Posts by Rona Conti
Chiune Sugihara, The Heart Sutra, and L’Dor V’Dor, from Generation to Generation.
Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who, in July of 1940, through extraordinary measures and under seemingly impossible circumstances, selflessly saved the lives of endangered Jews. To honor his memory and that of those whose lives were both lost and saved, artwork by Rona Conti can now be viewed at the Sugihara Foundation and Museum…
Read MoreOne Hundred Character Poem – Life is Beautiful
Neigetsu is a Japanese Calligraphic Designer and Artist, born in Tokyo, Japan in 1982. She began learning Japanese calligraphy at the age of 6. Neigetsu received a Bachelor of Education from the University of Tokyo. She attained the rank of Shihan in 2008, certifying her as an instructor of Japanese calligraphy. Her artwork goes beyond…
Read MoreHow Not to Price Your Artwork
A Beyond Calligraphy reader and fellow artist wrote to me asking a simple question. “How do I price my artwork?” Fortunately he could not hear my interior groan. It isn’t that I am disinclined to help others based upon my experiences. Quite the contrary, I believe that there aren’t secrets, or there should not be…
Read MoreFind Out How Sumi (Ink Sticks) Are Created in Japan.
Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, seems worlds away from Tokyo and even Kyoto, especially in the bleak winter January month I chose to visit. In truth, I had been there several times, but this trip was to be a calligraphy supply buying trip in advance of my return to Boston. There is no hustle…
Read MoreWould You Show Your Calligraphy Mistakes for an Exhibition?
What is the meaning of the color red in various cultures? What comes to your mind first? Red as celebratory in China, red for a 60th birthday in Japan and your second childhood, a red light meaning stop immediately or the dreaded X in red in Western cultures meaning incorrect on schoolwork? You must be…
Read MoreIs the Emperor of Japan mocking the West?
Is the Emperor of Japan mocking the West? When the Imperial family appears at events wearing formal Western wear, does this represent cultural appropriation? This question occurred to me while discussing the Kimono kerfuffle at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. A second question would be why the change in dress? Did any country and…
Read MoreA Kimono (Irouchikake) Scuffle at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
If Claude Monet ever imagined that his 1876 painting “La Japonaise” (his wife Camille in a “Kimono”) would be called racist, he and his fellow painters influenced by Japanese art and culture would be flabbergasted. To make a small correction, the painter’s wife is dressed in an “irouchikake (打掛)”, a gorgeously embroidered and very heavy…
Read MoreWhat do Calligraphy, Handmade Paper and Rejection have in Common?
All artists need to become skilled in accepting the many ways of rejection, from form letters to “we had so many high quality applicants, unfortunately you were not selected etc.” Some offer encouragement which is appreciated. Whatever the reason for not being accepted into an exhibition or a gallery or when there is a likely…
Read MoreAn Unexpected Visit to Taiwan Master Calligrapher SYUE Ping-nan’s Studio
The telephone call I received in Japanese while living in Japan seemed mysterious. I thought I understood what was being said and replied in Japanese, yet I was unsure. The woman said that she was a calligraphy teacher and had heard about me, a foreigner studying calligraphy, and that she would like me to meet…
Read MoreHow Far Would You Go To Have "Your Name Written in Calligraphy"
How do a female car stunt driver and a contemporary calligraphy artist collaborate to make magic in just over a minute and make each of us want to create as they do? How do they go far beyond the traditional “ your name written in calligraphy ” advertised so often on the internet? The new…
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