Makers Dozen - Q & A with Miranda Songer

Welcome to the Makers Dozen. We ask a Guild member a dozen quickfire questions about their life as a maker.

We spoke to Miranda Songer, a copperplate calligrapher whose craft  dates from a copperplate engraving and printing process of the early 1700's.

Please describe your work in three words

Inky tightrope walking

How long have you been a maker?

10 years

What is the best part of your process?

The quiet meditative nature of this work and the fact that my mind is totally absorbed by trying to create beauty.

What is the hardest part of your process?

Mistakes and Mishaps: learning to accept, that ‘going wrong’ is often a core part of the process of ‘getting it right.’

Do you have a favourite book about your craft?

The Ornamental Penman, by George Bickham, originally published in the 1733.

What are you reading?

Poetry more than novels. A favourite poet is ee cummings.

What is your favourite film?

Amelie

What do you listen to in your studio?

The Sleeping Forecast, Audiobooks.

What one thing would improve your life as a maker?

Better natural light in the winter.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

That comparison is the thief of joy.

What is the question you are asked most?

You must have neat handwriting, (I definitely don’t).

Life as a maker can be challenging, what keeps you going?

New ideas and technical refinements to master… it is a never-ending quest.

Thank you, Miranda!

Please read more about Miranda here