Learn the History of Calligraphy

Series Summary

In basic terms, calligraphy is simply the art of writing. Today's society however, sees calligraphy as more an expression of symbols in a skilled, harmonious manner. The calligraphy alphabet comes in an endless variety because much of the text is determined by the skill and creativity of the calligrapher. Often, calligraphy is used for formal occasions, such as wedding and event invitations, logo designs and religious art, though many people enjoy writing calligraphy for fun in their daily lives.

In this free video series, our expert calligrapher will teach you how to write calligraphy. This introductory video series is great for any novice who might be interested in calligraphy but does not know where to start. Learn about the materials you will need to do calligraphy like calligraphy pens and paper, as well as how to properly load and use your calligraphy pens. You will also learn how to do calligraphy designs, make drafts and improve calligraphy projects.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Joanna Joseph for Expert Village, and I'm here to talk about calligraphy. Calligraphy, is a, comes from a Greek word, that means "beautiful handwriting". People have made written marks since time immemorial. Our current alphabet dates back to Sumerian times, and back then people wrote with, they clipped reeds, or quills, and today's calligraphy is usually done with a steel pen that is similarly trimmed to a chiseled tip, slightly canted. There are a lot of resources out there for people that are interested in reading about calligraphy and learning about it. You need to read and look at other historical examples. I have a few here. There are probably eleven or twelve basic alphabets in our Rom-, in our Roman legacy. Here is actually a sample of those. And one of my favorite books is relatively new. It just came out a couple of years ago by a woman Annie Cicale, who is one of my influences. And this is called "The Art and Craft of Hand Lettering". It's full of beautiful examples. Lots of history, lots of how-to, and it's just a beautiful book. And any, you can find calligraphy books all over the place. This is kind of a classic by Lloyd Reynolds, just very simple italic calligraphy. You can apply that in all kinds of ways in your daily life. It's fun to, it's really fun to get an envelope with your name hand lettered. I have a sample of that. Here's another one that focuses on layout and design ideas. Because it's one thing to know how to letter, but how to arrange it, that's the real art."