In 2022, we offered our first intensive Naskh course with our teacher Deniz Öktem Bektaş. During those 15 weeks, our students were introduced to the full Naskh script curriculum starting with the alphabet to connecting letters to connecting words to writing short sentences.
Our goal is to serve as a bridge to connect serious students to masters of the art. As one must study directly under a master to earn his/her icazet (diploma). And a few of our students from the intensive course took that path and decided to continue their studies one-on-one with Deniz hoca (teacher). We are sharing the story of two of those students that have continued to progress on their journey (Read Part 1 – a Q&A with Selma Lelic).
Nada Gharib is a calligraphy student who has moved on to study one-on-one with our teacher Deniz Öktem Bektaş. Nada lives in Ontario, Canada, and she has a master’s degree in Molecular Biology & Genetics. She now works as a Regulatory Affairs professional in a large pharmaceutical company. She enjoys reading books and writing Arabic and English Calligraphy in her spare time
In this Q&A she talks about the fundamental aspects of success with the calligraphic art: patience and dedication.
What inspired you to study Arabic calligraphy?
I've always loved the perfect forms of the letters I saw in the Quran and Islamic art pieces, ever since I was a child, and I wanted to recreate these scripts with my own hand.
You just finished an intensive online course, how was your experience studying calligraphy with Deniz hoca? Did your initial view about calligraphy, in general, change after taking this class, if so, how?
Nada’s work with corrections by teacher in red. This is the first half of the Arabic alphabet in the Naskh script
Deniz hoca is a very skilled calligraphy master with a balanced approach to teaching script writing. She balances encouragement with a thorough critique that truly helps the student improve their eye for detail and their control of the pen. Through my lessons with her, I realized that Arabic calligraphy takes a lot more patience and dedication than I initially thought, and this realization helped me to develop discipline and consistency in my practice.
What is your next goal with this art?
My current goal is to ameliorate my script and maintain a consistent improvement of my control over the pen and the letterforms. I want to, hopefully, one day write calligraphy with confidence and be able to create Arabic/Islamic calligraphy pieces I can be proud of.
Finally, what advice would you give to someone who is completely new to this art?
Nada wrote the line “ Rabbi Yassir Wa la Tu Assir Wa tam bil Khayr.” The red shows teacher’s corrections
If you want to learn Arabic calligraphy, you will need to be in it for the long run. You have to leave your ego at the door and step inside with an open mind, ready to learn and absorb the teachings of the master. You must develop the discipline and patience to persevere through the training - dedication, and consistency will take you far with this art!