Calligraphy workshops in Wolverhampton.

Express & Star

Crafty Happenings in Wolverhampton holds a number of workshops with different tutors. We catch up with a Calligraphy workshop to find out more.

Transcript

00:00So we're here at Crafty Happenings, just off the Pen Road, Wolverhampton, and we're with Corrine Campbell, hello.

00:05Hello.

00:06So you're a calligraphy artist, specialist, what do we call it?

00:11Correct, I'm a calligrapher.

00:13Calligrapher, I knew there was a word somewhere, I was struggling to reach it.

00:16How long have you been involved in this world then, Corrine?

00:19So I actually came to learn calligraphy at Crafty Happenings, and that was about seven years ago.

00:27Yeah, so seven years in total, I worked it out the other day.

00:30And now you're doing your own workshops?

00:32That's right, yeah.

00:33Yeah, so where do you do your workshops? Is it just here, is it a few different places?

00:36Yeah, so this is the main place that I do workshops, and I've travelled in and around the West Midlands really doing it,

00:44so I've also done workshops at Paint and Create, which is Appley Farmway.

00:48Okay, yeah.

00:50And I've done some workshops over in Woodseves, I've been as far as Mulvern, so different venues really.

00:55And do you think that calligraphy, to me, looks even more beautiful now in the world of kind of screens and typed text?

01:06You know what I mean? It's even more precious and important, really, that skill. Would you agree?

01:11Yeah, definitely.

01:11And people that come to the workshops, I would say, one of the main bits of feedback that I get is, at the end, they sort of say,

01:18it was just so nice to just switch off and just do something that's mindful.

01:24You're not just sitting there on your phone scrolling or thinking about a million and one things that you've got to do.

01:29So, yeah, and I do think it is a bit of a lost art because we're rarely writing anymore, are we?

01:34Yeah, you know, it's often when we're just writing a birthday card with someone and we write it and look back at our own scribble

01:42and often think we wish we could write a bit neat.

01:45I remember my grandad had beautiful writing, you know, very flowing.

01:48So, I guess when people learn this skill, that's one of the things they can do with it.

01:53They can, you know, make these beautiful cards for people.

01:57Yes, they're making cards.

01:58Some people come along and then create things like wedding stationery or maybe gift tags or things around Christmas time,

02:05crackers and things like that.

02:06So, it's very versatile and everybody likes to see their name written in pre-calligraphy as well.

02:12So, is the pressure on you?

02:14Because your family know you're a calligrapher, when you have got 40 Christmas cards to write

02:20and you just want to get them done so you can, you know, get home with your Christmas shopping,

02:25is there that pressure where you're thinking, oh, everyone's expected a full calligraphy card?

02:29I do feel the pressure when I'm creating, if I'm giving somebody a greeting card and I just think,

02:33oh, I'll go and go to the shop and choose something really beautiful.

02:36Yeah.

02:37And then if I give it to someone, I think, are they thinking, why hasn't she made this herself?

02:41Yeah.

02:42So, yeah, there is that little bit of added pressure.

02:44Yeah.

02:45And so, is it, how easy is it to pick up, you know, can people come to one session and start getting a grip of it?

02:52Or does it take a few sessions?

02:54Yeah.

02:54So, the main one that is the most popular is the Modern Calligraphy for Beginners.

02:59And really, you get everything that you need in that workshop to take home, including the kit.

03:05And that really gives you everything that you would need to then go on and sort of delve into it yourself.

03:10That's how I started.

03:12So, a lot of it you can sort of self-teach once you've got those basic skills.

03:17Yeah.

03:17And there's a beautiful one just here.

03:20And it's like two tones of colour there.

03:22So, how's that come about then?

03:24Yeah.

03:24So, with this one, this is just using some watercolours.

03:28You can get like liquid watercolours and they blend into one another.

03:31So, you can pop them onto the back of a nib.

03:34Yeah.

03:34And then they'll just blend into one another.

03:36And then if you want a little bit more of the next colour, like a yellow into a pink, you just pop it on.

03:41And then it creates that nice sort of blended like marble effect.

03:44Fantastic.

03:45Well, we might just get you giving us a little demo of some of your work.

03:48But, yeah, check out Crafty Happenings.

03:51And have you got a kind of online presence, Facebook?

03:54Yeah.

03:54So, you can find me on Instagram, which is lovelyinletters, all one word.

03:58Or, if you go onto Facebook, then it's lovelyinletters with spaces in between.

04:03Great stuff.

04:03Thank you, Corrine.

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