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Glendale News-Press (California)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
February 21, 2014 Friday
Armenian artist keeps medieval drawings alive
Brittany Levine, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
Feb. 21--The front desk at Roslin Art Gallery used to be where Seeron
Yeretzian would sketch fantastical drawings of peacocks, serpents and
colorful flora that, with a mix of oils and gold foil, took on an
illuminated, glow-in-the-dark quality.
But now, the Glendale artist sits at that same desk, mostly
motionless, unable to draw. Her muscles have been frozen by a
degenerative disease.
"It's terrible. My hands are gone," Yeretzian said, using her eyes to
select each letter of her sentence on a computer screen that repeats
her selections verbally, giving her a digital voice.
About two years ago, Yeretzian was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. Before the disease
made her muscles decline, though, she became obsessed with drawing
ornate Armenian initials, illustrated letters that have their roots in
medieval Armenia.
She became famous for an intricate poster of the Armenian alphabet
that was printed in 1991. Her drawing can now be found in Armenian
households throughout the world, on greeting cards and mouse pads.
Several people have had her intricate letters tattooed on their
bodies, her son, Arno Yeretzian, said.
Even after the alphabet poster launched her to stardom within the
worldwide Armenian community, she continued painting her illunimated
letters. She drew so many over the years that she decided to compile
her life's work into a 245-page book that was released to the public
this month.
The book, "Seeroon Darer," which translated into English means "Pretty
Letters," features hundreds of her drawings as well as historical
background and symbolism of the ancient Armenian art form that she
repurposed for the 20th and 21st centuries.
Yeretzian's interest in the initials, which were first drawn by
so-called "illuminators" as a way to spread the word of God, began
when a man, who would later become a lifelong friend, walked into her
latehusband's Armenian bookstore 25 years ago looking for a complete
Armenian alphabet done in the illuminated style. His search inspired
Yeretzian to make one of her own.
At the time, she was mostly drawing paintings of screaming heads,
homeless people and crucified women. Her paintings had dark themes
related to the Armenian Genocide and her experiences growing up in a
refugee camp in Lebanon and later immigrating to Los Angeles in the
1970s, a foreign land with few friends.
But drawing the brightly-colored Armenian letters, and becoming
obsessed with incorporating peacocks into the initials, became an
escape for the 63-year-old. The detailed nature of the work made her
happy.
"They were so beautiful and they were composed with every creative
creature alive," said Yeretzian, who jokes that she's drawn so many
peacocks and other colorful creatures that she could win a Guinness
World Record.
Her son remembers her being obsessed with drawing the letters. She'd
wake up in the morning and head straight to the gallery to work and
then at home, she'd continue, long into the night and early morning
hours. She'd call her daytime art her sunshine painting and her
nighttime art her moonshine painting.
"She'd work like crazy, that's why it's hard to see her like this,"
Arno Yeretzian said.
Harry Mesrobian, her longtime friend who originally sparked her
interest in the decorated letters, remembers a man three years ago
walking into the art gallery and starting to cry. He was
IranianArmenian and a recent immigrant to Glendale. When he asked the
man why he was crying, the immigrant pointed to Yeretzian's painting
that would later become the famous poster.
The man had received the poster as a gift and, for two years, he
labored over a gold-plated copy of Yeretzian's work. He was so elated
to meet the mastermind behind the ornate initials, he couldn't stop
crying.
Yeretzian has always intended to inspire others to love the ornate
letters, whose colors and design each hold a special symbolism, as she
does. The book is a way to do that, despite her disease.
"It's her intention that this art form never dies," Mesrobian said.
"She was able to keep the art form alive for her generation. She's a
time traveler. She goes into the past and brings it into the future."
In addition to drawing decorated Armenian letters, Yeretzian has also
used illumination techniques to create artwork of Hebrew, Arabic,
English and Cyrillic alphabets.
Although she can no longer physically draw, Yeretzian continues to
express herself artistically by writing poetry with the machine that
has replaced her voice.
"I'm telling you, she can't stop," Arno Yeretzian said.
