Calligraphy Qalam Blog

Calligraphy at Fordham

THULUTH SCRIPT: LETTER BY LETTER

ARABIC SCRIPT has a long history of development into a highly refined art form. Classes with Elinor Aishah Holland offer participants a nurturing context to better understand Arabic script calligraphy’s rich cultural context as well as the techniques involved in this classical art form. Arabic written in the Thuluth style is luscious, and extremely appealing to the eyes. It is a well-developed art in many parts of the world where it can be studied over a period of many years. But while it may seem too exotic or unapproachable to us here in America, it can be learned and appreciated, letter by letter. And each letter of a word has potential as a design in and of itself. After immersing ourselves in some beautiful visual masterpieces both historical and modern, we will introduce the tools and methods for writing the letters and then the letters themselves, with individual attention for all students. New and continuing students are welcome!

Elinor Aishah Holland received her Ijaza, or diploma in two forms of Arabic script in 2013 from Master Calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya. Holland is also a calligrapher of Latin script and a regular teacher for the NY Society of Scribes. Holland has taught at The 92nd Street Y, Long Island University, NY Botanical Garden, The Rudolph Steiner High School and many workshops at colleges, art centers and museums in the US and Canada including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Institute, The Detroit Institute of Art, Zaytuna College and at the Confluence Conference in 2004. She has exhibited in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algiers, and around the USA.

2015 FALL SERIES

October 3, October 17, October 24, November 7, November 21

Saturdays 11 am – 4pm

All classes are held at:

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
Lincoln Center Campus
113 West 60th Street, NYC
Visual Arts Complex
Room SL24E

Individual classes: $90
Material fee: $20

Payable to the instructor in class.
Pre-registration required.
nycalligrapher@gmail.com

NOTE: There is a special discount for Fordham students and faculty.

Sponsored by the Theatre and Visual Arts Department | Fordham University
Contact: abgoldstein@fordham.edu

Master Iranian calligrapher Bahman Panahi will be holding a calligraphy workshop for all levels from July 20-25, 2015 in Maryland, USA. Master Panahi is normally based in Paris and has many years of experience teaching calligraphy in the East, West, as well as Iran.

Join the workshop for an enriching 6 days of instruction (6 hours per day, morning and afternoon). All the materials for this workshop will be included in the workshop fee.

The workshop will be held in Hunt Valley, Md. the location is accessible by car, train and light rail. Breakfast will be included.

Hotel accommodation is available within 5 minutes drive at the Embassy Suites.

Price is $450.00 and includes instruction, materials and breakfast.

For more information and reservation please contact Manzar Moghbeli at Zardesigns7@gmail.com.

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently released a series of seven videos (visual essays) on Islamic art. These Art Spots feature Calligraphy, Mosques and Religious Architecture, The Arts of Trade and Travel, Islamic Gardens, Islamic Textiles, Geometry, and The Arts of the Book and Miniature Painting.

The 10-minute film on calligraphy is well worth checking out, and would serve as a great resource for anyone teaching a class on Islam or medieval art.

These films were written and directed by Professor D. Fairchild Ruggles from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Some interesting/insightful words from Mohamed Zakariya about art, being an artist and being a Muslim artist in the modern world.

Rather than being exotic, living museum exhibits, we need to bring the concept of what it means to be modern to our very classic arts, yet preserve and maintain its special originality and quality and its relation to the continuum of Islamic practices.

http://almadinainstitute.org/blog/some-modest-proposals-for-islamic-artists/

Instructor: Faraz Khan Art Studio
Arts Council of Princeton.org

Let there be light! Explore what is possible when darkness provides a “blank canvas”. Step into the mesmerizing world of “light art” and discover a new creative means to use light as a source of writing and drawing with the help of slow shutter speed photography. Students will experiment with different ways to create amazing art with the power of cell phones and flashlights. The instructor will introduce participants to basic techniques in how to create drawings, comic strips, icons, graffiti designs, and calligraphy in English, Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew and Hieroglyphics. Students will be encouraged throughout the 3-week program to create (drawing and writing) an individualized short comic strip based on light art.

Location: Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, Arts Council of Princeton
Ages: 15+
Wednesday, 7pm-9:00pm
Apr 23-May 7, 2014
$95/$70 Member
Instructor: Faraz Khan
Limit: 10 students

The Center for Book Arts in New York will be hosting a 2-day intensive course in Classical Kufic this summer on August 13th and 14th, taught by Elinor Aishah Holland.

From the Center for Book Arts website:

The Arabic language had a very crude form of script in prehistoric Arabia. With the arrival of the Quran in the early seventh century the script began to blossom like a many-petaled flower. The early Muslim scribes quickly established the foundation of beautiful Arabic scripts that are still being developed today. Amongst the earliest hands is a style known today as Kufic. This term actually includes many stylistic variations. Our introduction will begin with our eyes as we look at and study samples of Kufic script. We will learn about the traditional tools used in writing Arabic, as well as a study of the Kufic alphabet. Like all traditional scribes we will learn by copying examples of great master calligraphers. On day one we will study traditional Kufic and the second day we will explore Eastern Kufic.

