At age 59, Rona Conti sold her car, rented an apartment in Japan, and moved abroad in search of a calligraphy instructor — all without knowing a word of Japanese.
“I said, ‘Ok, it’s my time,’” Conti recalled.
Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Conti moved to Belmont in 1966.
Over the course of 40 years, she built a career as a contemporary artist, creating and exhibiting abstract paintings that played with color.
By 1999, the youngest of Conti’s two children had left for college, and the professional artist had the opportunity to study calligraphy abroad for the first time.
It was a dream Conti had been carrying with her since first seeing Japanese calligraphy while studying Painting and Ceramics at Antioch College in Yellow Spring, Ohio.
The Search
The art of Japanese calligraphy, or “shodo,” grew out of the introduction of Chinese calligraphy to Japan during the 6th century. Today, it is a revered art form that integrates Chinese characters (kanji) and Japanese characters. Shodo is taught throughout Japanese elementary schools and in some specialized schools. Japanese calligraphy is also closely linked to Zen Buddhism and practiced by many Buddhist monks.
“I didn’t know how I was going to find a teacher, but I got a job teaching English for one year, and I asked every student, ‘Do you know someone who teaches calligraphy?’” Conti said. “Everyone said no for a long time, and then I had this one wonderful private student with whom I really made a connection.”
The student connected Conti with her first teacher, Mieko Kobayashi.
“I followed her work, and she told me I was talented,” Conti recalled. “About 10 years later, she told me that the woman who introduced us convinced her by saying, ‘Well, what can be lost? She only has four months left on her visa.’”
During that first year, Conti and Kobayashi communicated by taking turns forming the calligraphy characters.
By the time Conti returned to Japan for her second visit, she had studied some Japanese and could converse with her instructor.
“That year, I really studied. About halfway through, my teacher presented me with a booklet and said, ‘I have enrolled you in a school,’” she said.
For 22 years, Conti practiced calligraphy. During that time, she lived and studied in Japan for two full years, divided into visa-mandated three-month periods.
“It’s like anything else — the more you do, the more you can get out of it, receive it, and it makes you want to do better,” Conti said. “And you can always do better.”
The calligraphy process begins with making ink — rubbing an ink stick against an ink stone and water.
“During that process, my heartbeat slows down, my body relaxes, and it’s a great introduction to what I’m going to do,” she said.
Then, Conti makes 50 repetitions of the same calligraphy characters with swift strokes.
“There’s no going back; there’s no filling in,” she said. “You just do it in one go — you cannot stop.”
Finally, Conti reviews the 50 repetitions and critiques her own work, selecting the best pieces.
While in Belmont, Conti continues to improve her skills by sending her work to the Japanese Calligraphy Education Society for review.
Sharing the Gift
In 2023, Conti won first place at a competition in Japan, topping 200 calligraphers. Over the years, she has been recognized with numerous awards.
“When you read the resumes of calligraphers, it usually begins with so and so started calligraphy when she was five years old or three years old,” said Conti.
She said the judges didn’t know she was a foreigner because the seal she used to mark her prints was written in Japanese and Chinese.
“I went for the ceremony and I took my daughter and grandson, and there were about 40 people at the ceremony, and when the ceremony ended, all of these people came over to talk with me, except the three male judges, who marched out,” she said.
Conti said she believes the judges were upset about her winning. There is a belief among some that foreigners cannot do calligraphy well, she said.
Throughout her years in Japan, Conti visited temples where she wrote prayers in Japanese calligraphy and traveled to different regions in search of brushes and other materials.
She also collected calligraphy scrolls, ranging from very old to modern.
“I had quite a collection, and I had an idea to make a collage using my calligraphy and old scroll calligraphy,” said Conti.
Conti donated over 100 scrolls to Joanna Schmergel, who collects and sells artwork to raise money for the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program through its fundraising organization, Downsize for Diversity.
METCO is “a school integration program that enrolls Boston students in grades K-12 in participating suburban public schools to reduce racial isolation,” according to Downsize for Diversity’s website.
An Inspiration
“One of the amazing things about Rona is she doesn’t stop; she just transforms,” said Sarah Jones, Conti’s longtime family friend. “She’ll use that humor that she puts on all of her paintings to kind of make little changes or adaptations that, as far as I can tell, make the judges question their own rules.”
Jones said her friend expands upon the artform by bringing her own creativity to it, while also staying “completely within the rules.”
Jones, who grew up alongside Conti’s son, said Conti demonstrated to her that it was possible to build a life as a working artist.
“She’s just so sure of herself,” said Jones. “I think when she was growing up as an artist, [it was] mostly men being applauded in the art world in general.”
Conti said she brought her children to the studio when they were young so she could pursue her career while raising them.
“I put a desk in there, and they would draw, and then they would take a nap,” she said. “And I think, in a sense, when you know you have a limited amount of time, you work harder.”
Conti said life requires you to make decisions about which path to follow.
“It’s never too late to start whatever it is you want to do,” she said. “No matter how long you have dreamt of it.”
More information about Conti’s work can be found at ronaconti.com.