Hey y’all and welcome to meet my friend Monday ;)! One thing I would like to do here is introduce you to a some of my awesome calligrabuddies! I am so lucky to be a part of such a wonderful community of people and would be honored to introduce you to them!
Today, I want you to meet my friend Bev. She has been a calligrafriend of mine from the beginning of my calligraphy journey! She unfortunately lost her instagram account a few weeks ago, and has now been working on trying to rebuild a new account. So if y’all are on the gram, go give her a follow.
Tell me a little bit about you!
Hi! My name is Bev and I live with my husband, Brian, in a northeastern U.K. village not far from Newcastle upon Tyne. The beautiful Northumberland coast and countryside, which is filled with amazing castles, is right on my doorstep! Scotland and the Lake District are nearby as well. Brian and I have two children, who have both flown the nest now, but are still close by.
My first career involved working as a corporate communications manager for HR projects. I had a great time with the job and enjoyed the travel, but was eventually happy to move on. Currently, I work in an art gallery- or I did before COVID struck. I’m hoping to get started back in May.
A fun fact about me: I’ve always loved to sing and will sing along to anything! When I was at school, I was in the school choir, the church choir and I actually made it into the chorus of the opera Carmen! I totally loved all this– but the thing is, I can’t sing a note or hold a tune! It was such fun though, and I got away with it for years! 🙂
How did you get into calligraphy?
Funnily enough, during my final art exams at senior school, we had to learn gothic calligraphy with the squared-off nib. I loved learning this, but then I didn’t use it again until a couple of years ago. We were putting classes on at the gallery for foundation and uncial so I signed up and loved it. Last Christmas, my husband thought he was doing me a great favour in getting me a calligraphy book– only, it was all about Modern Calligraphy, which I’d actually never heard of! And the rest as they say is history!!
What are your favorite calligraphy tools?
Now my one true love is paper, pens and handmade paints. I find paper quite expensive here in the U.K., as you do need different papers for different things– for example, paper that blends with Karin markers may not work with Tombows. Also, some watercolour paper holds paints much better than others. There has been so much trial and error in the learning process. I also love pointed pen and was so excited to receive a Tom’s Studio oblique pen for Christmas!
What is your favorite thing about the calligraphy community?
So the first point is the people. I’ve made such great friends with men and women right across the globe. It’s opened up the opportunity to view situations from other peoples’ perspective and to understand how everyday lives can be impacted. We are not living in a bubble. We owe to ourselves to understand and empathize with other peoples situations. This whole experience has really opened up the conversation in this group and for that I’m grateful.
The second point is the kindness and support I have found within this community. Some of you may be aware that a few weeks ago I lost access to my Instagram account, which had just hit over 1000 followers. After a few days feeling totally miserable and depressed, I decided that there was no option but to start over– which I did less than five weeks ago. I am currently at just over 700 followers, and it isn’t the number so much as the people. Trying to reconnect with past friends and connect with new creatives was only possible through the kindness shown to me by so many who put out messages of support and using their stories to raise awareness. I’ve found the whole experience extremely humbling and I’m proud to be part of such a group. I can only say thank you to the many friends out there who went above and beyond.
Thank you so much Bev!
I’ve so much enjoy getting to know Bev! She has such a kind spirit 🙂 Don’t forget to check her out on instagram at @can_do_calligraphy.
So that’s a wrap! Y’all tell me in the comments below what other topics you would like to see here! 🙂
See you soon!
Michelle
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