Calligraphy collaborations with fellow creatives

I’ve lent my calligraphy skills to special projects with two fellow artists recently.

The first was for paper artist Yvette Ja, with whom I’ve collaborated before as part of the Inspired by Lindisfarne project.

Yvette runs online workshops and for the launch of her autumn makes, she needed some recipe cards written out for a photoshoot.

I used Dr PH Martin’s Pen White to add the ingredients and method to the pre-printed kraft cards for two recipes and several tabs for the recipe box images.

The second was for printmaker Kate Miller, who had been commissioned to create a special linocut print for a local businessman.

The Ex Libris, or bookplate, featuring nods to his working life, was to be placed at the front of a vintage atlas that was being presented to him as a retirement gift.

Kate found me with days to spare before the handover, to add a handwritten dedication.

After a bit of trial and error and a lot of maths to work out the best size for the calligraphy, I ended up using the smallest broad-edged nib I own.

The x-height was just 2mm and the textured paper meant I had to write even slower than usual (and wipe the nib after every stroke) but the result was worth it.

Exceeding client expectations

The client wrote to us afterwards, saying: “Thank you again for your assistance with this project.

“Sir David was delighted with the presentation and the thought that went behind it. 

“I had a vision for what I was trying to achieve, but you absolutely exceeded my expectations and also delivered in very short order.

“I’m really very grateful to you.”

Kate has also written a blog about the project, which you can read here.