Expressing Penmenship

Zoomorphic Calligraphy established itself only relatively late in Islamic art, when the taboos outlawing religious iconography had lost some of their power. It is an art developed in Ottoman Turkey, India and Qajar Iran. People say, it was known as early as 1458. Most of the below zoomorphic and anthropomorphic optical illusions were done by talented artist, named Hassan Musa from Sudan.

Hassan Musa is a Sudanese artist who works and lives in Domessargues in the south of France…

John Stevens is a calligrapher, designer of logotypes & illustrator of expressive letterforms with 27+ years experience. He has worked for well known clients in book & magazine publishing, packaging, type design, graphic design, television & film.

In addition to the graphics application of his work, John has practiced calligraphy as an art form, producing one-of-a-kind commissioned pieces that are included in many private and public collections throughout the world. He has had several solo exhibitions, and has participated in many group exhibitions throughout the world (most recently, Japan).

Visit http://www.johnstevensdesign.com/

I saw a few brilliant videos on YouTube on started goolging for this name “John DeCollibus”. His works are definitely masterpieces and would make any reasonably seasoned calligrapher look like an amateur. I especially have become a fan of the fantastic flourishes that he manages to create. This is just a few pieces of work that I nicked from this personal site, to prove my point …

John DeCollibus was born in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1946. He graduated from Boston College in 1967 with a business degree. While at BC, John enrolled in ROTC and received his officer’s commission. In 1969, he served in the US Army as a company commander in Korea in the 2nd infantry division.

Visit John DeCollibus’ official site here http://www.beyondwordsscript.com/

If you speak about Calligraphy in India and do not mention “Achyut Palav” , the conversation will not be probably considered complete. I have been following his work, especially Devnagri Calligraphy, which is a weak area for me. If not for Achyut Palav, I believe that there would be much of a Calligraphy scene in India. This signature, is itself a fine piece of calligraphy.

A G.D Art from Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai, Palav has expressively used the Devnagri & English scripts in his works over the years. But his love has been the depths of Devnagri scripts, and especially, its avatar in Maharashtra – a region known for durable and enriching literary tradition. Music & other such performing arts have inspired him to make innovative & bold demonstrations with Musicians, Dancers, singers & like. He passes on the same enthusiasm to budding artists through his demos & highly interactive workshops which are held regularly at his studio in Mumbai (visit his website for more details).

Achyut Palav’s personal site http://www.achyutpalav.com/