Updated: Feb 11, 2022
More than just the pretty looking handwriting; calligraphy is an “art of forming beautiful symbols by hand and arranging them well. It is also a set of skills and techniques for positioning and inscribing words so they show integrity, harmony, some sort of ancestry, rhythm, and creative fire.”
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Calligraphy is the closest one can get to hearing music with their eyes and this soothing and mesmerizing art form just calms you down. Here are a few important terms in calligraphy that you as an artist should know:
1. Symbol:
A mark that has a specific agreed-upon meaning in a language, like a letter of the alphabet.
2. Integrity:
Admirable proportions and form.
3. Harmony:
Describes a pleasing relationship between different visual elements in a piece of calligraphy: parts of a letter, letters, words.
4. Ancestry:
Refers to the heritage of letter-shapes, materials, and techniques which calligraphers use.
5. Rhythm:
Means the calligrapher's deliberate repetition and variation of marks and spaces to create feelings of pattern and emphasis when you look at the work.
6. Creative fire:
The mysterious life and individuality of any piece of art. That’s the part of it which is you. Calligraphy in Greek means beautiful writing, but there is a distinction between ‘writing as an art form’ and ‘artistic looking handwriting’. Calligraphy is not just artistic looking handwriting, rather it evokes a deeper meaning that connects the artist and the viewer, whereas writing’s sole purpose is to be read.