Help preserve our future
West Dean is part of a registered charity and relies on the support of generous donors, friends, legacies to help us deliver world-class education in conservation and the creative arts and maintain our award-winning gardens.
Kirsten Burke
Kirsten Burke is one of the UK's leading contemporary lettering
artists. She gained a BA Hons in Graphic Design and a Postgrad in
Calligraphy from Roehampton.
She has had four books published and sold 10 million greeting
cards. Her work is exhibited in numerous museums nationwide,
including a 13 metre mural for Shakespeare's Globe.
Describe your approach to teaching
"I like to demonstrate and give tracing exercises, using templates of my original artworks instead of standard letter drills. You gain the same muscle memory but are also able to create gorgeous art cards of your own along the way."
What inspires your own work?
"My calligraphy is a visual representation of the quote I've
chosen. A piece about the sea has splashing, frothing calligraphy;
a piece about the countryside may use woven words for rolling
hills."