The article:Art uplifts us. It's the perfect gift! If you're looking for a very unusual personalized gift, turn to calligraphy artist, Kathy Nolte Orf's web-site: www.kathyorf.com or check out the www.kathyorf.etsy.com site for Kathy's work and the works of a multitude of artists. Warning: the etsy.com site may be hazardous to your health! You'll get NO exercise. It is hard to leave your computer screen, there's SO much pretty stuff! But more about our featured local artist: amazing calligrapher, Kathy Orf. First, to clarify, here's the vocabulary lesson: calligraphy comes from the Greek, kallos, which means "beauty" and graphein, which means "to write." So calligraphy is "beautiful writing" and that is definitely what Kathy creates. The other vocabulary I learned from Kathy was the term "hand" meaning a traditional style of calligraphic writing: Italic, Celtic (or Uncial), Gothic (Olde English), and Roman Capitals are some examples of various calligraphy "hands". Kathy says that while she can letter all of these styles, she has developed her own variations of these "hands". What began for Kathy with a decorative arts class in high school, one semester of calligraphy at college, an art degree and a career in graphic arts, eventually led her back to calligraphy when she was home with her first child. She decided to create a product to sell at local art shows. Kathy says she was "catapulted" from basic black ink on parchment to much bigger work, using many styles, and a wide variety of tools, materials, and papers, by Reggie Ezell, a wonderful teacher and her major influence. Kathy says Reggie took her "light-years" ahead of where she had been. He gave her technique, ability (lots of practice helped there) and mega-confidence! I asked Kathy a few "Artisty"/ "make you think" type questions and she was gracious enough to answer them, so here goes: D: "What sparks your creativity?" K: "Going to the Botanical Gardens, taking a walk, looking at magazines." D: "What artist do you most admire?" K:" Georgia O'Keefe, for her art, but I was also fascinated by her marriage to Alfred Steiglitz, who's photographic work was one of my first loves." D: "What do you think is the enemy of creativity?" K: ""Too much thought, not enough action." D: " How do you get past perfectionism?" K: "I know that things rarely turn out the way I imagine them in my head. I just see where I end up." D: "Anything you are very proud of that you'd like to share?" K: "I will be featured in the December/ January issue of "Somerset Memories". The article is called "Marian's Memories and is about a memory book I created. I painted the pages, did the calligraphy, and then hand-bound it. It is a book of my mother's child-hood memories." : "What do you wish you had known when you were younger?" K: "Not to waste my time comparing myself to others or worrying about what others think. Mostly, they're not thinking about me. They're focused on their own life and their own problems. Also, to believe in myself. Currently in Kathy's new line are many personalized items: name frames, travel mugs (including St. Louis's favorite question, "Where'd you go to high school?" with your high school's name as well.), signs that can be personalized: "Princess", "Soccer", "Grandkids" to name a few. And then there are some awesome T-shirts: "Nurture your inner artist", "Chocolate, its cheaper than therapy". Kathy has family trees, "Bless Our Home" signs, and note cards. Most of the letters are photographs of found objects in St. Louis: the Arch, turned up-side-down, as a "U". You get the idea. Check out the photos here. Check out Kathy's web site. Support your local artists! Contact Kathy at:
Blog: Kalligratographer.blogspot.com
ETSY: www.kathyorf.etsy.com
Website: www.kathyorf.com
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