Ives Leterme
Born in 1959, I grew up near the ramparts of Ypres, a town in Flanders, sadly
known for its total demolition during the first World War. As a young boy, after
playing hide and seek in the English cemeteries, I used to sit quietly at home,
reading books.
It was the stories of course I fell for at first. Later on, much later in fact, I
became fully aware of the beauty of an elaborate style and the power of good
phrasing, regardless of the story. I was already at university then, studying
classical languages. After I graduated, I was appointed teacher in a
secondary school in Bruges. I settled there, got married, became father of two
lovely kids and kept on reading.
At the age of thirty-two I discovered there was a third, more creative way of
enjoying literature. I was invited by a friend to try out a calligraphy course
given by Nadine Lebacq. I had been scribbling a bit on my own with a fountain
pen, but when I saw Nadine write, my mouth fell open and my eyes grew
bigger and wet: this was something completely different from what I had done
with my fountain pen.
From that moment on, I practised feverishly, writing every day. I was fortunate
to have good teachers from the start, who introduced the English tradition in
Flanders. Among them were Goedele Soetewey, Jan Rossey, Wilbert
Wegman and Elmo Van Slingerland. Elmo, a young chap then with too much
talent to be good, marked the deepest impression in my susceptible mind. Up
to this day, I would say that he is one of the two main influences in my work.
The other man who pushed me onwards is Brody Neuenschwander. Married
to Nadine, he settled in Bruges and for three, four years he gathered groups
of students around him. Those were years of hard work and great progress.
We learned about capitals, quills, collages, lay-out, but most of all Brody
confided to us his vision on modern calligraphy. When he suddenly stopped
teaching on a regular basis, I was thrown back on my own but I knew by then
in what direction I wanted to go on.
Around that time (1996) Moritoen, a center for adult education, was looking for
a teacher in calligraphy. Brody pushed the job through to me. I accepted and
that proved to be one of my better moves in life. After seven years of intensive
teaching, I still take great pleasure in it and besides that, there is in fact no
better way of learning something than by teaching it.
These days I'm dividing my time between my job at school, conducting
workshops in my neighbourhood and around in Flanders and doing some
commissions.
Over the years, I participated in numerous exhibitions throughout Flanders. To
see a (more or less) complete list of them , click on exhibitions.
My work appears very regularly in the Dutch magazines Scriptores and
Kalligrafia and recently also in the last annuals, the greeting card issue and
black and white issue of Letter Arts Review , the summer edition of Scripsit
(2004) and The Edge (vol.8, issue 4, spring 2003).
Maybe there's a text, a poem, a quote that is dear to you, and you want it
written out in a calligraphic way...
Maybe you need a logo or letterhead for yourself or your firm...
Maybe you want to have your marriage or the birth of your child announced in
calligraphy...
Maybe you want to give someone a unique present...
Maybe you consider to ask me for a workshop in your neighbourhood...
MAYBE I CAN HELP
YVESLETERME
Praterstraat 4
8310 Sint-Kruis
BELGIUM
Tel: 050/363044
E-mail: yvesleterme@skynet.be