The intimacy of a handwritten letter with a turkey quill and taking the time to create beautiful handwriting is rare.
Yet, this centuries-old tradition is kept alive by Paul Antonio Attong. In this age of high technology where a large portion of the world no longer writes but types, Trinidad-born Attong has made an international name for himself and his craft.
Do you have a large clientele?
I have a huge client list—some of my fashion clients include Asprey, De Beers, Chopard, Louis Vuitton. We do a ton of weddings and have just stared a stationery company. Our tag line for the stationery is ‘We Only Print What We Write’ so we don’t use any typefaces in our work—all of it is done by hand first then digitised then printed in one of a few high-quality print processes. Some of our corporate clients include RBS, London Business School (for invitations and certificates). Numerous party planners include the Admirable Crichton, Atom Events, Freud Communications.
Would you advise others to make a career of calligraphy?
It is very difficult to become a professional calligrapher. It requires years of dedication, and not making any money while you come to terms with your skill. It is also not easy to train as there are so few courses running. Getting a good hand is one thing but it is getting it consistent all the time that is the trick. You not only need to know what you do inside out—as you will get asked to write on all kinds of things, but you need to be able to deal with people and convince them that you are what they need! Invariably it is either you are good at art or good at business but you have to be good at both if you want to make a decent living. It is not something that happens easily. It takes time, patience, dedication, application and research. Is it lucrative?
It is only in the past three years I have been earning a decent living. But what is lucrative? It is not only about making money—it is also about the standing amongst your peers on an international stage. It is about contributing to the corpus of knowledge in one’s field of expertise. But then there is personal wealth. Making money comes with much stress and sometimes you need to make a decision if you actually want the added stress. That is a tricky question to answer. A lot of the time making money and earning a living is to the exclusion of research—but one is financially lucrative and one is personally lucrative.
Self-employed publisher Peter Drinkwater from Shipston with examples of his delicate handwriting skills.
“Every letter Peter Drinkwater of Shipston writes is a protest against progress,” the Journal reported 20 years ago, “and everyone who has received a letter from him won’t even throw the envelope away.”
The report of 1990 continued: “As an accomplished calligrapher Mr Drinkwater uses exquisite colours and a delicate hand that stretches the elegance of 16th century handwriting across each letter and each envelope. The stamp in the right- hand corner alone identifies his letters with the 20th century “According to Mr Drinkwater, his skills hark back to a time when writing was done with a high degree of care – good handwriting was a point of etiquette.
Amritsar, Dec 28 (ANI): Hardeep Singh, an artist in Amritsar, has drafted the Gurbani, the Sikh scriptures in calligraphy.
He said he undertook the work because he had not seen anybody doing it before.
“It has been almost a year. The response has been great. Calligraphy means beautiful writing. The art originated in England. I have not seen anybody drafting Gurbani in calligraphy that is why I decided to undertake it,” said Hardeep Singh.
His father, Surindra Singh, himself a collector of art antique’s, helping him with his new venture.
“We have preserved the invaluable pieces of art. Though it is duty of the government to preserve it. We also have some illustrated materials. If government wants I can give it to them,” said Surindra Singh.
Hardeep Singh is a computer teacher by profession, but an artist by heart. He prints the borderline of the page on computer and writes the verses of Gurvani with his hands.
He is the great grandson of Bhai Gian Singh Naqqash, who worked on a portion of the sanctum sanctorum in the Golden Temple. (ANI)
On weekends Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy conducts sessions dedicated to Devnagri & Roman for those who cannot accommodate batches in the week. On weekends, other Indian scripts like Modi, Urdu & foreign language like Japanese. Special session & workshops like manuscript studies & creativity building will be conducted all year round. The school is also equipped with a calligraphy shop & a library.
Callifest 2008 was organised at Sir J. J. School of Art Campus, Dr. D. N. Road, Mumbai , between 15th to 21st Dec. 2008. This fest included an EXHIBITION , DEMONSTRATION , WORKSHOP and LECTURES on the ART of Calligraphy. Here are a few pictures from the Exhibition …
The intimacy of a handwritten letter with a turkey quill and taking the time to create beautiful handwriting is rare.
