From Doodle to (Hebrew) Font: A Journey
After finishing at Roehampton and being exposed to the wider world of Western calligraphy, Izzy was faced with the challenge—being a Hebrew calligrapher too—of how to bring more expression into Hebrew script, which was basically, no matter the style, a squarish script.
After failed experiments trying to come up with an “italic” version of Hebrew, he let his hand just doodle. And thus began a journey. From play, to abstraction, to the influence of Hans Joachim Burgert, to the development of his first Hebrew digital font.
Join Izzy as he showcases the evolution of his experiments and his many influences, ultimately leading to the completed Hebrew font.
Izzy Pludwinski is a professional calligrapher, and Sofer STaM, living in Jerusalem. He is the author of the book Mastering Hebrew Calligraphy. He produces original calligraphic artworks as well as ketubot, haggadot and other Judaica manuscripts. In 2004, Izzy was invited to Wales by Donald Jackson to work on the Hebrew for The Saint John’s Bible. Izzy sees as his main calligraphic challenge the never-ending search for new, expressive forms for the Hebrew letter. His present interest lies in the use of calligraphy as a meditative device, using brush-written abstract Hebrew letter-forms.