#01 : Córdoba Landscape and Architecture
In March 2023, I was privileged to visit Córdoba Spain and work with 20 artists at a beautiful venue: Parador de Córdoba. It was located on a hilltop in Córdoba and the view from there was spectacular. That was my first in-person international workshop in the last three years because of the pandemic. I had such a great experience to feel the energy circulation and to have actual eye contact not through digital devices.
The workshop was to observe the beauty in nature and develop our letterform and calligraphic textures. I chose Córdoba landscape and architecture for my inspiration and did my demo exercises.
The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba is one of the oldest structures. Even though there were many tourists inside of the mosque, I could feel deep sacred air. The buildings around in the central city were sitting quietly with coordinated colors. How I could capture these forms and structures to develop letterforms was my question at the beginning.
Letterform Development
I decided to develop a form with a simple curved rectangular shape and wrote text about linking each other. After the pandemic, I have been working with a text from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “Peace is Every Step” and thinking about how we link to the earth and to link each other.Calligraphic textures seen here were created with the developed letterform. The color shapes were collaged dyed paper, and the colors I used were also inspired by the colors I saw in the city.
Once I got used to the form and my hand and body remembered the movement, I went forward to do more gestural writing with speed, rhythm and emotion.
Another inspiration was the view from my hotel room with the light of sunset. After my trip, I made an accordion book inspired by the image of buildings and the sky combined with the developed form. I enjoy seeing different scenery and capturing the forms and manipulating them and creating something that suits the form. The colors I used were vivid and not my usual choices. I think the excitement from attending a passionate stage of flamenco and the warmth I got by working with an enthusiastic group of people made me choose such a vivid color scheme.
8.5cm x 17cm x 1cm
