Born in Brooklyn and now living in Israel, Izzy Pludwinski has worked as a professional calligrapher for over 40 years, teaching the subject in both England and Israel and Jerusalem and holding one-man shows of his work in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, London and Tokyo. He has worked on a number of prestigious calligraphic projects including work for the US and Israeli governments and is the designer of a number of Hebrew fonts. His website is at http://www.impwriter.com
Izzy Pludwinski has an artist's eyes and the disciplined hands of a master scribe. In this beautiful book he writes from the heart with deep understanding of the techniques and rhythms of traditional and modern Hebrew letterforms and shows us how the aleph-bet continues to evolve, versatile and beautiful, as a vitally expressive contemporary art form. -- Donald Jackson Izzy Pludwinski is an artist, an artisan, and a master teacher. His letterforms sing and soar. Were all the skies made of parchment, all the seas overflowing with ink, every reed and quill a pen, and everyone a scribe by trade, I cannot image a better, more accessible, more consummately gorgeous book on Hebrew calligraphy could be created. This work is a gift that deserves to be given to all whom we love, and to all whom we wish to introduce to the breath-taking beauty of Hebrew script. -- Marc Michael Epstein Much has been published on Latin, Chinese, and Arabic calligraphy, but relatively little on beautiful Hebrew writing. This book fills the gap in a most comprehensive way, profusely illustrated with examples from thousands of years ago to the present day; running the gamut from polished, consistent letterforms to wildly abstract expressions of the alphabet - including three dimensional carved examples and even street graffiti. For an overview of the possibilities for beauty offered by Hebrew letters there is no better resource than this book. -- Jerry Kelly