#LDF13 ‘Expressive’ by Ruth Rowland

Ruth Rowland is a lettering artist who specialises in calligraphy, expressive typography and hand drawn ink on paper. We are delighted that she’ll be joining us for the drop in workshops at the V&A. Rowland explains her approach to her word ‘Expressive’…

“I like nothing better than to have the opportunity to get hands on and that’s what Tasting Type is all about. Run as part of the London Design Festival at the Victoria & Albert Museum Type Tasting is open to everyone with a love of letterforms.

“I submitted a piece of work for the exhibition, we had to choose a word that described London. I was drawn to the word ‘Expressive‘ as it reflects what I love most about London – its dynamic, ever-changing cultural scene. In addition, it’s a term often used to describe the loose, gestural nature of much of my work.

“I like to experiment with mark making, tools can vary from the beautifully hand crafted ruling pen used here, to a piece of old stick from my mother’s garden. Pens and brushes are the tools of my trade, I’ve been collecting them for years, I like the fact that each one has its own distinctive characteristics.”

“Things can get messy with expressive mark making, the studio looked like an explosion in an ink factory after a morning working on the project. If you’d like to see me in action, I demonstrated at ScrapbookLive. Luckily, Sarah Hyndman, type enthusiast and work shop leader extraordinaire, isn’t frightened of a bit of mess and I’ll be helping out at the workshops on the 14th and 15th September. So if you like to get hands on too, then roll up your sleeves and come along.”

For Rowland it’s all about letters – wild or elegant, casual or ornate, edgy or playful … she loves to combine old and new technology. In her studio you’ll find antique dip ink pens and Japanese brushes lying next to her computer.

‘Expressive’ by Ruth Rowland is one of the words that will be displayed at Type Tasting with the London Design Festival 2013 at the V&A and she will be joining us for the drop in workshops.