The launch of Farnham Craft Town 2025 marks five years since Farnham achieved World Craft Town status. The day-long event celebrates the ecosystem of craft within the town and region and takes its theme from the Crafts Study Centre exhibition Fluidity and Inscription which focusses on lettering and mark-making.
As part of the event the Crafts Study Centre has organised demonstrations by the calligrapher Mary Noble and letter-cutter and stone carver Matt Loughlin, and will host a discussion between calligrapher and author of The Golden Thread: The Story of Writing Ewan Clayton and Rosalind Wyatt, a multi-disciplinary visual artist whose practice is rooted in the art of writing.
Alongside the CSC programme there will be family friendly drop-in workshops, have-a-go sessions, craft stalls, demonstrations, food and music. Organised by the Farnham Craft Town partnership, including Farnham Town Council and Farnham Maltings. FULL DETAILS HERE.
In an increasingly digital age and with most people equipped with smartphones, communication feels easy. This event, alongside the exhibition, tells a different story: craftspeople devoted to exploring the affordances and expressive possibilities of writing and mark-making.
This event is supported by the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and the Irene Wellington Educational Trust.
Part of Farnham Craft Month
Full CSC programme
10-12.30: Mary Noble Calligrapher. Drop-in
Watch Mary Noble demonstrate calligraphy techniques and see examples of her work. Noble is Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and of the Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society, author of several how-to calligraphy books, and an experienced calligraphy teacher. https://www.marynoble.co.uk/
12.30-2pm: Ewan Clayton in conversation with Rosalind Wyatt.
Join us for a conversation between one of the best-known calligraphers in the UK and Professor in Design at the University of Sunderland, Ewan Clayton, and Rosalind Wyatt an artist who originally trained in calligraphy, but has moved on to explore lettering and writing in multiple contexts from embroidery, film, design and fashion. The conversation will touch on writing across different materials, how material shapes communication, the mobilisation of the body when writing, and the role of imagination in mark making.
https://www.rosalindwyatt.com/, https://www.ewanclayton.co.uk/
2-4.30pm: Matthew Loughlin. Drop-in.
Matthew Loughlin is one of the emerging talents within the field of letter cutting and stone carving. He will be demonstrating these traditional skills on a standing easel and will bring some examples of work. Loughlin was trained as an apprentice for several years before setting up his practice the Memorial Workshop. He recently collaborated with the Crafts Study Centre on a piece exhibited as part of Open. https://memorialworkshop.com/
There is ample free parking and a minibus service will run throughout the day from Farnham station (55 minutes from London Waterloo).
Images courtesy of Mary Noble, Matt Loughlin and Rosalind Wyatt.
