Kay Amert
It’s rare when you meet someone who makes a lasting impression on your life, someone who has such significance that they shape you permanently. For me, that person was my typography teacher, the late great Kay Amert. I remember walking into her publication design class at the University of Iowa, meeting her, then knowing I had finally found my path. When I think of her now, I remember her cigarette breaks mid-class, the jade ring she wore on her index finger, the affectation in her voice that made me listen to every word she spoke, and I will always remember her advice. I once asked Kay to explain why I loved the concept of chance so much. She looked at me and without hesitation said: “Kristen, imagine holding crystals in your hand. Any one of them you choose is extraordinary.”
She left this world a few years ago with her last work in progress, The Scythe and the Rabbit. Many thanks to Robert Bringhurst for bringing it to fruition and allowing her memory to become legacy.
Photographers unknown.