Calligraphy is taking something meaningful and making it beautiful. There is a great power in words, and calligraphy takes those words and adds an extra layer of art to them. I find a certain feeling of peace when I look at good calligraphy. I practice Chinese calligraphy as the instruments are familiar to me, but I admire calligraphy in both Latinate and Chinese scripts. There is a huge variety of forms of calligraphy that can range from that so subtle you would not be able to tell it from printed material to that which is so elaborate in the asci art form that it takes a while to even realize the presence of text within the art. The form of the letters draw you into the meaning presented by those letters. The simplicity of the black ink on white paper is in juxtaposition to the complexity of the meaning, and this brings balance to the whole composition. Balance of characters as well as positive and negative space can all be considered. Calligraphy brings in many of the things I appreciate philosophically about the world. The message shows the power and value of thought. The artistry takes this and improves on it to make it better simply for the sake of increasing the beauty of the world. It is creative in the production of something both new and real. You have to take time and think carefully through your actions. Your goal is to create something eloquent, and you can put careful thought into both composition and execution. You have to trust yourself to produce something in its entirety with the chance of making a mistake and having to evaluate whether that mistake is acceptable or if revision is required. You sweat the details of every line and curve. The result usually appears simplistic, best disguising the complexity that went into it.