Early Beginnings

I’ve had a passion for art and history from a very early age, my artistic streak revealing itself when I began drawing on the walls of my home with crayons and painting the garden shed with mud, much to my mothers irritation. My love of history began, when at the age of two, my mum and dad, along with my older brothers and sisters, took me to see the medieval ruins of Scarborough Castle, ( inset ) on the North Yorkshire coast, in the north east of England. Its one of my earliest memories, but I can still remember looking up at its imposing gates from my pushchair, while waving a plastic sword. Therefore it was only natural that I should combine the two and take an interest in Medieval art.



On leaving school I started studying Medieval art and Calligraphy way back in September 1987, two years after I had left school. I had not really done anything since leaving school and didn’t have a clue about what I wanted to do. I had gone to my local college and took an Art and English class, but that was about it. It was during enrolment time at the college that I came across a Calligraphy course, which I immediately thought would be cool to learn and to impress my friends with, having no inclination as to making a living out of it. I thought to myself, there can’t be much of a need for medieval scribes these days, but I enrolled on the course and kept going back for the next three years, gaining a first class distinction, but still only studying it as a hobby. And that’s how it remained for the next twenty five years or so, just a hobby.



The penny drops

While holding down various jobs I hated, I had played around for a number of years with the idea of setting up a business, centred on Medieval art and Calligraphy. But it wasn’t until a trip to Canterbury and a visit to Canterbury Cathedral, that my ideas began to really take root. There I saw the tombs of both King Henry iv of England and that of Edward, the black Prince, the most famous General of the Hundred Years War. They were very ornate and on the tomb of King Henry, were painted wooden boards, faded with age, bearing heraldic insignia. It was then that I had the Idea of using this type of design for interior décor. I thought an item such as a wooden cabinet would look very striking. The surroundings of Canterbury Cathedral with its stone sculptures, arched windows and the atmosphere of the place, also played a major part. It was then that I finally realised what I wanted to do with my life, which was to create beautiful works of art that would be both highly ornate and inspiring. By combing the skills I have acquired working as a kitchen fitter, with my artistic talents, i hope to create unique, highly decorative and eye catching pieces of interior design. In the medieval period, castle halls and churches were decorated to create an atmosphere of awe and wonder. It is this, in some small degree, I am hoping to emulate.



And so to the future

So I have finally taken the plunge and decided to follow my dreams and it is my sincerest wish, to reignite interest in these highly dramatic and colourful designs and hopefully to inspire a few along the way to have a go themselves. With the advent of the computer age, Calligraphy has become a bit of a dying art. There are not that many of us Calligraphers around these days. ( The irony of the fact that I’ve typed this on a PC, has not gone unnoticed ). So, to those of you who have taken the time to read this, my first ever blog, if nothing else, I hope to have sparked an interest and maybe inspired a few of you to have a go yourselves. I hope you enjoy looking at my website gallery and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.



Many thanks,
Wayne Eaton

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