The Poetic Pen

The wonderful 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland Oregon is hosting a special exhibition called The Poetic Pen. The exhibition is in conjunction with the Calligraphy NorthWest International Calligraphy Conference taking place in Portland from 24 June to 1 July 2012.

I was very excited to be attending my first Conference - over 500 calligraphers attending workshops with some truly amazing and brilliant calligraphic tutors.  It was so hard to choose and nominate a workshop. But in the end, after Barry's recent illness and episodes, we have decided not to try to tackle a long-haul trip to the US in a fortnight's time and I was not feeling good about going on my own and leaving him here. So some lucky person who was on a wait-list now has the chance to participate; so I'm thrilled for them, whilst being a little bit sad for me.

But back to the exhibition.  The Gallery called for works that celebrated calligraphy and poetry and I thought oh well, I might as well enter and see what happens.  I was very excited - like pinch me really - to learn that both pieces I submitted were selected!  They chose 40 works from 140 submissions so I was feeling very chuffed.

I am sending "Artemis" a small book with poetry by Robyn Nugent and "Blackbird" another wee book with poetry by Annie Kerr from Inkhaven.

This is what I said about "Artemis":

Robyn Nugent’s poetry is always spare and often unflinching. I chose a very minimalist representation for the words, but added interest with weight variation. The simple nature of the book enables one to carry a poem in the hand, lightly. 

 And what I wrote about "Blackbird":

Annie Kerr’s words always create such beautiful word-pictures, and the imagery of silver threaded calligraphy, and liquid song as the bird flits through the streets is lovely. This is my own personal heartbeat script, which I think gives a sense of rhythm and movement to the words. This is a very personal format for the book as well—it sits lightly in the hand like a precious object.

Both books will be winging their way across the Pacific Ocean this week, and I look forward to hearing how their visit to the US goes!  For anybody in or around Portland OR the gallery is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from midday to 6.00pm, and the First Friday artist reception is on 6 July 2012. The exhibition runs from 22 June - 29 July 2012.