The past, present and future of traditional arts in our words
Practicing calligraphy in the UK has required a lot of adaptation for many reasons; firstly, it is quite difficult to reflect the traditional ways where a student would go out in search for a teacher and stay in his /her Suhbat (companionship) for a number of years devoting himself/herself to that field. Similarly, the essence of a calligrapher is their materials..
When you look at a writing of thuluth script, you will notice invisible lines going in a certain angle that have measurements, like 5 dots or 10 dots. Zakariya hoca said, “these relationships of dimensions are only the beginning of writing.” Therefore, when you are first learning how to write in Arabic calligraphy, you are learning the measurements of letters.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “energy and persistence conquers all things.” If there is a calligrapher that embodies those words, Shahryanshah Sirajuddin is one. We begin a new year of artist profiles with someone whose determination and love of calligraphy brought him to Turkey, all the way from Indonesia. His sincere journey to learn the art of calligraphy is an inspiration for us living in the west where classes and teachers are not so readily available. His story teaches us that with persistence and energy any creative skill, not matter how overwhelming, can be learned.
Copyright © All content, including interviews and articles are conducted and written by Scripts ‘n’ Scribes unless otherwise specified.
