Tom Perkins - Carved Lettering

Headstones and Plaques | Exhibition Work | Book Jacket and Logo Design | Garden, Landscape and Architectural/Public Art

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Information

Tom Perkins is a well-known letter carver and lettering designer, and has taught widely internationally. His book Œthe Art of Lettercarving in Stoneš was published by Crowood Press in 2007.

Biographical details:

Born Plymouth Devon 1957

1974-76 Reigate School of Art and Design on calligraphy course

1976-77 Assistant to Richard Kindersley lettercarving in slate and stone

1982 Moved to Sutton Cambridgeshire and established his own workshop

1982-97 Taught lettering at Roehampton Institute


Since the 1980s he has taught short courses at various centres including West Dean College and internationally. He has taken part in many group exhibitions over several decades

 

Commissions:

Over the last twenty-five years Tom Perkins has carried out a wide range of commissions including commemorative plaques, memorial stones, stones in the landscape, carved alphabets and quotations. He also works in the area of book jacket and logo design, and is currently working on a typeface design.

Commissions to date include: Opening plaque for The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, plaques for British Museum galleries, title lettering carved into the fabric of the building for the Alexander Gibson Opera School, Glasgow for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, carved inscriptions on the theme of herb gardens for Boots plc for their Millennium sculpture garden, plaque and war memorials for the Peace Gardens, Sheffield, five inscribed stones placed along the Peddars Way, Norfolk for National Trails, the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, St Martin-in-the-Fields,London, Ely and Southwark Cathedrals floor stones, Sir David Frost memorial Westminster Abbey and Kensington Palace loggia lettering.

 

 

Membership of Societies:

Fellow of the Society of Designer-Craftsmen

Fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society
 

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
 

Elected member of:The Artworkers Guild
 

Letter Exchange
 

On the Crafts Council's selected index

 

Awards:

The Art Directors Club 5th International Exhibition 1991 Award (Graphic Design)
British Book Design and Production Awards 1993, category winner general paperback book cover design
Calligraphy Review Publication award of excellence, 1989 & 90

 

Publications:

Tom Perkins new book: The Art of Letter Carving in Stone: Published by The Crowood Press 2007

Tom Perkins: Lettercarver - introduction by Gerald Fleuss pulbished by Calligraphic Enterprises for the Edward Johnston Foundation.

His work has appeared in a number of publications, a selection of which are:-
'Applied Calligraphy & Lettering' (section) R. Sassoon
' The Calligrapher's Handbook' ed. H. Child ( chapter on drawn Roman capitals )
'Modern Scribes & Lettering Artists '1 & II
'The Calligrapher's Project Book' ( section) S. Haines
'Calligraphy Today' ed. H. Child
''Calligraphy Masterclass' (section) ed.P. Halliday 
'Practical Calliigraphy' Nash & Fleuss
' Advanced Calligraphy Techniques' (section) D. Hoare
'A Book of Sample Scripts' J. Woodcock
' Calligraphy Art and Colour' P. Halliday
'Calligraphy Made Easy' G. Goffe
'Lettering Arts' Fink & Kastin
'The Rhythm of Writing' S. Sehmi
'Letterwork: Creative Letterforms in Graphic Design' B. Neuenschwander
Letter Arts Review - various issues since 1988
'Kalligrafia' T. Heiskanen & L. Uusitalo
'Font' published by Ditchling Museum & the Edward Johnston Foundation ( article on the geometry of Roman lettering)

 

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