the Latin alphabet, knowing about Roman capitals, designing fontsu2026 these are lost arts not found easily today,u201d she laments.
To be a master calligrapher, like any art or sport, you require repetitive practice and knowledge. u201c Itu2019s important to know the historical examples of style, the time they were used and why, where it originated fromu2026 all this will help you discover and learn your own technique and develop your strokes as well,u201d she says, while joking, u201c My regular handwriting, though, while jotting notes quickly, is still quite undecipherable!u201d smdmail@ mid- day. com Ela Das RAJE