"Seeroon Darer" can be purchased for $120 at Roslin Art Gallery, 111
W. California Ave., and Abril Armenian Bookstore, 415 E. Broadway.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
February 21, 2014 Friday
Armenian artist keeps medieval drawings alive
Brittany Levine, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
Feb. 21--The front desk at Roslin Art Gallery used to be where Seeron
Yeretzian would sketch fantastical drawings of peacocks, serpents and
colorful flora that, with a mix of oils and gold foil, took on an
illuminated, glow-in-the-dark quality.
But now, the Glendale artist sits at that same desk, mostly
motionless, unable to draw. Her muscles have been frozen by a
degenerative disease.
"It's terrible. My hands are gone," Yeretzian said, using her eyes to
select each letter of her sentence on a computer screen that repeats
her selections verbally, giving her a digital voice.
About two years ago, Yeretzian was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. Before the disease
made her muscles decline, though, she became obsessed with drawing
ornate Armenian initials, illustrated letters that have their roots in
medieval Armenia.
She became famous for an intricate poster of the Armenian alphabet
that was printed in 1991. Her drawing can now be found in Armenian
households throughout the world, on greeting cards and mouse pads.
Several people have had her intricate letters tattooed on their
bodies, her son, Arno Yeretzian, said.
Even after the alphabet poster launched her to stardom within the
worldwide Armenian community, she continued painting her illunimated
letters. She drew so many over the years that she decided to compile
her life's work into a 245-page book that was released to the public
this month.
The book, "Seeroon Darer," which translated into English means "Pretty
Letters," features hundreds of her drawings as well as historical
background and symbolism of the ancient Armenian art form that she
repurposed for the 20th and 21st centuries.
Yeretzian's interest in the initials, which were first drawn by
so-called "illuminators" as a way to spread the word of God, began
when a man, who would later become a lifelong friend, walked into her
latehusband's Armenian bookstore 25 years ago looking for a complete
Armenian alphabet done in the illuminated style. His search inspired
Yeretzian to make one of her own.
At the time, she was mostly drawing paintings of screaming heads,
homeless people and crucified women. Her paintings had dark themes
related to the Armenian Genocide and her experiences growing up in a
refugee camp in Lebanon and later immigrating to Los Angeles in the
1970s, a foreign land with few friends.
But drawing the brightly-colored Armenian letters, and becoming
obsessed with incorporating peacocks into the initials, became an
escape for the 63-year-old. The detailed nature of the work made her
happy.
"They were so beautiful and they were composed with every creative
creature alive," said Yeretzian, who jokes that she's drawn so many
peacocks and other colorful creatures that she could win a Guinness
World Record.
Her son remembers her being obsessed with drawing the letters. She'd
wake up in the morning and head straight to the gallery to work and
then at home, she'd continue, long into the night and early morning
hours. She'd call her daytime art her sunshine painting and her
nighttime art her moonshine painting.
"She'd work like crazy, that's why it's hard to see her like this,"
Arno Yeretzian said.
Harry Mesrobian, her longtime friend who originally sparked her
interest in the decorated letters, remembers a man three years ago
walking into the art gallery and starting to cry. He was
IranianArmenian and a recent immigrant to Glendale. When he asked the
man why he was crying, the immigrant pointed to Yeretzian's painting
that would later become the famous poster.
The man had received the poster as a gift and, for two years, he
labored over a gold-plated copy of Yeretzian's work. He was so elated
to meet the mastermind behind the ornate initials, he couldn't stop
crying.
Yeretzian has always intended to inspire others to love the ornate
letters, whose colors and design each hold a special symbolism, as she
does. The book is a way to do that, despite her disease.
"It's her intention that this art form never dies," Mesrobian said.
"She was able to keep the art form alive for her generation. She's a
time traveler. She goes into the past and brings it into the future."
In addition to drawing decorated Armenian letters, Yeretzian has also
used illumination techniques to create artwork of Hebrew, Arabic,
English and Cyrillic alphabets.
Although she can no longer physically draw, Yeretzian continues to
express herself artistically by writing poetry with the machine that
has replaced her voice.
"I'm telling you, she can't stop," Arno Yeretzian said.
"Seeroon Darer" can be purchased for $120 at Roslin Art Gallery, 111
W. California Ave., and Abril Armenian Bookstore, 415 E. Broadway.