Biography

Awarded an MBE for services to heritage crafts and calligraphyphoto

Positions held

 

  • Calligraphy TodayWrote the Crafts National Occupation Standards with the Qualifications Officer for the Creative and Cultural Skills Sector Council
  • Previously final judge and Consultant for the National Schools’ Handwriting Competition
  • Represented Heritage Crafts on the Craft Industry Board
  • Represented Heritage Crafts on the Advisory Committee for the Craft Skills Awards, and one of the short-list judges
  • Represented Heritage Crafts on the Creative and Cultural Skills Sector Advisory Committee on Craft which developed the Craft Blueprint
  • Success Story Case Study on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website Craftworks
  • Honoured Fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society
  • Former Chair of CLAS, and Chair of the CLAS Academic Standards Board for 15 years during which time many of the educational initiatives were developed and improved

Exhibitions

  • Filmed for the British Library’s ‘Gold’ exhibition.
  • Filmed for six short clips on how mediæval manuscripts were made for the British Library’s Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms exhibition and also for their Polonsky Project
  • Calligraphy Today exhibitionCo-curator of ‘Calligraphy Today’, the exhibition for the Collection of Contemporary Calligraphy and Lettering at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The exhibition was extended twice due to popular demand. Wrote the introduction to the catalogue and developed the associated education programme
  • Genius of IlluminationProvided the tools and materials and wrote the captions for the ‘How Manuscripts were Made’ introductory section of the ‘Genius of Illumination’ exhibition at the British Library
  • One of only three living scribes to have their work exhibited in the opening exhibition at the British Library at St Pancras
  • Exhibited calligraphic artworks widely in the UK and abroad in many juried exhibitions

Media – tv, film, radio and press

  • The Art that Made Us (two episodes)
  • Illumination: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings (BBC) (Watch here, almost at the beginning)
  • Treasures of the Anglo-Saxons (BBC)
  • The Beauty of Books (BBC)
  • Great Britons (BBC)
  • Simon Schama History of Britain (BBC)
  • Pandemonium (film)
  • Numerous instances of being filmed as ‘the hand’, writing documents, signing documents, ‘being’ poets or historical figures, drawing maps etcBook of Hours pages
  • Produced the Book of Hours for the BBC Wolf Hall series
  • Taught the actor Mark Rylance how to cut and use a quill as Thomas
    Cromwell in the BBC tv Series of Wolf Hall
  • Taught the actor Tom Bateman how to cut and use a quill as William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (West End production)
  • Interviewed for BBC Radio 4 Primary Colours in association with the National Gallery’s Making Colour exhibition
  • National Vellum Patrica Lovett from Sevenoaks works with Vellum,she is leading a national campaign to keep it used as the official material for acts of Parliment. TWPL20160126A-007_C.JPG

    National Vellum
    Patrica Lovett from Sevenoaks works with vellum;,she is leading a national campaign to keep it used as the official material for acts of Parliament.
    TWPL20160126A-007_C.JPG

    Led the successful campaign to persuade Parliament to continue to print Acts of Parliament on vellum.Interviewed on PM (BBC Radio 4), BBC World Service, BBC Radio 2, BBC Daily Politics, and Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show. Featured in Sevenoaks Chronicle: (However, the decision taken by the House of Commons was overturned by a majority of three in the Administration Committee, click here for more information)

  • Interviewed on BBC1’s Countryfile (September 2017) to put the case for Endangered Heritage Crafts and the Heritage Crafts Association/Radcliffe Red List of Endangered Crafts

Calligraphy tools and materials

  • calligraphy padDeveloped, designed the covers and wrote the introductory calligraphy guides in the Calligraphy Layout Pad and Calligraphy Cartridge Pad for Roberson and Manuscript
  • GouacheDeveloped and selected the paints and wrote the introductory leaflet for Schmincke Calligraphy Gouache, and also for the newly launched set 2018
  • Gilding setDeveloped and wrote the guide to the Introductory Gilding Set for L Cornelissen and Son
  • Designed Dutching tools for curing quills previously sold at Cornelissen
  • Wrote the Introduction to Calligraphy booklet for Manuscript Pens
  • Wrote the text, introduction to calligraphy, exemplar letters and provided the artwork for the ‘About Calligraphy‘ pages on the Manuscript Pens Website
  • Have advised Osmiroid/Berol, the Parker Pen company and Manuscript Pens on their tools and materials

Major commissions

  • The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children (Books of Ben Jonson's poemRemembrance) see image below:
  • Dulwich Picture Gallery (Book of Honour)
  • The British Library
  • Parker Pens
  • The BAFTAs
  • HSBC Bank
  • Zurich
  • Waterman pens
  • Sky TV
  • The Courtauld Institute
  • The Royal Artillery Company
  • Brentwood Borough Council
  • Damien Hirst ‘Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable’
  • The Woodland Trust Charter for Trees, Woods and People
  • Many private individuals, companies and businesses

Workshops and lectures

 

 

 

 

  • Teaches at the annual University of London Palaeography Week (and designed the flyer for many years)IMG_0902
  • Teaches and lectures all over the world on many different subjects and topics related to calligraphy and manuscripts
  • Lectures to The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS), art and historical interest groups in the UK and abroad