I'm an atheist, but writing is like a religion to me. I translate my feelings into strokes, signs and letters. I see handwriting as a chance to open your mind, to explore yourself. It helps you control your body, sharpen your focus, hear your emotions, communicate your feelings.

When you have to write on a 3-4 meter wall, you don't want to make a wrong line. So you have to train your eye to figure out what the finished work will look like: fix the layout, how big will the letters be, the inner space, which tools to use... And then execute! I don't know if people realize how difficult it is.

You push a button "F", and the "F" comes out perfectly... that's writing for people nowadays! When you write with a pen, you create a relationship with the external world. And this ain't possible with a keyboard, because the look of the letter was decided by someone else.

Sometimes, I teach in workshops about the importance of writing. Schools should keep teaching calligraphy to young kids. With a pen. I’ve read articles saying that handwriting is too hard for the kids... Ok, but it was also hard for us to learn history and geography and math. Yet, we didn't stop teaching them.

Luca Barcellona

Traditional calligrapher and speaker.