Ikuko Asami

A mutual fan of both Martin Jackson and Denis Brown is Ikuko Asami, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at Island Magic. A visit to Ikuko’s blog recently showed me that she’s been busy working with the layering and polyrhythmic exercises that Denis is teaching. I can't read her blog (naturally, it’s written in Japanese), but I can see what she’s been up to, read an English word here and there, and laugh as I try to add comments using Japanese buttons! Love this calligraphic lamp that Ikuko created. It is very interesting to me that western calligraphy is so popular in Japan, as being demonstrated by an exhibition, “East Writes West” is being held this fall in Bruges, Belgium.

Denis Brown at Island Magic

When Denis Brown picks up a pen, the room becomes silent. Even a room full of chattering women becomes absolutely still, with everyone watching intently. There is nothing but the sound of the pen nib, and quick intakes of breath from the audience.

Denis’ demos were the highlight of an excellent class, “Developing Expression in Calligraphy”, in which he lead us through rather grueling exercises with drawn monoline romans, which lead to exploring texture, and ended with a fun exercise where we created calligraphic marks to musical rhythms. Informative, inspiring and enjoyable - the week flew past as quickly as Denis’ penstrokes.

What I’m left with: a desire to really work on the rhythm and ‘fluency’ of my own calligraphy (and new ideas on how to approach this), and many new things to consider in terms of creating depth and texture in a calligraphic work. This is certainly something Denis has achieved with his incredible glass art.