A graduate of the Medway College of Art in Kent, renowned calligrapher Sheila Waters studied for her Master's degree with Dorothy Mahoney (assistant to the great pioneer, Edward Johnston) at the Roayl College of Art, London. Following graduation in 1951, at twenty-two, Sheila was elected a Fellow of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and began a career devoted to commissions for royalty, museums, libraries, collector and publishers, and some part-time, art school teaching. While still a student, Sheila began her museum
studies, being privileged to work from rare, valuable manuscripts. These studies have been at the core of her understanding and the development of her precise techniques. A gifted teacher, Sheila has shared her expertise with calligraphers the world over.
She inaugurated the calligraphy program at the Smithsonian Institution, after immigrating to the U.S. with her family in 1971, and later developed her own private classes and workshops.
The first president and founding member of the Washington Calligraphers Guild, Sheila was included in the 1981 World Who's Who of Women. Her work is included in most of the important books that have been published about calligraphy.