Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Hi, it's Laura and Heidi. We are back for another series of the Life of Letters and we cannot wait. Series three is coming this September. If you haven't already heard them, Series one and two are already out, jam packed with lots of very exciting guests, so check those out. But in this series we are going to be looking at a sort of general theme of journeys, innovation and legacy, which we weave through all the conversations in this series, don't we, Heidi?
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Gosh, yes. A really big variety of guests on this season. We've got a charitable foundation from India, we have someone from academia, we've got a bit of spiritualism thrown in, we've got some artists, a fine art supplier, we have a class fellow. It's honestly, there is so much going on and some of your favorite episodes were recorded in this series, weren't they? There's some things that are really, really close to your heart and I guess the first one of those is the Royal Abbott hall which we went and visited and recorded in person, which was great. But you used to work there and yeah, we delved into the archives there and we really looked into the history of letter related artefacts in this really beautiful iconic venue. Listen out for that one. Yeah, I think the next one, which is super close to your heart. You also chatted to a lady called Micah and about seeing letters as colors.
Do you want to speak a little bit more about that?
[00:01:27] Speaker A: So it's a really interesting brain condition where people can experience combination of senses at the same time. And senses isn't always the right word because it can go further than that. But it's called synesthesia. So if you've heard of synesthesia or if you know a synesthete, you may well have discussed this and you've probably seen it in films and referenced all over the place so it will make sense. But it's things like sometimes you hear music and you might experience colours or sometimes you hear words and you might taste something in your mouth. So this mixing of senses and for me I actually experience a couple of forms and one of them is this graphene color form which is where you see individual letters of the Alphabet as specific colors. So there is quite a common pattern to this. I try not to say anymore because it's a really, really interesting episode.
Definitely check it out. It's sort of ends the series. So look out for that one all around. Seeing letters as colors.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I'm really excited to hear that one because they. The tables are turned.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: The tables. I get a bit of an Interview. Yeah.
[00:02:37] Speaker B: But then. Yeah, so that's closing the series.
But what's opening the series? One of your most riveting conversations to date is with the lovely Paul Antonio.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: Yeah. And just such a special conversation. He is obviously an incredible artist. His sort of academic knowledge is insane. It's absolutely incredible. So he talks me through lots of the historical elements of scripts and how his journey has been and how he's innovated all of his work and actually the legacy that he's leaving behind as well in terms of his students, but also bringing through quite a strong spiritual theme, which is a really special thing. And I, I did put a reel out on Instagram about this because there's a little clip and lots and lots of people resonated with it. It was one sort of highest viewed clips. So yeah, a really special story there. Really great episode.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean they're all great.
There have been some really in depth moving and close to our hearts pieces. It's like you said before, just jam packed of all sorts of. All sorts of people from all sorts of walks of life doing all sorts of wonderful artistry stuff. Do you want to have a quick rundown of the eight episodes?
[00:03:53] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Because as always with the Life of Letters, it's not just calligraphy. We touch on a conversation with the director of marketing at Speedball, which is a fascinating conversation about the history of this really brilliant brand, which provides lots of artists with these fine art supplies to allow them to create letters and the sort of behind the scenes of how that works and the journey that they've been on with the brand as well. Also ornamental calligraphy with a fantastic artist called Hunter to Saxony iii, also known as the Last Black Calligrapher in San Francisco. His story is amazing and he's just so. His kind of innovative style and nature and story is just a brilliant one to hear. We then also talk to people like Raginita, who is the founder of the Calligraphy foundation in India. So really reaching lots of different areas around the world, which is my absolute dream and hope for all of these episodes is that we're kind of tapping into lots of these different pockets and corners worldwide. And then obviously Jackson Alves, who is a Brazilian letterform expert, so he does a lot of digital work and works with brands like Apple. And he talks about the innovative style of blending this kind of digital and analog way of working, which is brilliant. We talked about the Royal Albert hall and that was a great journey. But also I speak to Rachel Yallop, who is fellow at the Calligraphy and lettering Art Society and her style of expressive calligraphy. So really expanding our knowledge of what calligraphy looks like and what is expressive calligraphy. So yeah, lots of fantastic subjects and very as always we talk about the history of letters, but it is really anchoring into what the future of this looks like and it's a very hopeful series for sure.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Lots to learn. There's always lots to learn. Everyone has always got a different story to tell and a different journey that they've been on.
So I'm very much looking forward to it.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I can't wait. September, September. All these episodes will start to drip feed through, so they'll be out weekly on a Tuesday. Look out for them, get your headphones on and get following us and we.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Love to hear feedback, so if you've got any thoughts on them then please do share.
[00:06:14] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: Thanks for listening to the Life of Letters. Please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss the rest of the series.
If you can, leave a quick review that really helps the podcast reach more ears. And if you're enjoying these conversations, please consider buying us a coffee to help keep the episodes coming. All the details are in the show notes.
Finally, a big thank you to Speedball Arts for supporting this season and for being part of my calligraphy journey from the very start. Until next time, keep writing, keep creating and keep celebrating the Life of Letters.
