Well-known calligraphy artist Ingrid Lotter Smith will be appearing in the Mondays at 6 Programme at St Clements on September 1 at 18h00.
Table Bookings Essential: RSVP ST Clements 062 582 0980 (Please note this new St Clem number)
In this day and age when many people have become more comfortable using a phone or laptop keyboard than writing by hand, small wonder there is growing interest in the art/craft of calligraphy. Durban creative, artist, art teacher, erstwhile gallery owner, Ingrid Lotter Smith has been doing — and teaching — calligraphy for nearly four decades.
Friends of the late Pieter Scholtz invite audiences to come and be inspired, enlightened, entertained and to see why calligraphy matters.
“Writing is for communication. It uses visible signs to enable us to pass on and receive messages to and from people who are separated from one another by time, space or both,” says Ingrid Lotter Smith.
“Many scripts have been evolved at different times and in different places and a major factor in all these scripts is the surface onto which it was written and the writing instrument used.”
Ingrid will take audiences on a fascinating journey through the history of letterforms and their reflection of societal values. A journey of discovery, which will show us how the shapes of our alphabet have been influenced by the cultures and technologies of the past.
Cherished Durban art luminary, Ingrid Lotter Smith, has spent nearly four decades honing her skills in calligraphy. “I started calligraphy as a hobby and became fascinated by it. The more I read, learned, practiced, and taught calligraphy, the more I found I loved the history and the technical skill involved.”
The allure of calligraphy, she says, extends beyond mere aesthetics. The term calligraphy comes from the Greek and, quite literally, means beautiful writing. It is an art form that has evolved for more than two thousand years, from long before it was ever considered an art form. It is the origin of all written forms.
Ingrid Lotter Smith has often collaborated with her husband, John Smith, the distinguished South African artist, intertwining her calligraphy with his watercolour paintings to evoke mood and meaning beyond the written word.
She says she has noted a growing interest in, and demand for, calligraphy. “I think people are becoming tired of the fonts we get on computers and are returning to the beauty of the handmade. It is also an amazing hobby that is in reach of most people.”
Ingrid is the former owner of Artisan Contemporary Gallery, which was a lively creative, cultural and "community" art space at the top of Florida Road.
When the donation box is passed around, a minimum of R50 per person is suggested.
Weather permitting, the programme will take place outdoors.
Bookings limited to diners in support of St Clements restaurant and staff.
Be there in time to open your tab, order at the counter and
settle in before the scheduled 18h00 start.
Please cancel if you book then can’t make it. (The venue is often at capacity.)
R1,930 was collected via the donation box at last month's (first) Monday at Six, the tribute evening for Pieter Scholtz. It will go towards the Pieter Scholtz legacy stage that Steve Clements is planning as a permanent fixture at St Clements.
St Clements is situated at 191 Musgrave Road in Durban. Mondays @ Six run between 18h00 and 19h00