Calligraphy is a kind of music not for the ears, but for the eyes!
What is Calligraphy?
The Branch of art which deals with written words in a beautiful manner is called calligraphy. Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, and other writing instruments. Calligraphy is an art that exists in a variety of forms, It is the art of beautiful handwriting. The art of calligraphy flourished and found expression in a variety of forms. The particularly famous ones include the Chinese and Arabic styles of calligraphy. Calligraphy is a fine art, like painting, sculpture, drawing, or photography. It’s a way of seeing life and telling what you see.
“Calligraphy is the ultimate synthesis is of what i love: languages, art and human connection” – Joy Dennen
Word origin for Calligraphy
The word calligraphy is derived from the Greek words for “beauty” (kallos) and “to write” (graphein). Simply put, “Beautiful writing”.
History of calligraphy
The terms calligraphy and the art of beautiful handwriting have their roots and origins in many different countries around the world. The origin of calligraphy with brushes dates back to ancient China during the Shang Dynasty, becoming more common during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). It was expected for all educated men and some women to be proficient at it. The origin of Western script evolved from Phoenicia in about 1200 BC. Adapted in the eighth century by the Greeks, those letterforms would continue to evolve and would be borrowed by the Etruscans and in turn by Romans.
8 BENEFITS OF LEARNING CALLIGRAPHY
1. Increased handwriting activity helps to acquire information faster.
- Calligraphy is all about writing. When you try to stroke a word by brush and a letter with a pen in a beautiful way, it looks different than an ordinary letter. You feel joy and these beautiful letters encourage you to write more. Learning calligraphy changes your perspective and the way your mind works. It builds new neural pathways. In calligraphy, you write letters or words with your hands, it helps in increasing handwriting.
- It helps to concentrate longer
In calligraphy you need to focus on your writing and words and cannot afford to make mistakes. Handwriting activates a specific part of the brain, which researchers believe is important for learning and memory. Calligraphy enhances the period of focus of your brain.
- Good for mental health
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. There are many benefits linked to practices of calligraphy. Research has found that people practice Calligraphy therapy to enhance cognitive function. Calligraphy helps engage all the senses. Being creative can help you to relieve stress and free up your mind. Buddhist monks practice calligraphy for mindfulness.
- Calligraphy stimulates neuronal activity.
Calligraphy stimulates neuronal activity. It helps us develop a broader vocabulary, and write texts that are more comprehensive. Our haptic perception becomes more acute, increasing the tactile experiences we lose when typing on mobile or electronic devices. The study of calligraphy helps us to relax, and find time for our mind to unwind.
5. Helps in developing fine motor skills and memory retention
In order for calligraphy to be useful, you need to know how to use the pen to create each stroke of the letter. This activates the motor areas of the brain, which include the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia, and cerebellum. At the same time, it engages the language portion of the brain. Studies have shown that children retain the spelling of a word much better when they are writing the word by hand. Learning calligraphy and handwriting are definitely incredible ways to develop fine motor skills and increase memory retention.
6. Calligraphy isn’t expensive
Like many other activities where you have to use specific kinds of stuff, in calligraphy you don’t need many expensive things, in order to create calligraphy. You only need a pen, a nib, ink, and paper. After a while, as you become passionate, you can earn money with calligraphy.
7. Calligraphy enhance your living space
One of the coolest reasons to learn calligraphy is the fact that you can use it to up the Hygge factor in your home. There are a lot of calligraphy-based projects that you can undertake that will help to personalize your space and make it feel homier. Most people love to decorate their living rooms with calligraphy art. It gives a proud feeling and gives a different kind of happiness when the art is made by us.
8. Spiritual Development
The value of spiritualism underlying this art has also been used as a practice of personal development and spiritual discipline, which leads practitioners to reflect in their minds and heart. This value is universal, and can be agreed upon in a pluralistic society and applied to all schools with different cultural backgrounds and also outside of religious traditions.
Today one of the most sought-after professions in the field of design is that of a calligrapher, or that, after a sleep that lasted too long, Writing instruments that we thought had disappeared in the mists of time, are making their way back again.
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