SUE HUFTON

SUE HUFTON, Scribe, was born in 1957 and initially trained as a teacher at Roehampton Institute where she began studying calligraphy as part of her degree. She returned to Digby Stuart College at Roehampton from 1983 – 1986 to take the full-time Certificate and Diploma courses in Calligraphy and Bookbinding.

In 1987 she was elected a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators. She has taught calligraphy since 1985 in the UK and around the world and carried out commissioned work for private individuals and larger scale painted lettering work for churches. She has written many articles for journals and books as well as her own ‘Step-by-step Calligraphy’ first published in 1997. Her own work is in collections of the V&A, the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Crafts Study Centre.

Being a Scribe for The Saint John’s Bible developed her calligraphy practice which ultimately became much more than the physical making of letters with a quill on vellum, although this forms the bedrock of calligraphy. Five years of constant writing was valuable for all the work she has subsequently made. Her main focus now is in painted and woven lettering but the understanding and skills that lie behind her lettering work come directly from the discipline, critical evaluation and experience of being in The Saint John’s Bible Team. That also showed Sue how valuable and creative it can be to work in collaboration with others, something she has readily done since.

After many years of moving around the UK, Sue now lives overlooking the sea on the North East coast of England, a place of historical associations with calligraphy. The Lindisfarne Gospels were made not far away and even closer is the site of the historic early medieval scriptorium of Wearmouth and Jarrow where a number of large bibles were written and bound. Through her time on The Saint John’s Bible, she counts it a privilege to know something of the special experience of working in a Scriptorium and to know of the challenges and joys of writing out scripture. www.susanhufton.co.uk