My name is Mary-Jane Roussel. I’m Canadian — and French! I come from the Kawarthas (in Ontario, Canada) and now live in the South of France. I’m the chief cook-and-bottle-washer here at CalligraphyCollective.cc.  I also manage a non-profit group called Pleins & Déliés, based in Jonquerettes.

In addition to creating our online courses and managing the website, I do occasional classes for adults in our pittoresque village as well as workshops in primary and junior high schools.

When I’m in a classroom, kids often ask me, “How long have you been doing calligraphy?” & “Why do you like Calligraphy?” To the first question, I answer that, as a child, I went to Church every Sunday. Some kids paid attention to what the preacher was saying; others stared at the stained glass, waiting for the minutes to tick by. As for me, I spent the time copying and re-drawing the lettres of the song titles, which were written in a Gothic hand in our hymnbook. In answer to their second question, I usually tell them that, if you believe in reincarnation, I must have been a monk in a former life!

Oh, perhaps you’d also like to know that I am a trained Fashion Designer, but now I spend much more time designing letters than clothes!