As part of Make your Mark, the opening event of Farnham Craft Month 2025, on Saturday 4th October at Frensham Heights School, the Crafts Study Centre hosted a discussion between the calligrapher Ewan Clayton and visual artist Rosalind Wyatt. For those that were unable to join us for their fascinating, rich discussion, we are delighted to be able to share the audio recording below.

The conversation started with Ewan and Rosalind both admitting their how they struggled with handwriting as they were growing up, and then how through their education they returned to the art of writing. Rosalind described her journey from calligraphy training to cloth, Ewan gave an account of how his interest in calligraphy has led to him working at a variety of places, from Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Centre in California to research trips and teaching in Japan. The conversation touched on a number of themes relating to calligraphy and the art of lettering, particularly the transmission of lettering through different materials, thoughts on legibility and abstraction and how investment in writing by hand, whether with a needle or a pen, compels maker and viewer to slow down.

Ewan Clayton – the nation’s foremost calligrapher and author of The Golden Thread: The Story of Writing (2013). He has also designed the Royal Cypher for the Queen Consort and was a key adviser to the British Library’s exhibition Writing: Making your Mark (2019). https://www.ewanclayton.co.uk/about

Rosalind Wyatt – visual artist with a multi-disciplinary practice that has its roots in the art of the hand. Wyatt has developed an embroidery practice ‘writing with a needle’ that involves translating other peoples’ handwriting into stitch. She has exhibited at the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, The New Craftsman in London, and is engaged in an ongoing project ‘The Stitch Lives of London’ – a line of garments embroidered in the words of the people who wore them. https://www.rosalindwyatt.com/

Chaired by Director of the Crafts Study Centre, Stephen Knott

This event was supported by the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and the Irene Wellington Educational Trust. Part of Farnham Craft Month and in conjunction with the exhibition Fluidity and Inscription.

Thank you to the Farnham Craft Town partnership, particularly Farnham Town Council and Farnham Maltings for hosting the event. Thank you to Bassam Ahmed and his team for recording the event.

The discussion was part of Make your Mark: The Opening of Farnham Craft Month, a wider celebration of lettering and the craft ecosystem of Farnham. The day included workshops, have-a-go sessions, craft stalls, food, drink and music and two demonstrations also organised by the Crafts Study Centre with the support of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and the Irene Wellington Educational Trust. These were by the calligrapher Mary Noble, and lettercarver Matt Loughlin. See below for some images of the event.

The Farnham Herald also posted a video of Mary in action during her demonstration.