About Melissa Dinwiddie: Calligrapher/Designer

About the Artist

In 1995 I picked up a calligraphy pen and began making art and letters as a way to procrastinate from what I was supposed to be doing at the time. I never looked back. Some seven odd years later I work full-time as a freelance calligrapher/lettering artist, fine artist, graphic designer, and itinerant teacher, and have found other ways to procrastinate.

As a child my elaborately flourished handwriting spurred a family joke that I was surely the reincarnation of a medieval scribe. My mom was convinced I would grow up to be an artist. Yet it wasn't until a couple of decades later, after abortive careers in both dance and academia, that I finally proved her right.

I received my B.A. in Social Science from U.C. Berkeley (though one of those years I spent in the Dance Division at the Juilliard School in NYC), and my Masters in Cultural Studies from the University of Birmingham, England. My calligraphy, art and design education has been much less formal, beginning with classes at my local art center (within two years I was teaching the calligraphy class that got me started as a student). I was quickly hooked, and soon was a regular attendee of the periodic weekend workshops offered by my local calligraphy guilds.

A couple of years ago I figured out I really needed to get a little high tech, and have since taken a slew of computer graphics classes at UCSC Extension. I probably spend about half my time at my drafting table, pen or brush in hand, and the other half at my G4 with a mouse or stylus. I find the blend of hand-made and computer work quite satisfying. Throw in a little teaching, which fulfills my social side, and for me it's the perfect balance.

Who would have thought life as a calligrapher would be so exciting? Now if I could just find some time to work on my own artwork...

Publications

My work can be found in Wedding Invitations, Announcements, Placecards & More: A Bride's Guide to Calligraphy, by Bette Matthews (Rockport Publishers, 2001), The Art and Craft of Handmade Books, by Shereen LaPlantz (Lark Press, 2001) and Writing Beyond Words, as well as the periodicals Letter Arts Review (Vol. 16, No. 2, 2001), and Tabellae Ansata (Vol. 1, No. 2, 1999).

Partial Client List

Cafe Olam/Olam Catering, Elysium Design, Flywear by Tinker, Friends of Calligraphy, Gibson Greetings, Keddem Congregation, Knob Hill Mines, Inc., MetaCite, Inc., Osmotron, Inc., Rena Frantz Studios, Rikudei Miriam Press, Stanford University, and private clients across North America.