I found myself wondering if calligraphy is incompatible with maths the other week. As a calligrapher, I'm not often required to do sums, and most times I can quietly sit at home with a calculator or a spreadsheet to add up anything I need to. (Or, worst case scenario: to subtract.*) The one time I need maths is at my modern calligraphy workshops, when I'm the main one doing all the talking in front of a group of 6 - 20 people. 

So I told everyone at my last workshop that I'd been teaching calligraphy for 20 years, since 2014. It was right at the beginning: possibly the first thing I said. And about two hours later, I realised I'd said that. I may have been saying it for a year or so. 

Im the idiot in the middle - teaching calligraphy

I'm the fool in the middle, hopefully not quoting dates.

I've actually been a calligrapher since 2005 (nearly 20 years). I taught my first workshop at Kirstie Allsopp's Handmade Fair at Hampton Court in 2014 (oops: that's 10 years ago). And the last time I did maths was many, many years ago at GCSE (because even then, I could do words - albeit in French and German - and not numbers.)

Somewhere in my mind, there's a great big line, the kind you might draw with an XXL Posca marker, that separates my ability with words from my complete inability with numbers. 

But it must just be me. One of my favourite calligraphy books (by one of my favourite calligraphers) is a fascinating deep dive into the geometry behind the swoops and swirls of Copperplate lettering. Calligraphy is literally intertwined with maths and patterns in the most beautiful way. It's something I manage instinctively, and I wish I could understand more. 

And that's the very best thing about calligraphy: you are always, always learning. I learn as much from my students in class as they do from me. (An example is Shelly's insights into left-handed lettering, which I will be incorporating into my modern calligraphy worksheets very soon.)

And speaking of learning, I have some calligraphy workshops coming up very soon! Here are some dates for your diaries:

Come and learn with me! All of my workshops are for absolute beginners: we start with basic shapes to understand how a pointed calligraphy nib works, and go on to play with swirls and flourishes and colours and quotes! 

*I realised this isn't the worst case scenario: that is when I have to work out a percentage. But I found out Google will do that if I get stuck, and I never need it in public!