Patricia Lovett is a British scribe, calligrapher and illuminator from Kent. She is the author of several books and teaches calligraphy, illumination and manuscript skills in the UK and worldwide. She was chair of the

Heritage Crafts Association The Heritage Crafts Association is a registered United Kingdom charity set up to support and promote traditional crafts. Since October 2021 it has been operating under the name Heritage Crafts. The charity was launched at the Victoria & Albert Mus ...

between 2017 and 2022, having been vice-chair for several years previously and in 2013 was awarded an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for services to calligraphy and the protection of heritage crafts.

Professional biography

Lovett was a secondary school teacher in London before becoming interested in calligraphy and heraldry in the late 1980s. She has a special interest in the manual preparation and uses of

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

. She teaches traditional vellum manuscript illumination, heraldry and calligraphy in Britain and in libraries around the world and is the author of several books across a range of manuscript skills. Lovett is the co-founder of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

’s Collection of Contemporary Calligraphy at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and curated the museum’s 2012/13 exhibition of contemporary calligraphy from around the world, ''Calligraphy Today''. She was the chair of the

, between 2017 and 2022, having previously been the founder vice-chair. She is a judge for the National Schools Handwriting Competition and champions handwriting along with other manual crafts. She has also produced many commissioned works including pieces for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

, British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) and

Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London, which opened to the public in 1817. It was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane using an innovative and influential method of illumination. Dulwich is the oldest pub ...

. She has also worked in film and television providing tools and materials for '' Wolf Hall (BBC series)'' (a replica Book of Hours), ''Treasures of the Anglo-Saxons'' (BBC Radio 4) and the

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He fi ...

BBC series '' A History of Britain''. She has taught

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurence ...

and Tom Bateman how to prepare and use a quill for film and theatre performances and has appeared in “Numerous instances of being filmed as ‘the hand’, writing documents, signing documents, ‘being’ poets or historical figures, drawing maps etc.” for film and television. Lovett also works with the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

providing short courses and study days on the traditional techniques of working with historical writing tools and vellum, illumination and gilding and medieval manuscripts. In addition she provided tools and materials and wrote the exhibition cards and introduction for the 2011/12 British Library exhibition ''Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination''. She lives in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

in Kent.

Recognition

Lovett has held several honorary positions and fellowships for her work in the arts and heritage crafts. In 2013 she was awarded an

for services to calligraphy and the protection and promotion of heritage crafts in the UK. Lovett is a brother of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

and an honoured fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (HFCLAS) having previously acted as chair. She is patron of the Lettering & Commemorative Arts Trust, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), an advisor for the

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (affectionately known as QEST) is an art and Craft (disambiguation), craft educational Charitable trust, trust created to sustain traditional British craftsmanship. It is a British institution committed to helpi ...

and is a participant in the

All-party parliamentary group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...

for art, craft and design education.

Bibliography

Lovett has written several books and magazine articles including *''The Environment (Living Today series)'' (1982) *''Teach Yourself Calligraphy (TY Arts & Crafts)'' (1993, 10 editions) *''Creating Letterforms: Calligraphy and Lettering for Beginners'' (1992) with Rosemary Sassoon *''Calligraphy Projects'' (1994) Multiple authors *''Calligraphy for Starters'' (1995) *''Tools and materials for calligraphy, illumination and miniature painting'' (1996) *''Starting Lettering'' (1997) with Fiona M. Watt *''The British Library Companion to Calligraphy, Illumination and Heraldry: A History and Practical Guide'' (2000) *''The Macclesfield Alphabet Book: a facsimile'' (2010) with Christopher de Hamel *''Calligraphy Today'' (2012) *''The Historical Source Book for Scribes'' (2015) with Michelle P. Brown *''Illumination, gold and colour: tools, materials, techniques, projects for using gold and colour and creating mediaeval miniatures'' (2015) *''The Art and History of Calligraphy'' (2017) She has also contributed to several other books by providing calligraphy lettering and illustrations.

References

External links

Video of the Book of Hours created for Wolf Hall

ITV News short video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett, Patricia Living people British calligraphers British women writers Women calligraphers British scribes British women artists Members of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people)

Professional biography

Recognition

Bibliography

See also

References

External links