Creative Calligraphy celebrates seventh business birthday
Can you believe Creative Calligraphy is celebrating its seventh business birthday? And what a year the last one has been. I spent my sixth business birthday in lockdown, having cancelled 10 calligraphy workshops, two private classes, two talks/demos and a whole term of weekly classes. Several events I was due to take part in –…
Read MoreSpring Wellness Activity Pack launched at The Shipley Art Gallery
Autumn, Winter – and now Spring! A third seasonal activity pack – Spring Wellness – has been launched by The Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead to help people unlock their creative potential from the comfort of their own homes. Several north east artists have once again created activities inspired by the gallery’s collection and the…
Read MoreArabic calligraphy helps women explore culture and identity
An exhibition exploring Islamic art, women and creativity, has been launched at Arts Centre Washington. Srijoni – meaning (the) creative – is the culmination of a project involving women from ethnically diverse communities in Sunderland and South Tyneside. They worked alongside artists Padma Rao and Roohia Syed-Ahmed to explore the notion of culture, cultural entitlement…
Read MoreKeeping in touch during a global pandemic
How have you been keeping in touch with people over the last year? Phone calls? Video conferencing? E-mails? Letters? I’ve been putting pen to paper on a number of projects in the last 12 months, each one designed to spark joy via snail mail. It started with an envelope exchange via The European Pointed Pen…
Read MoreLindisfarne Gospels to go on display in the north east
Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums has announced that The Lindisfarne Gospels will go on display at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle in 2022. The most spectacular surviving manuscript from Anglo-Saxon England will arrive on loan from the British Library. There will be a supporting exhibition at neighbouring Newcastle City Library, with the aim…
Read MoreCalligrabuddies: Meet Joanne Taylor Calligraphy
This year, I want to keep up the good work I started last year developing my own calligraphy skills. It’s about the only resolution* I’ve made! So when the European Pointed Pen Collective (EPPC) gave members the opportunity to pair up with a calligrabuddy in 2021, I jumped at the chance – and was delighted…
Read MoreCreative Calligraphy: Review of the Year 2020
It’s fair to say that 2020 has been a year like no other. Covid-19 sent the world into a tailspin, with the UK Government imposing a national lockdown in March in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. Restrictions eased over the summer and schools returned as normal in September, but a second…
Read MoreWinter Wellness Art at The Shipley Art Gallery
The winter chill is setting in and cosy nights are upon us. The festive season is in full swing, but if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of getting everything ready after a strange year, The Shipley Art Gallery has just the thing. Five artists, including myself, have once again being brought…
Read MoreChristmas Calligraphy Gift Guide 2020
I’ve submitted my Christmas wish list to Santa (or in my case, the husband) and as you can imagine, there are a few calligraphy-related requests in there. While 2002 has been a strange year, to say the least, calligraphy businesses and suppliers have been pulling out all the stops to launch new products or tweak…
Read MoreBrushing up on my own calligraphy skills
During lockdown, I’ve been turning my business back into a hobby. I’ve learned two new calligraphy scripts in the last month – Italian Hand with Heather Held and Pointed Pen Uncial with Joy Daniels. Both were via Zoom and if it wasn’t for the fact that Covid-19 has forced a lot of calligraphy workshops online,…
Read More