“Knowing is not enough” — تنها دانستن کافى نيست — Farsi calligraphy by S. J. Thomas. From the German poet Goethe: “Es ist nicht genug, zu wissen, man muss auch anwenden. Es ist nicht genug, zu wollen, man muss auch tun.” In English
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do” and in Persian:
تنها دانستن کافى نيست .مهم نيست شما چقدر ميدونيد .مهم اينکه چقدر از دانسته هاتون رو تبديل به اقدام ميکنيد.Read More
In the studio again, tools of the trade. This is an actual shot of the area to the left of my workspace, which is a large tempered glass light table. I keep my inks to the left, except those I’m currently using. Most of my brushes are in a roll up brush holder tucked under the glass. To the right are my pens and nibs and other assorted items. In this photo are various types of dip calligraphy pens, both broad nib and pointed pen styles; quill pens; sign painting brushes; Chinese brush painting and calligraphy brushes; the traditional reed qalam ney and some cut from bamboo; bone folder, scissors, agate burnisher, bookbinding knife, and no doubt a few more tools.Read More
For today — براى امروز — my reminder to take things one day at a time.Read More
Peace • Shalom • Salaam • سلام • שָׁלוֹם • peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, wellness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. May it be so. Hebrew and Arabic calligraphy by Stewart J. ThomasRead More
I am very pleased to have a piece in Calligraphies in Conversation 2017 on exhibit now in San Francisco. The full exhibit can be viewed at www.calligraphies.orgRead More
Handmade paper with bird image and calligraphy by Stewart J. Thomas.Read More
There comes that moment when you’ve done the prudent planning, and yet still, enter that place Rumi says “from now on I’ll be mad.” Mad not as in angry, but as in irrational. We have water, candles, flashlights, food. Took down the precarious tree, put up sandbags . . . in Florida, awaiting Hurricane Irma.Read More
Rumi’s poem:
ز اول که حدیث عاشقی بشنودم
جان و دل و دیده در رهش فرسودم
گفتم که مگر عاشق و معشوق دواند
خود هر دو یکی بود من احول بودم
Coleman Barks translation:
The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.
My translation:
When I first heard [the] story of love
I wore out soul and heart and sight on its path.
I said: are lover and beloved two?
[The] self two were one; I was seeing doubleRead More
Alchemy of Love کيمياگری عشق Persian/Farsi in modified Arabic Kufic script.Read More
@worldcalligraphy⠀ • • •⠀ Good thoughts, good words, good deeds — پندار نيک گفتار نيک کردار نيک — in the Persian/Farsi language in two squares of overlapping Arabic Kufic script. The artwork is done in watercolors and transparent inks.Read More
