Tag: calligraphy

World Letter Writing Day

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via GIPHY

There are many retro and modern ways to celebrate the World Letter Writing Day on the 1st of September, which has been enjoyed long before email was invented. You might like to spend the day writing and posting a letter. You can also head over to LinkedIn Learning for video tutorials on Calligraphy.

      Calligraphy style : 65 beautiful writing projects for every occasion / Halim, Veronica
      “Calligraphy literally translates as ‘beautiful writing’; it is a traditional skill it has had a contemporary resurgence as a stylish medium for creating artwork. The book starts with the techniques  on the best materials and the stroke sequences for different scripts. You can make 65 projects include personalised labels, invitations, menus, greeting cards and much more. ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

      Happy hand lettering : simple calligraphy techniques to bring your words to life / Wagner, Jen
      “Happy Hand Lettering offers you instruction and encouragement to begin crating beautifully written words right away. From selecting the best tools and supplies, to forming your first simple letters, to lettering with brush or nib, and modern and typography styles. Everything you need to begin your calligraphic journey is here. ” ( Adapted from the Catalogue)

      Nib + ink : the new art of modern calligraphy / Perano, Chiara
      Play with typography, get creative with letterforms and develop your own unique handwriting style. This beautiful and immersive guide is full of inspiration, shape and letter templates, modern calligraphy basics, creative prompts and exercises. It also features a handful of simple projects, from framed quotes and chalkboards to invitations and birthday cards, and much more to enjoy. (Adapted from the Catalogue)

      Modern calligraphy : everything you need to know to get started in script calligraphy / Thorpe, Molly Suber
      “Author Molly Suber Thorpe, an award-winning designer and calligrapher , works closely with her international clients to give them the distinctive products. Now you can learn from this experienced expert how to master this fresh modern lettering style. The first book to teach this bold new style breaks the calligraphy process down into simple steps.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

      Hand drawn lettering : draw, print, paint / Marlborough, Max
      “Unleash your creativity with this book that encourages readers to explore new ideas, nurture originality, and create unique forms of lettering.”–Provided by Amazon.com.” (Catalogue)

       

Chinese art at the library

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Oriental art is not just about terracotta warriors, ancient collectables, brush painting and calligraphy, there are also famed contemporary Chinese artists. Our online resource DragonSource has about 3000 Chinese magazines covering a range of topics: including popular fashion, literature, music and film. There are also contemporary and traditional Chinese arts magazines.

How to read art magazines on DragonSource
  1. Login to DragonSource using your library card number and password
  2. Select the links beneath the magazines in this blog; then select the blue button to read
  3. You can also choose your own art magazines from Art magazines on DragonSource


 

Chinese art 中国美术             Chinese calligraphy 中国书法      Contemporary artists 当代美术家

 

Terracotta warriors : guardians of immortality
“This book marked the exhibition at Te Papa of the remarkable third century BC funerary statues excavated from the astounding archaeological site at Xi’an, China. The 200 especially selected pieces from the site have travelled to Wellington and then to Melbourne, for their first exhibition in Australasia for 30 years. This illustrated catalogue has images of all the objects in the exhibition as well as informative essays that explain the creation of the objects and their ongoing discovery.” (Adapted from the catalogue)

The art of Chinese brush painting / Wang, Lucy
“Chinese brush painting is an ancient art form associated with grace, simplicity, and precision. This wonderful Artist’s Library Series can help you learn the secrets to painting in this classic, fluid style. Accomplished Chinese brush artist Lucy Wang covers the fundamentals of this painting medium, such as handling the brush and creating elegant strokes with art history. Then she guides you step by step through a series of painting lessons, from flowers and animals to a landscape and a traditional figure.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

The Chinese art book
“This highly illustrated book is an accessible, innovative introduction to the art of China. An overview of Chinese art from its earliest dynasties to the contemporary generation of artists enlivening today’s art world. 300 works represent every form of Chinese visual art, including painting, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, figurines, jade, bronze, gold and silver, photography, video, installation, and performance art.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Things Chinese : antiques, crafts, collectibles / Knapp, Ronald G.
“Traditional Chinese objects are fascinating for the West and are long sought by collectors, from porcelains and finely detailed paintings, silk fabrics, and furniture to the lacquered or ebony-and-bone chopsticks. From painted cabinets and calligraphic scrolls to painted opera masks and moon cake moulds, and from Golden Lotus shoes , Mao memorabilia, mahjong sets and even kites.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Contradictions : artistic life, the socialist state, and the Chinese painter Li Huasheng / Silbergeld, Jerome
“Li Huasheng (b. 1944) represents the first generation of artists raised and trained in the People’s Republic of China. His career spans the painting of Maoist propaganda in the 1960s. Li has been driven by a fearless flair for drama that is expressed not only in his remarkable paintings of the Sichuan landscape but in a lifelong passion for Sichuan-style theatre. ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

At work : twenty-five contemporary Chinese artists / Burris, Jon
“Documentary-style portraits of twenty-five of China’s most accomplished and fascinating artists at work.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)