Connecting Through Calligraphy

When the Nashville Calligraphy Guild hosted IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting) in 2009, that was my first exposure to the calligraphic art of Barbara Calzolari from Bologna, Italy. I really liked what I saw in her work, and found myself both mesmerized and inspired by her unique designs. Also, I loved her personality that came through in her teaching and in her art. I met her briefly as she demonstrated her calligraphy one evening at IAMPETH. Later, I “followed” her periodically online on Facebook and her website, always very impressed with her art and continually fascinated with her abilities.

This year my husband, father-in-law, and I were making final plans to go Italy in May, and Bologna was purposefully included in our itinerary. There were three main reasons I wanted to go to Bologna. My main goal was to see if the Emilia-Romagna region truly had the best food in all of Italy as I had read. Now that is the subject for a much longer discussion! The second reason was because we wanted to explore that particular intriguing city and that area. The third reason was because I thought it would be fun to get together with Barbara if I possibly could!

I tried to contact Barbara a couple of times through Facebook, but I didn’t hear back. I knew she was one very busy lady, so I didn’t give up even after we arrived in Italy. Once we were approaching Bologna, I sent her another message. Still no response, and she didn’t know me, so I was beginning to think the possibility of meeting her was becoming more remote. I was beginning to allow that goal to die.

However, I received an email from my calligraphy mentor back in the USA, Jan Hurst, nudging me, saying, “Aren’t you going to see Barbara?” I explained to Jan how I had not been able to get a response from my FB messages and how we were busy discovering all of these things and I might not pursue it any further. Suddenly, Jan is reigniting my interest to connect with Barbara, even taking it upon herself to find her email address and write her directly. The next thing I know I have Barbara contacting me, plus enthusiastically inviting me to join her pointed brush lettering class she was teaching the next day.

The following afternoon I took a fifteen minute mad cab ride to the art store where Barbara was teaching. I arrived with my heart racing from that adventure! But do you want me to tell you how much FUN it was being in Barbara’s brush lettering class? Oh my! It was a beginner’s class using the Pentel brush with young students and a few adults like myself mixed in the bunch. They all were very welcoming. Barbara is a passionate teacher as many of you know and her class was superb! Although most of the class was taught in Italian, I felt I understood what she was saying. It was like calligraphy itself was this beautiful, fluid, universal language. At one point, she looked up and asked me in English if I thought it was difficult mastering the “thicks and thins?” I replied, “Oh yes, no matter what hand style you are working on, that is a challenge.” Then I thought to myself, “no matter whether I am in Kentucky or Italy, it is definitely a challenge!”

Barbara was so gracious and kind. She insisted my family and I join her that night at her friend’s pizzeria. She was meeting a couple there whose wedding invitation she was designing and she would be finalizing decisions with them before dinner. She promised we would discover the best pizza in Italy if we came!

There were good times shared with Barbara and her friends that evening, a lot of laughter and good stories were told, and the most delicious pizza consumed! Plus, her lovely teenage daughter, Frida, joined us, who is absolutely beautiful like her mother. It was such a treat to get to know them. Barbara had her portfolio with her that we enjoyed looking through that included her commissioned work she did for Pope Benedict XVI, writing and illuminating the national anthems of the countries represented at the 2009 G8 Conference.

I look back on the pictures and memories of our time spent with Barbara in Bologna, and I am always reminded of the wonderful connection that calligraphy gives us to each other and to the world.