G. Ray Ritchie has had a life-long interest in lettering, art, and design. Ray's first exposure to hand lettering came through his father, an engineer whose hand-drawn building plans were works of art. Ray studied drawing and painting as a teenager, and worked in a number of summer and part-time jobs as a draftsman and graphic artist through high school and college. He was first introduced to formal calligrapic lettering styles about 25 years ago, and has continued learning through self-study and workshops. Ray was an active member of the now-defunct Jersey Shore Calligraphers Guild, and is now active in an Internet-based calligraphy group known as Cyberscribes. For several years, Ray has been experimenting with using the computer as a calligraphic tool.

Ray's work has been published in George Thomson's book Digital Calligraphy (Watson-Gupthill, 2003), and he has written articles for US and international calligraphic publications.

Ray's other interests include singing in his church choir (tenor), classical and jazz trumpet, golf, and photography. He is an active lay person in the First United Methodist Church of Freehold, New Jersey, where he often teaches church-school classes for adults and senior high youth. Much of Ray's calligraphic work has its roots in his religious experience.

For 33 years, Ray worked as an electrical engineer specializing in telecommunications consulting. He retired in December of 2002 as General Manager of Technology Strategy for Telcordia Technologies, Inc. Ray is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and in 1999 he was named as a Telcordia Fellow, Telcordia's highest recognition for career contributions.
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