Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign Heidi Cullip, producer of the Life of Letters podcast. And I'm here with your host, Laura Edrilin in this trailer for the Life of Letters. I wanted to quickly interview Laura not only so you can get to know her a little bit better, but also so you can hear firsthand how Laura ended up on her calligraphy journey and why she's so keen to speak to others in this space. So. Hi, Laura.
[00:00:28] Speaker B: Hi, Heidi.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: Hi. So you and I met when I attended one of your calligraphy workshops a few years ago.
Can you tell us how you got into calligraphy and how it came about that you and I were in a room together, you teaching me how to write letters?
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Yes, and I remember it fondly. I didn't just immediately start doing bottomless brush branches with calligraphy, although nor had I really dreamt about it. But I was so glad to be doing was in 2017, I actually found calligraphy. It was a workshop that was suggested to me by a friend who was very sympathetic and saw that I was really struggling with my mental health. I'd been signed off work.
I was in a very kind of low state of anxiety and stress. And something that she identified was this sort of pendulum swing that I'd been caught in. I had two little boys at the time.
There were lots of spiraling news stories and then I would be thrown back into work where I was working long 16 hour days. So life had gotten on top of me and she was quite aware that there was a little bit missing. I was quite creative person, sort of just generally and I wasn't really doing anything creative or anything for myself. So suggested these calligraphy workshops which I did end up going along to. And when I learnt some of the techniques for pointed nib and ink, I found it very interesting that it was all about slowing down.
It gave me this little pocket of time each evening to just practice. I took the kit home. It was something that became a bit of a sanctuary for me to just, well, pause in my day, digest everything, maybe process a little bit. But it also meant that I wasn't really overthinking everything and getting into the sort of ruminating cycles, but it became something more. So it became something that was part of my wellbeing toolkit. And that's something that I'm really passionate about sharing. And so over the years I got into advocating well, being in the workplace and mental health awareness. But also alongside that I was actually practicing every evening.
And it was a couple of years later where people started to see that I was doing this probably a bit better than when I first started out. I hope so. Anyway, it. There were little sort of inquiries coming in, so just from friends and families about sort of, we're getting married. We'd love to have you do the calligraphy, or we've got a friend's birthday or baby shower or this coming up. And could you write somebody's name? And so little projects. And then within a few years, I realized that I really wanted to share the benefits that I'd reaped in terms of the slowing down, deepening my breathing, or the mindfulness elements that kind of came from just practicing calligraphy, became something that I really wanted to teach other people.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: And I wasn't going to mention the bottomless prosecco, but that was happening at the same time as the calligraphy. But actually, it was. It was great for me to just come in and feel really at home and feel really comfortable in a space where you were so welcoming. And at the time, I wanted a bit of space and time as well to do something a bit more creative because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed at. Which is why I came along to the kind of Saturday session.
And whilst I do not practice anywhere near as much as I should, shame on me. When I do, it's just straight away, as soon as the pen's in my hand, I just. All my worries kind of go away and I'm focusing on the piece of paper and it's just. It's just wonderful. So can you outline a bit more about what it is that you love about calligraphy and what it's given you in the last few years?
[00:04:35] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely a sense of a deeper understanding of myself. I mean, you know, that's a big thing to say, but it really makes you stop and pause. And in terms of the kind of critical side that will always come through in some sort of creative activities, it's really easy to not do anything creative because you're worried about how it looks and how it's going to be judged and who really cares about it and does anyone really want this? So I think in terms of a kind of creative confidence boost, just the beginning to practice it and put it out there and see how it looks and how you talk to yourself as well. So that kind of critical voice in your head and maybe approaching things with a little bit more kindness has definitely been a huge thing for me. And that's something that I really talk about in workshops is this idea that you can be curious rather than critical. You can still take forward lots of learnings from Everything you do.
So I think on a kind of personal growth level, it's given me a lot of that. But actually, the mindfulness benefits. Again, even when I feel like I haven't got time to do calligraphy because of the practice of knowing how to respond in certain moments and feeling overwhelmed can come up so easily. I think there are these lovely tools that calligraphy has given me to practice. I think that just breathing, slowing down, being a bit kinder to ourselves.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: What are you hoping to get out of this podcast and speaking to other guests? What do you think you're going to hear, or what will you like to hear?
[00:06:31] Speaker B: So I think a big part of my journey with calligraphy is the constant knowledge. And I know I'm not the only one that I haven't come from a traditional training background. It's a bit like being a musician without the kind of classical training and feeling like a total interloper that I've just sort of stumbled across something and thought I'd give it a go.
So there's a little part of me that is actually fascinated how other people have got into calligraphy, how people have gone through traditional routes, how perhaps they've come through their own practice organically and built businesses out of it, or perhaps they don't do it as a business. It is just a passion of theirs. I also think I'm very aware of how big the world of lettering, signwriting, penmanship, handwriting. You know, there's all these little pockets around the world of people doing things related to letters, whether it is designing, analyzing, deciphering, and I think it's fascinating, but I know very little about it, and I would love to know a little bit more. I've got an archaeological degree, which I've done absolutely nothing with, so I think there's this little itch that I want to scratch in terms of digging into the history of where have all these letters come from? Why are we fascinated by designing them and fonts and typography? And also, who are those people who were writing them? Who were those people who started to create the tools for us to write them? How has it evolved over time? And also, what's the future going to hold for all of these different art forms, even, you know, the studies around them, and how a new generation of people can continue to do that, whether it's by hand or digitally or a combination of both?
[00:08:31] Speaker A: There you have it. That's super exciting. That's absolutely. That's what the podcast is all about. And we will go on that journey together. There's Laura's Journey into Calligraphy and into the Life of Letters Podcast. So do you want to say a little bit more, Laura, about when the podcast launches?
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Yes. Series 1 it is the 4th of March, so we are going to go out with a bang. It is going to be all six episodes. We've got some incredible guests and we're already lining up a heap more for season two, three, possibly even four. It's ramping up. What's so exciting is that people, people are happy to talk to me and answer all my awkward questions. But yeah, it's going to be lovely. So enjoy all six episodes, dip into them as you want to, and come on the journey with us.
[00:09:21] Speaker A: Sounds great.
Thank you, Laura.
[00:09:24] Speaker B: Thanks, Heidi.
[00:09:28] Speaker C: That's it for this episode of the Life of Letters. Thank you so much for listening and joining me on this exploration of the written word. Thank you to my producer Heidi Cullip for ensuring this podcast reached your ears. And finally, to all the guests featured in this series. Go check them out.
I'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with a fellow lettering enthusiast. It really helps others discover the podcast. You can also connect with me on Instagram at the Life of letterspodcast to continue the conversation, share your own lettering journey, or suggest topics you'd love to.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: Hear about in future episodes.
[00:10:05] Speaker C: To discover more about my calligraphy workshops and more, visit lauralettaslife.com or say hi on Instagram at Laura Letters Life. Look out for the next episode and until next time, keep creating, keep learning, and keep writing one letter at a time.
