The Sacred Palette

Syed Fakhri is a Houston based Arabic Calligraphy artist who is originally from India, and was raised in Saudi Arabia. 

Learning Arabic while growing up, he became fascinated with the Arabic script. In school, he was taught the Naskh and Ruq’a scripts. Syed developed Arabic calligraphy as a hobby and went on to learn and practice the Thuluth and Muhaqqaq scripts on his own. Currently, in addition to these scripts, he also practices his own version of a contemporary, modern-style script.

He holds a deep fascination in the profound meaning, richness and rhythm of Quranic verses. Syed incorporates his love for Islam & calligraphy into representing verses and supplications using Arabic calligraphy scripts in a variety of forms to further enhance the message each contains. This is a hobby that he applies towards various art forms/mediums, such as parchment, canvas, murals, and callligraffiti.

Instagram: @sf_khatt_islami

Ceramic artist Paul Barchilon creates intricate designs that take us on a voyage of discovery within the circle, delineating patterns that repeat through different symmetries. Mr. Barchilon has traveled the world, researching pattern and line designs in India, Turkey, Spain, Peru, and China. His father was born in Morocco and Barchilon lived both there and in France as a child. From the beginning, he was fascinated by the complex patterns and the magnificent architecture of the Moorish era. In his twenties, the artist began an in-depth exploration of Islamic pattern. He toured artisans' studios in Morocco visiting Safi, Fez, and Marrakech. He studied traditional ceramics, tiles and brass etchings. The florid brass platters of Morocco, with their intricate detail and complicated interlacings, were a direct influence on Barchilon's own platters. Further north, in Spain, he visited the Alcazar in Sevilla and the Alhambra in Granada. He took extensive rubbings of both classical tile patterns and Zalij, the traditional art of geometric mosaics. Returning to Boulder, Barchilon analyzed the patterns he had catalogued. Working only with a compass and a straight edge, he learned the foundations of designing in arabesque. He began by painting his patterns in Gouache and then moved to projecting them on platters as well as carving them on slab built vases.

Inspired by these Islamic Geometric patterns almost 30 years ago, he has been designing his own creative geometric designs and incorporating them on his ceramic pieces and.  He considers his work to be very traditional, whose patterns and motifs fit perfectly in the 1400 year continuum of Geometric designs in Muslim lands.  

Paul has taught adults and children K-12 extensively, how to make these Islamic Geometric Patterns. Paul himself is of Jewish heritage and finds that this Islamic artform resonates with him more than anything else. He hopes that by showing this side of Islamic culture, he can help dispel Islamophobic stereotypes and argue artistically for a broader spirit of Semitic unity.

To learn more about Paul Barchilon and his art, please visit 

Website: http://www.barchilonceramics.com/

Instagram: @barchilonceramics

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarchilonCeramics

To see artwork created by Paul's 7th grade students go to:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1024741786540.4570.1465126295&type=1&l=dbf0800881

Basma Amro is an Austin based artist who creates artworks inspired by historic sites around the world. She is captivated by the beauty of Islamic designs and patterns found  in architectural places she saw during her childhood visits. Basma tries to capture the essence of these places by creating mesmerizing laser-cut art pieces depicting Islamic designs. These carved and etched wood pieces are layered together to reveal intricate geometric patterns, biomorphic designs and detailed Arabic calligraphy. Through her art, Basma transports the viewer to remarkable places such as the Alhambra in Spain, and mosques in Morocco, Tunisia, and Syria.

