Martin Wenham The Art of Letter Carving

Born in 1941, Wenham’s interest in lettering was stimulated at an early age. At university Wenham read botany and forestry, his artistic propensity aiding with precise observational drawing. Throughout this time an interest in pen-lettering persisted and after a research colleague requested a carved house-name in wood Wenham approached the professional carver Harry Spring, who showed him the basic technique of letter-cutting.

After a year Wenham left research and for the next 23 years taught in secondary, primary and special schools, with 9 years’ lecturing at the University of Leicester. He first exhibited his letter-cutting work in 1982; since 1984 it has been shown in the major British exhibitions of lettering arts. Wenham’s work is held in the Crafts Council’s Permanent Collection and in private collections in Britain, the USA, Germany, Japan and Puerto Rico.