Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith Allison Bonner.
Meredith Allison Bonner, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I fell in love with calligraphy at an early age. Being homeschooled and a bit of a nerd (redundant?), I had the time and space to teach myself italic script with a kit and some books. After that, calligraphy existed on the periphery of my life, coming in handy when I needed to address envelopes, or create a card. When I moved to Houston in my mid-twenties, I found a member of the Houston Calligraphy Guild whose work I very much admired and talked her into giving me a couple of private lessons in copperplate script. After those lessons, I’m mostly still self-taught, but my calligraphy is very much not on the periphery.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I’m proudly an artisan, so the calligraphy that I create is typically for clients who need artwork for their wedding stationery suites, or for clients who have a specific commission in mind. I specialize in traditional copperplate script with a basis in historical forms and my set up is correspondingly old-school — I sit at my desk with a dip pen and inkwell. But ultimately, I’m flexible for clients, and do also love modern calligraphy scripts, using brush pens, watercolors and other ink substitutes, and spending hours in Photoshop. And I am trying to carve out more time for myself to experiment with forms, techniques, and to undertake my own projects that don’t necessarily fulfill a specific purpose. Calligraphy is a connection to a slower time and old social traditions, with a very rich history spanning hundreds of years. Being able to tap into that history while keeping the art form connected to this time and place is a joy.
How can artists connect with other artists?
In terms of the calligraphy world, it is SO much easier now to connect with resources, teachers, and calligraphers you admire through online forums, social media and websites like YouTube. Get involved and engaged– artists in my community are generally friendly and generous with their time. Social media is important for connections but it can be a double-edged sword– it’s such a convenient avenue for getting your work in front of people’s eyes on your own steam and making connections with other artists, but for me, spending too much time in that space can be a little toxic and ironically, isolating.
For those of us working in applied arts, the support of places like the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is so important. They highlight and connect people with artisans and artists in sometimes very hands on ways, which is the perfect antidote to the isolating and superficial aspect of social media.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can see my work on my Instagram account, my website and in a lot of the work of Houston-based custom stationer Mesh by Alex (http://www.meshbyalex.com/). I especially love teaching calligraphy and passing along pointed pen skills, so please stay tuned to my Insta for Fall 2018 workshop updates.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.meredithallison.com
- Email: meredithmallison@gmail.com
- Instagram: @ma_calligraphy
- Facebook: @meredithallisoncalligraphy
Image Credit:
@ma_calligarphy
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