Register on their website.

For Beginner and Intermediate Students

by Zubair Simab

At Averroes Institute in Fremont
43174 Osgood Rd, Fremont, CA 94539

6 Week class for Beginner and Intermediate Students

On Tuesdays: May 28, June 4,11,18, 25 and July 2

Beginner class: 6:00pm-7pm
Intermediate class: 7pm-8pm

Fee: $180 plus $30 for starter supply(includes pens, papers & ink)

Beginner Course:
• Understanding of pen, paper and ink Thuluth • Preparing the pen
• Thuluth style of writing and techniques • Writing the alphabet & technically analyzing

Intermediate Course:
• Review of making pen and understanding of paper • Thuluth style of writing and techniques.
• The general and fundamental calligraphy rules
– اصول (Principles, Essentials) – نسبت (Relationship, Proportion, Comparison)
– ترکیب (Composition, Blend) – کرسی(Similarity and Symmetry)

Download registration form http://www.simabcalligraphy.com/class and email complete form to info@simabcalligraphy.com.

I just received a notice about two calligraphy classes that will start up this month in Manchester, England:

Thuluth Beginners and Intermediate Courses

Our courses are taught by Ustadh Ghulam Farid Rafiq, an expert calligrapher with over 15 years experience. He will be teaching the Thuluth Arabic script using traditional tools and techniques. The class will also look at the history of Arabic calligraphy and give you an insight into the theory.

Course information

Beginners Course:

This class will start with the letters in the Thuluth script and also look at the history of Arabic calligraphy and theory.

No previous knowledge of calligraphy is required.

Time: 10.30am – 12.30pm
Date: Every Saturday from 25th May 2013
Price: £99 (including materials); £85 early bird discount for bookings before 10th May!

Limited places available.

Intermediate Course:

The class will be teaching the Thuluth Arabic script following on from the beginners course in looking at joining letters. The class will also look at the history of Arabic calligraphy and give you an insight into the theory.

Some Previous knowledge of calligraphy is required.

Time: 1pm – 3pm
Date: Every Saturday from 25th May
Price: £120 (including materials); £99 early bird discount for bookings before 10th May!

Limited places available.

Book your place on one of our Manchester courses.

All courses will be taking place at the Inspire Centre, 747 Stockport Road, Levenshulme, Manchester.

We look forward to seeing you there!

—

The Calligraphy Society

w: www.thecalligraphysociety.co.uk

e: thecalligraphysociety@gmail.com

t: 0161 298 1112 / 0799 961 7821

The Ella Collins Institute in Boston will be hosting a course in Islamic Calligraphy on April 14th and 28th from 1-3pm. I don’t know anything about this class, the institute or the teacher, but I thought I’d post the information in case you live in the Boston area and want to check it out!

Course details:

The Art of Islamic Calligraphy
with Hafidh Na’eel Cajee
April 14th & 28th, 1-3pm
ISBCC, 100 Malcolm X Blvd, Boston, MA
Register online at http://ellacollinsinstitute.org
Cost is $30 online and $40 onsite

Location: Paul Robeson Center for the Arts
Ages: 15+
Tuesday, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Apr 16 – May 28
$180/$155 Member
Instructor: Faraz Khan
Limit:10 students

Class Description:

This class will introduce various styles of writing in Arabic. Students will be exposed to different forms of Arabic lettering in order to examine a majestic art form that flourished not only to beautify the Quran, but also became an important element in architecture and home décor. Students will learn techniques involved in writing basic letters and will be able to form simple words on their own. In addition, participants will investigate the contemporary usage of Arabic calligraphy as an expressive art in the West. Students do not need to read or understand Arabic to take this course. A materials fee of $15 is payable directly to the instructor.

Instructor Bio:

Faraz Khan explores contemporary themes in Islamic art and modern art. His technique embodies a collage of Arabic script and modern ideas, while utilizing ink and acrylics as his medium. Faraz has given many presentations on Arabic calligraphy and has displayed his work and taught seminars at New York University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan University, Cotsen Children’s Library (Princeton University), Princeton University Art Museum, and Rutgers University. In a recent art seminar at Princeton University, Faraz advised participants in a collaborative group project: a mural transliterating into Arabic calligraphy more than 200 names of the college’s buildings and famous students. His artwork was covered by the Huffington Post: “Warhol, Pollock … Khan? American Muslims in the Arts”. Currently, he is an art instructor at the Arts Council of Princeton. His work is available online http://www.FarazKhanArtStudio.com and http://faraz-khan.artistwebsites.com

more info: http://www.classes.ArtsCouncilofPrinceton.org
@ Arts Council of Princeton

http://www.FarazKhanArtStudio.com
http://www.facebook.com/FarazKhanArtStudio