This post was written by Clair Gellner, a sophomore student.
If you’ve ever taking a drawing class, or fiddled around with doodling in a notebook, you know how hard it can be to get your hand to produce what you see in your mind.
I have recently begun practicing Arabic Calligraphy. The beginning of my journey with this new art form began in Flagship Calligraphy Club with Professor Alkebsi. During the fall semester, activities included recopying various examples of words in the Tuluth script written by master calligraphers. I would do my best to make my version of the word as beautiful as the example. However, this proved a daunting challenge.
What makes Arabic Calligraphy more challenging than, say, Western Calligraphy, is that Arabic Calligraphy is based on the proportionality of letters to one another. Each letter design is defined by how many diamond markings can fit on a particular line or space of a letter. For example, an Alif is seven diamonds in length. Alifs are easy since they are only a straight line, but letters like ص or خ have much more complex diamond markings; these markings are not optional. The diamond shapes serve to make sure the letters are of relative size and enable them to be spaced adequately in designs. The hand of a master calligrapher knows the various size requirements of the different letters in the different scripts by heart, allowing him to create complex designs in which letters mingle with each other to create shapes and sometimes even animals or plants. The most challenging design encountered last semester was that of a pear. I could never quite master the spacing of the sweeping strokes made of the letter ر that gave the fruit its outer shape.
This semester, we have focused much more on individual letters, as they are the basis of all calligraphy. Though at times tedious, this practice has led to great improvements in our individual abilities.
I have begun to practice Calligraphy on my own, in preparation for an Arts Scholars capstone project, in which my own Arabic Calligraphy designs will be displayed. Taking what I learned in Calligraphy Club, I have attempted to create original works of Arabic Calligraphy. More challenging than spacing, I have discovered, is finding inspiration and envisioning a work in an art form one has not been trained in for very long. However, I believe, even if I have not mastered the intricate and ancient art of Calligraphy by the end of Calligraphy Club and my project this semester, I have learned discipline, perseverance, and tranquility: the discipline of paying attention to every single stroke and line of a letter or work; the perseverance to not be discouraged when the design isn’t centered or is lopsided; and the tranquility that comes with patiently writing words while listening to calming traditional music, as Professor Alkebsi suggests we should when practicing Calligraphy.
Calligraphy Club meets every Monday from 3:30-5 P.M. in 2132 SQH.
