Jollyseul Calligraphy
The Visual Park Space logo is hand-written by HanSeul Kim. I first met her, when I was working in Korea for Cosmopolitan magazine, and HanSeul was a fashion editor at W magazine at that time. Now, she is a professional calligrapher based in Los Angeles and runs the Jollyseul Calligraphy. I am very excited to share her new journey as a calligrapher driven by her artistic talent as a formal fashion editor. Let's hear about her story.
Visual Park Space: How did you become a calligrapher?
HanSeul Kim: I always had an interest in typography at a young age but never thought about developing it as a career. I kept my passion for fonts design, prints, and typography as a hobby. After a while, I became a fashion editor and during that time, I received many fashion show invitations every season from designer brands and fashion houses from Paris, Milan, London, and New York. Those invitations had my name written beautifully by hand and it felt very special and it ignited my passion from childhood. I was so fascinated by inked letters that are delicately drawn from each line to line, I naturally developed a deeper interest in trying it my own. I immediately found a calligraphy lesson and started taking some lessons. As I learned and developed skills in calligraphy I ended my fashion editor career and decided to pursue my childhood passion professionally. That is how it all started!
VPS: Can anyone become a calligrapher? Do you need a special talent?
HSK: Anyone can become a calligrapher. It is about knowing the rules of drawing the lines and anyone can learn to do it. After all, practicing makes it perfect. With passion and keen interest to continually practice the lines, anyone can become a calligrapher!
VPS: What are the most challenging efforts to advance your skills?
HSK: Practice, practice, and more practice. Balancing between straight lines and curved lines is the most important skill in calligraphy and it takes many trials for your hands to get used to the lines.
VPS: What kind of projects do you do as a calligrapher?
HSK: Mainly I do a lot of wedding invitation addressing, table name cards for events, and writing names on special gifts for clients. I used to get many invites to attend the events from fashion brands to provide the customized name or phrases that customers would like to have, before the COVID era. Sometimes they like to keep my artworks in the frame, so they would bring in their favorite quotes to write. Some unique works have been writing signatures on mirrors. I do work on a project by project basis for companies and private individuals and each project is different. I also do logo designs and writing a variety of documents as well. There is no limitation or boundaries!
VPS: What is Jollyseul Calligraphy’s uniqueness?
HSK: In the calligraphy world, Antique alphabets are the most common ones to start with and the most demanded style. However, I love to stylize them with modern twists, so I try to find a good balance between them. For example, when I get antique style requests from clients, I would still keep its fundamentals but by using fewer florals and fewer colors to keep the look modern. Let's say the typography that would fit in the Moma museum than a Harry Potter book. If you see my works, you will have a better visual understanding of my style. Please check out my works below.
“Practice, practice, and more practice. Balancing between straight lines and curved lines is the most important skill in calligraphy and it takes many trials for your hands to get used to the lines.”
VPS: Where do you get your inspirations?
HSK: I am inspired by many other artist's works such as architectures and interior designs. Even the flowers on a street inspire me nowadays, I am more and more appreciating the nature which I didn't enjoy as much before. Especially, during this COVID, I am becoming more to appreciate all the things that I took for granted in the past. I am very thankful that we have the technology to keep us connected during this Untact Era. I love browsing on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube where I find many creative and inspiring works.
VPS: What are your current plans and future direction as a calligrapher?
H: Currently, due to the restrictions of gatherings, many events are not happening at the moment which has affected my workload and is leading me to approach newer ways to find customers for my work. Compared to the pre-COVID era, my workload has reduced but my original clients are still there, and they continue to support and appreciate the specialty of calligraphy, so it is continuing on a smaller scale. I am looking for more opportunities online to share my works and to expand clients in a new way. I would like to start a workshop and more collaborations to share my joy doing the calligraphy.
See HanSeul’s more works.