Basma earned a computer science degree in Jordan, but she was always an artist at heart!  After moving to the US, she studied graphic design and started experimenting with different mediums, including canvas and wood.
She started using modern tools and techniques to put the inspiration from the past into her art in order to create stunning art pieces highlighting Islamic patterns!

https://www.authenticwallart.com/

Marium Rana is an American-born Pakistani visual artist, who works primarily in ink and aqueous media. She is a graduate from Florida State University, where she received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art and a Masters in Art Education. For five years, Marium taught fine art and art history in Tampa, Florida. Marium currently resides in Oklahoma, where she paints from her home studio,
In the summer of 2011, during her time in art school, Marium received an undergraduate research grant to study traditional Mughal miniature painting in Lahore, Pakistan. Marium studied with Professor Naheed Fakhar of the National College of Arts, the top fine arts school in Pakistan. This traditional technique includes painting with a brush made from one hair of a squirrel’s tail. This experience gave rise to The Qalam Series. The Qalam Series consists of twenty-one 8x11 inch paintings. The aesthetics of this series were inspired by the traditional ornamentation of the region and modern day street art in Pakistan. Marium has curated numerous art exhibitions, held solo exhibitions, and exhibited throughout the United States. She has served as the design chair for TEDxFSU, painted various murals, has been commissioned by Aramco World Magazine, and presented her research at symposiums and various institutions.
Currently, Marium is working on a series of 22x30 inch paintings. The series, "A Place to Call Home", delves into the complexity of belonging to two different cultures and trying to make a home out of stories of places and moments one has not personally experienced. The paintings depict landscapes that do not exist in our tangible world and seem as imaginary as the places that have existed before us.

Salma Arastu works to create harmony by expressing the universality of humanity through her paintings, sculpture, and calligraphy. Inspired by the imagery, sculpture, and writings of her Indian heritage and Islamic spirituality, she uses her artistic voice to break down the barriers that divide in order to foster peace and understanding. At birth, she was given the life-defining challenge of a left hand without fingers. Seeing the unity of an all-encompassing God, she was able to transcend the barriers often set-forth in the traditions of religion, culture and the cultural perceptions of handicaps. Her personal triumphs have been defined and shaped by the simple principle of faith in The Divine, as the compelling force which has guided her life and work.

Salma’s works are greatly influenced by my studies and experiences in different cultures around the world. After graduating in Fine Arts from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India, she lived and worked in Iran and Kuwait, where she was exposed to a wealth of Islamic arts and Arabic calligraphy. Calligraphy, miniatures, and the folk art of Islam and the Hindu tradition continue to influence her work today.

My most recent series, “Celebration of Calligraphy”, seeks to enlighten and awaken the spiritual connection of all human beings through the lyrical and fluid imagery of Arabic calligraphy and Islamic patterns. Another series entitled “We Are All One” reinforces the scientific concept of the ‘chain of life,’ with each species depending on another and together maintaining the balance of life on Earth.

As a visual artist she has had almost 40 solo shows nationally and internationally, and has won several prestigious awards including the East Bay Community’s Fund for Artists and the City of Berkeley’s Individual Artist Grant Award. She has public art pieces on display in Bethlehem Pennsylvania and San Diego, California, and has also written and published five books.

This episode is a conversation with an established multimedia artist who expresses his love for his faith through his art. His background and culture have had a major impact on his work and includes geometric patterns and the art of Arabic Calligraphy. He achieves a fascinating blend of East and West, contemporary and traditional, creating images that connect people of all walks of life.

His work has not only been showcased all over Houston, but also in galleries of New York, Dubai, and Pakistan.   He particularly loves to work with Institutions so he can give back to the community through his art.

Earlier this year, he beautifully curated an Islamic Art Exhibit for Islamic Art Society's inaugural Gala.  

Facebook: Work of Art - Fahim Somani

Instagram: Work of Art - Fahim Somani

Hedaya Kelani is a multidisciplinary artist based in Houston, Texas. She had her first public art showing in 2016 at the Islamic Arts Society’s 3rd annual art festival. She’ll talk about her altered book sculptures, about being inspired by Norman Rockwell and how she loves to incorporate her faith and her Libyan heritage into her art work. Hedaya is also a published poet and will share some of her poetry! 

Website: www.hedayakelani.com 

Instagram: hedayaat

This podcast is a way to connect with artists that are creating Islamic Art here in the US!