The view from my window...

… which means that we're no longer living in the caravan!! That caravan & "the garden shed" next to it have served us well for the last 8 years. I've loved travelling, but the time has come to settle. The most gorgeous home presented itself to us, which we viewed one week 

& moved in the next!

On my wish list were trees & a stable door, Steve's included a shed… we couldn't have found somewhere more perfect at the moment, I don't think! 

Now all I have to do is organise myself a studio in the spare room. I'm really looking forward to being able to leave work out & not have to pack everything away each time I use it!

Paper Passion

I'm not sure when I first loved paper.... i think i've always liked nice notebooks & journals... but as a calligrapher, 'good' paper took on a whole new meaning. To begin with, probably like most people i thought the marbled effect paper from most stationers was pretty posh... but very soon the 'feel' of the paper becomes part of the experience. Smooth 'calligraphy papers' just don't do it for me, and I don't know many calligraphers that go beyond a few night classes who stick to them.

I took over selling paper when someone else at a class stopped & up to that point hadn't experienced any more than Ingres ( for pastels) or Saunders Waterford (for watercolours). Eventually i had so much paper that i ended up opening a shop, but that is another story! At some point i discovered Khadi and I distinctly remember the first order i got from them (http://khadi.com/) Not having a clue what any of their paper apart from basic cotton rag was actually like, i ordered a few sheets of everything. (I had just discovered credit cards, so I could!) 

After the stomach churning moment of realising how much it cost, the experience of opening the parcel a few days later was the most exciting, sensual, pleasurable experience I think I've ever had. Honestly. It was a first. But that excitement & pleasure of receiving new unknown paper has never gone away. Even now, going through a pile of paper or a box of paper scraps can send me into a rapturous daze.... dreamily stroking and muttering 'precious...' under my breath

The shop went about 7 years ago & i was able to keep some things in a friends studio... eventually she needed her space back & i brought everything with me in the caravan. Oops. How much 'stuff'? I managed to dispose of so much... trash, charity shops, friends & strangers all benefitted, but i still hung onto the paper.... precious.... 

I cut it down and keep it under the bed, lifting it all out every time i want some to get my fix. Some of the stuff i have has been discontinued years ago. I'd often buy up the last stocks of papers i knew that I or my students, or other calligraphers would love. Actually i wasn't that bothered about other people, they were my excuse, it was for me really!!

I have realised that i can't keep it there for ever... it is a sacrilege for it not to be used, kept like some zoo animal to be drooled over occasionally (i promise i haven't actually drooled, just salivated a little... ok, a lot) I suppose to many, this may seem like behaviour fit only for an institution, and that the men in white coats should be notified. 

I finally started listing some paper packs on etsy, in my suziscribbles shop > suziscribbles.etsy.com You would not believe how many times I changed my mind about this... i took the photos & procrastinated... i put a couple of packs on & waited.... i put a few more on and sold a couple.... and didn't know whether to be pleased or not. How posessive am I? I never get jealous of people. I reasoned with myself that i can always buy more, when i have space... & sold a couple more. I started to let them go with a bit more grace & listed a few more.

I'm looking at these pictures now and thinking "OMG.. I can't get any more of some of that stuff!!" But tough!!! I haven't used it all up in 10 years so someone else can have the chance!

I'm also starting to think that if i sell most of my current stocks, i could maybe buy a bit more to sell. I mean, the paper i need to use most often has already run out & I really NEED to get some. There's none available locally, i've scoured the shops & internet.... what i have found means paying extortionate prices....  it would make sense to get a wholesale batch... wouldn't it?!

There is a link to my suziscribbles etsy shop in this blog side bar, and there is a section for 'paper' on the right in the shop.... but the easy way is to click just <here>  That will take you straight to the precious paper page!

My Story

The long version for those who want to know... i'll do a short one for everyone else soon!

My calligraphic journey began nearly 20 years ago (gasps, noooo it can't be that long) I started a night class taught by Sue over at The Creative Spirit when my daughter was a baby. I was hooked from the start, and soon started attending workshops all over England with Sue... wherever we thought we could get the best tuition. Whereas many enjoy calligraphy purely as a hobby, I knew that I eventually wanted to take it further.

I studied with many 'names' on the calligraphy circuit, but the following made the biggest impression:
Summer schools with Michael Clark, Ann Hechle, Jilly Hazeldine, Ewan Clayton &  Katrina Pieper.
SSI Northern Advanced Training scheme with Richard Middleton & Sue Hufton.
And Peter Thornton for workshops & summer schools.... who I thank so much. He taught me more than he will ever know.

My biggest learning curve was when I started teaching calligraphy... having to analyse & explain how & what I was doing. Oh, those first classes must have been so bad.... but people kept coming back; a fair few of my earliest students were still coming until I stopped the classes 5 or 6 years later. I had a spell of teaching teenagers, and I still teach occasional workshops for calligraphy groups.

As far as qualifications go, I passed the City & Guilds Adult Education Teaching Certificate, gained the Intermediate Certificate in Calligraphy from CLAS (Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society) and became a CLAS Accredited Tutor.

more to follow soon!!!