Jaki’s Story

Jaki Svaren was born in Bend, Oregon and graduated from Bend High School. After high school, she went to Portland to attend Reed College for two years. Several years later she went back to school at the University of Oregon to become a general art teacher. In 1956 she was hired at Grant High School as a jewelry teacher. In 1957 she became the commercial art teacher, where she was expected to teach all the different alphabets. She said of that time, “That’s when I was learning. I would learn one alphabet at night and teach it the next day, which was heavy duty. I learned a lot very quickly and was practicing many hours a day.”

With teaching full time at Grant and two young children, life was full, but she still managed to earn her master’s degree from the University of Oregon by going to Eugene in the summertime and taking night classes at Portland State. 

When she was asked how she got started in calligraphy, Jaki said, “Russell and I were both sculptors when we were married. I really think it is wonderful to have two artists in the family, but I think it might be a mistake for them both to be in the same field. I decided to change; it was a very pragmatic thing. I started calligraphy for two major reasons: I wanted to find another field and I dearly loved Lloyd Reynolds. I thought the letter forms were wonderful.”

She said, “I thought I could teach myself. So, I got the book [Reynold’s book] and sat down and did everything wrong, but I worked hard at it. When I thought I was doing very, very well I went to the art museum to take a class from Lloyd, expecting him to be thrilled with my wonderful progress. Instead he looked at my work and said, “Don’t worry about it, it’s going to get better.” 

“I was able to study formally with Lloyd Reynolds for seven years. I always think of Lloyd more as a teacher than a calligrapher. He was not so interested in turning people into calligraphers. He wanted to turn people into human beings who understood each other. Lloyd was trying to wake people up to their own potentials, to the fact that calligraphy was a way to discover what you could do and to help you understand about art. I continued to study with him unofficially. I could stop in and see him after my night class. And my learning was continuous.”

Jaki began teaching calligraphy classes at PCC 1967 and ended up teaching there for 26 years at all four campuses. In 1968 Jaki was one of the first members of the Western American Branch of the Society for Italic Handwriting, which has become today’s Portland Society for Calligraphy.  She was known for curating many exhibits by Portalnd Calligraphers and taught weekend workshops around the country. Her students appreciated her charismatic teaching, which included relaxation techniques with breath, posture and yoga.

In 1975, at the insistence of her students, Jaki published Written Letters, which illustrates 33 different alphabets and provides detailed instructions for writing each letter. Written Letters has become a classic calligraphy text used by countless teachers and students across the world. 

Jaki founded the popular Menucha calligraphy retreat in 1968, at the suggestion of one of her students. She recalled, “The environment in which I found myself teaching at that time was so hectic. There was so much noise impinging upon the calligraphy space that I was beside myself trying to talk while our neighbors were hammering frames for canvas to paint on, and my students could not concentrate. One of my students said, “Jaki, what we need is a retreat,” to get away from these distractions. She suggested we call Father Jim Parker for suggestions on how to organize a retreat. We called Menucha on his recommendation, and there had been a cancellation two weekends from that time. I can’t help but feel that we were supposed to go.”

After retiring from PCC, her art focus shifted to mixed media and Jaki worked with her husband on exhibiting several joint mixed-media projects across Oregon. She influenced and mentored many calligraphers over the years and she leaves a great legacy.