It was with much anticipation that I registered to Gottfried's workshop. And I was sooo happy when I got the O.K. letter from Soundings organizers. It was my first conference and I sure hope not my last. I will do my best to give you a fair report on the workshop, but you have to understand that this report is as unusual as the workshop.
It is the first time that I attend a class given in German, a language that I heard from way back as a child but never spoke. So I did understand, a little, what Gottfried spoke (as it is said "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing"). Then I heard it again in English translated faithfully by Elke Belcher. Again English is a language which I took classes since I was in grade 6 at school, and is being spoken at home every day but it is not every day that I do sit down to write English. So to make things easy on myself (or maybe more complicated ) I took notes in Hebrew. Now, not all professional terms in Calligraphy are known to me in Hebrew, because I took my calligraphic education mainly in Canada.
So the notes are really a mix, a goulash, a cocktail. So here I am sitting writing and translating back from Hebrew to English. Just hoping that I will not be asked to reverse into German again because, I will Quit!.
On Sunday morning 17 of us gathered in Room 106 at the Music Building in The University of Puget Sound. I was surprised why it was in the Music Building and why it is that we had a piano in class. Was it a coincidence ?
I was helped to cover my table professionally by veterans of conferences . Thanks Elke, Bella, and Judy.
The week long workshop opened. Gottfried started with intensive discussion of Form or Shape of Language. "When I speak of Form, Shape, the Question is "What is Form?" Each Calligrapher decides himself if the form is good or not. As calligraphers we have to be measured by the letter forms, the same as the painter has to paint well and the architect has to know the principle of good building design etc. The discussion on art, craft quality, form, talent, education, energy, influences, design, continued for a while.
In order to start the creation of the form Gottfried reduced the number of calligraphic instruments in his workshop to the minimum. The round Brause nib which has TWO reservoirs one on top and one under . The limitation of the number of instruments allowed us to concentrate in the essence of creation. We learnt during the week's work to use this nib in the way it was meant to be used and in ways that it was not meant. Just as musical instruments are being use differently than they are designed to be played. And here came a MUSICAL DEMONSTRATION by Gottfried. (the presents of the piano in the class made sense).
The practical work started with learning to use the tool "on its heel and foot". Scribble forms with different starting point. Loosening up, getting a rhythm, a musical line, contrasts, different orientations, horizontals and verticals . Six elements : I - / \ ( ) can be used with interest and not with repetition. It is difficult, but thousands of combinations can be done creating positives and negatives. Creating an original, not a reproduction, each letter has its own character not all letters have to look the same . It is not a print, it is an original. So we wrote an abstract letter to an anonymous person about a page long and we signed it , abstractively, not using letters but forms.
We used the "belly" of the nib, the bottom reservoir, in order to create thick lines, forms, and learnt how to see which element of the letter is the important one to make the letter, using the LINE and the DOT, the HALF circle with down line or without etc. Use the normal FORM of the letters always think of thin and thick.
Monday. The second day we started writing words " The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" in large and small letters we could now distort letters in order to fill the negative spaces, or to create PAUSES, white spaces, we have to decide how much to the abstract we want to go. So we are now going the opposite direction . From the legible to the scribble.
We hold the nib deferentially with almost every stroke we can mix the majuscule and minuscule letters . This is the freedom we give ourselves. Work on different papers, light and dark colors. You will see things in a different way. The shock of working suddenly on black paper wakes you up. LIFE IS TOO SORT TO WORK ON CHEAP PAPER.
New variations of using the nib with pen manipulations . . Using ligatures to create composition. And again Gottfried brings us to the music world comparing letters to musical notes. Black and white keys and the variations and interpretations of the different musicians, moods, seasons, weathers.
Discussion on LIMITS and CRASHES as for how far to go while reaching to the abstract. Our self recognition is important, our sensitivity is important.
Filing it down. Writing with the small nib "upside down", dilute the ink for better flow. Work white on black. We worked on variation of a form, and then composition with a letter. And again Gottfried demonstrates on the piano. Vibrations of a note. One of the highlights of the workshop was to see the excitement of Gottfried when a spontaneous A and Q came to life as perfect as it can be. The same way that the musician needs his audience to bring about the best in him so Gottfried needs his students, the atmosphere of a workshop to create the best.
Tuesday. We learnt so much in the last two days. The workshop was uplifting intellectually as well as practically. It was an exercise to the mind and to the hand.
Polyphony- Many voices at the same tune. The voices are moving in a certain RHYTHM and again the music comes into class. Gottfried is singing the notes. Never a dull moment . No music without rhythm and no rhythm without music. The whole existence is based on rhythm: summer, fall, winter, spring day, night the disturbance of the rhythm will bring disaster. ( think of jet lag, breaking the rhythm). But we need the PAUSE, or we will die. The design will get lost.
We worked an alphabetical design as close to abstract as we can keeping in mind all the elements of positive, negative, rhythm, form, pauses etc.
Wednesday. "going out to nature" creating a lettering landscape. While referring always to the first exercise of creating an abstract letter, looking at it from a different angle. Now we are working on lines with a different swing, different direction, sometimes open lines sometimes closed, "LANDSCAPE IS ANOTHER KIND OF MUSIC" says Gottfried. We used guidelines and then we eliminated them. Each line of writing was different from the one preceding. A landscape from birds eye view. The landscape on our paper has to be natural open towards the sky. More condense down to earth. Always think about the whole while working on the details. Carry on the lines. H , A ,E , could they relate? Don't talk when you work on it or you might get lost in your own landscape.
Thursday. I feel that the weeks workshop is coming to an end. There is sadness in me. So much to learn so little time. We were to make a major project for the FINALE but all the participants as myself wanted to get as much knowledge as possible from Gottfried . So we kept on learning and in the process we all created "MASTER PIECES". We had what to show Friday afternoon.
Gottfried brought about the discussion the difference between calligraphy in Germany and England. The learning process, the experimental and expressive way of calligraphy, as a result of a historical method. He spoke about "stroke modulation" about learning to distinguish between the different strokes of the different calligraphers. Gottfried is a very generous man, artist, and brought to us insights of the book that he wrote. His relations to the publisher. The limitation as for the length of the book. The typography, designing the book, choosing the paper etc.. It is not every day that someone will share and give so much of himself. I felt very fortunate to be his student, even if for only one week. And again the subject of calligraphy in Germany England and the U.S. came about. In the Afternoon we watched slides, again followed with Gottfried plays music. The question of one of the participants if Gottfried plays any other instruments bedsides the piano he answered without hesitation "of course, I play the RULLING PEN, BRUSHES, BRAUSE NIBS."
The slides show was a summary of our week's work " THE SOUND IS THE SONG OF THE FORM" we all sing the same tune but in different octave.
Until now we worked with the fine nib. Now we file down the thick nib (all the time the same Brause 500 nib in deferent sizes). The large size nib is giving us thick and thin lines, creates difficulties that we have to overcome, but we went through the stages we are ready to practice this too. Each size nib has its own properties, its own beauty. We have to use them to the full capacity in order to create the perfect design. We finish the week by writing again an abstract letter, this time the letter was addressed to Gottfried, we compared the first letter we wrote on the first day to this one. We could see that the same writer wrote them both, but there were differences as for the fluency and beauty on knowledge of using this versatile instrument and learning a week long with such a giving educator and artist as Gottfried Pott.