You are invited to join us for our Christmas Calligraphy workshop with Chris Parreno, and create something special just in time for Advent! Tickets are £18 (£12 for students) and there are limited spaces - bookings open soon. Come and get creative together! Chris is a calligrapher and educator based in London. She specialises in modern calligraphy, chalkboard lettering, and taking up more hobbies than she has time for. Her work can be found at @thegirlandtheink on Instagram.
We asked Chris about her work and the link between creativity and faith.
Why did you get into calligraphy?
I took it up as a stress-relief hobby at a difficult time in my life - calligraphy can be a very mindful and soothing exercise - yes, even when making mistakes, believe it or not. Also, one of my best friends was getting married around that time, and I wanted to help her out with decorations and table signs. Then some kind person offered to pay me to write something for a present, and it just snowballed from there. So when people ask me how it became a business, I say (honestly) it was kind of by accident!
What's your favourite thing about it?
Personally, I love how calligraphy is a celebration of human connection: all my calligraphy commissions have been to add a personal touch to a special milestone of some sort, like weddings, anniversaries, commemorative poems or messages, and little gift tags. You could have any of these machine-printed, but the fact that so many people want to have that personalised, unique touch to honour another person or occasion is just such a lovely warm human thing.
What's a link between the art of calligraphy and faith, for you?
In the participation of any creative act, I think there's a fundamental participation in God's own creativity: there is a deep delight simply in bringing something into being. Beautifully handwritten or illustrated text has a long tradition in all cultures, as it does in Christianity - you can imagine what a contemplative exercise it must have been for monks in the 9th century, writing and embellishing manuscripts which are both a work of art and of prayer (though making a mistake or creating an accidental inkblot must have been quite the setback!). For me, the focus that calligraphy takes to shape letters well and beautifully can tap into that aspect of contemplative prayer.
