Calligraphy is one thing that I am so thankful I have been learning for over 2 years. The effect that it can have ones life is astonishing. For example when you get into calligraphy and learn that you can improve. Also that if you know what you are doing you will get better fast.
Now lets get into the title of the post. Calligraphy has taught me that one: Fail, fail, fail and fail some more. Through the attempts that you have made you will succeed. Also that you have to slow the hell down and appreciate the fine details.
Because with calligraphy there are many fine details. The fine details of the letters, the details of the flourishes are breathtaking.
Second thing calligraphy has taught me is to believe in my work even more. Because when you start learning calligraphy it can be hard to keep at it. The reason is how many people get frustrated and or get bored. If you stick with something and don’t give up you will see little bits of progress.
Seeing the progress is what excites me. When I see how each of my finished calligraphy pieces are better each time gets me motivated more and more. Knowing that I came from producing work that I feel was garbage is great. I say that its great because I know I did not stop at the top and I worked my way up from the bottom.
The third thing is that I want to get better. Knowing that I am able to improve is wonderful. We as humans love to see growth and us to get better. The only way to get better is to fail often. Because if you are not failing in whatever you are doing you will not get better.
The fourth thing is that you should not get comfortable using the same tools over and over. With calligraphy tools there are many that have been used and some that are more comfortable than others. But I for one know that If I have been using a certain tool too often its time to stop using it.
Calligraphy has helped me as a designer tremendously. There is benefit of using your hands to create compared to not using them at all.