Caring for Cambodia 2020

Full disclosure: I am a self-taught Khmer calligrapher. With my knowledge of western calligraphy, I studied of Khmer writing styles on my own. Thus, I created my own style and to also learn traditional Khmer calligraphy using Western tools.

A quick backstory of my life: I am a refugee. My family immigrated to the US when I was 2 years old with my family. We grew up in a predominantly Khmer community where I went to a bilingual school system until the 3rd grade. It was deemed that a second language would keep me behind my peers. So my parents agreed (reluctantly) to take me out so that I could excel in English.

In fact, I graduated top of my class every year since then, including top 20 in a high school class of 900. I also graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Studio Arts and Communications (3 credits shy of a French minor).

Society of Scribes NYC asked if I would be interested to share any of my Khmer writing. Though I can read Khmer, I had very little formal training. It took all my knowledge on how to decipher calligraphy (such as pen angle, writing slant, speed, rhythm) to create a pattern for Khmer letters. Thus, a new passion project started without me actively thinking about. Every April, to commemorate the fall of Phnom Penh and of course, Khmer New Years, I would post only Khmer artwork I’ve done. I found a few books and some old old books when I was a first grader to relearn the writing.

In doing so, I attracted the attention of a non-profit called Caring for Cambodia. They wanted to do a series of quotes based on Khmer proverb. It would be Khmer and English calligraphy to attract the Cambodian community both in the homeland but also in the US. I was so excited because I knew some proverb but I never knew how to spell them. The project allowed me to rediscover my heritage and also combine my Western upbringing. Here are a few of the pieces I did for them.