“Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks," said the classical Greek lyric poet Simonides of Ceos. But can we capture the silence of poetry in our paintings without being able to read the words? By connecting with a poem at an innate level and integrating that with concepts of abstract art your calligraphic expression can expand beyond where you have ever thought it could go.

Join me on this journey of exploration and innovation that incorporates the strokes and gestures of letters, flourishes, use of different tools and materials, meditation and inward reflection. The more we can reach our intuitive self, the more honest and alive our paintings will be.

Using poetry as our starting point, we will discuss what elements can help abstract paintings have an intrinsic connection to the poem. This includes the quality of line, size of strokes, shapes, direction of energy, color, value and texture. We will use sumi ink and watercolor to do exercises in calligraphic mark making, asemic writing, choosing colors, value studies and cropping the page.

If your next step in calligraphy is to take it beyond what you thought you were capable of doing, if you are looking for greater fulfillment in your work, if you want to have fun and make exciting discoveries, and if you are ready to relax the standard definition of what calligraphy is, then this is the class for you. You will leave this class with several paintings ready to frame and new inspiration to guide you.