THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY



You may hear calligraphy described simply as ‘beautiful writing’. Even the word ‘calligraphy’ is a union of two Greek words – Kalli, which means ‘beautiful’ and graphy, which means ‘writing’, but if you’ve got even the faintest interest in calligraphy as a profession today you’ll know there’s a little more to it than that.


THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY

You may hear calligraphy described simply as ‘beautiful writing’. Even the word ‘calligraphy’ is a union of two Greek words – Kalli, which means ‘beautiful’ and graphy, which means ‘writing’, but if you’ve got even the faintest interest in calligraphy as a profession today you’ll know there’s a little more to it than that.

A group of 30 professional calligraphers were asked to define calligraphy as a profession, and this is the net result;

“Calligraphy is the art of forming beautiful symbols by hand and arranging them well. it’s a set of skills and techniques for positioning and inscribing words so they show integrity, harmony, some sort of ancestry, rhythm and creative fire.”

Before the advent of typewriters and computers, people were very much dependant on handwriting. For notes and simple book keeping any old handwriting would suffice, but for formal documents such as deeds or contracts, or meaningful text such as books or poems, people would rely heavily on the artistic skill of a calligrapher.

The tools that calligraphers used to create such beautiful text were comprised of carefully constructed wooden implements or feathered quills that were dipped in ink. Today’s calligraphers have a wider toolset to choose from, from specialised calligraphy pens with angled nibs to ink cartridges which can be easily replaced.

Granted, there is less demand for hand-penned ornate lettering today, but calligraphers are still employed at design agencies and graphics specialists for work that needs a skilled human touch.