Category: Uncategorized
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My writing tools
My writing tools, including quills, reed pens (qalam ney), Chinese brushes, sign painting brush and assorted metal nibs (broad nib, copperplate, quill, wire brush, etc.). These are a sampling of the well-used tools of my daily life as a calligrapher. They are displayed on an antique writing desk from India from the time of the…
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تبريک عيد نو روز
Happy First Day of Spring – No Ruz – Iranian New Year – Vernal Equinox. May the coming year be one of happiness and fulfillment for everyone. نو روز پيروز
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Islamic Marriage Certificate
Islamic Marriage Certificate with bismallah, Qur’an inscription in Arabic and English and hand painted illuminated border design. Original work by artist calligrapher Stewart J. Thomas. www.palmstone.com
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Omar Khayyam
The 11th century poet, Omar Khayyam, says “I am my own, and, what I am, I am / من زان خودم چنان که هستم هستم” Calligraphy and hand painted border by Stewart J. Thomas, www.palmstone.com
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Hummingbird and Flower
Arabic inscription in the form of a hummingbird and a flower. The hummingbird reads as the bismallah “ ” while the flower reads as “Ina lilah wa ina ilahi rajioon” – “إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ” Calligraphy by S. J. Thomas, www.palmstone.com
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Rumi: sell your cleverness
This line of poetry from Rumi has been translated as “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” I prefer “Sell your cleverness and buy be-wonderment.” The Persian says: buy the art of wonder. Calligraphy by Stewart J. Thomas, www.palmstone.com
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نو روز پيروز
No Ruz Pirooz. Home-made Iranian style baqlava (baklava) made with almonds, pistachios, cardamom and rose water – served with tea, of course. Happy New Year, and may it be a good one.
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Dance when you are perfectly free
“Dance when you are perfectly free” Persian (Farsi) calligraphy by S.J. Thomas. No Ruz Pirooz!
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Ayat al-Kursi
Ayat al-Kursi (āyatu-l-kursī), the 255th verse (ayah) of the second chapter (sura) of the Qur’an, Al-Baqara. To listen to a recitation of this Ayat, along with translation into English, view here. For a description of the symmetry of the language in this verse read here. آية الكرسي، وهي الآية رقم 255 من سورة البقرة في…
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Persian Names in Calligraphy
Persian names in calligraphy by Stewart J. Thomas, calligrapher. www.palmstone.com
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From the masters
From time to time I like to feature a wonderful work from the masters: Saki, album miniature, 1609 Reza Abbasi, 1565-1635
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Rumi: The Messiah is within my heart and like an invalid, I roam
A poem of Mawlana Rumi, “Nah man beehodeh gerde koocheh.” If you would like to hear this song sung in the Sufi ecstatic style, here is a link to a rendering by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The accent is definitely that of Pakistani Urdu, but the singing is all in the original Persian (Farsi), the…
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Rumi: Seek the science that unties for you this knot.
From Rumi: Seek the science that unties for you this knot. Seek it as long as there’s life in you still to be sought. Leave that nothing that looks like it is something; Seek that something that looks like nothing; it is not. Translation by Zara Houshmand Calligraphy by Stewart J. Thomas, palmstone.com
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Persian tattoo calligraphy
Persian calligraphy created as a tattoo design for a client. www.palmstone.com
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Wedding Monogram
Wedding Monogram created by Stewart J. Thomas combines two names inside of a floral teardrop. www.palmstone.com
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To thine own self be true
“To thine self be true” Arabic calligraphy by S. J. Thomas, www.palmstone.com
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Rumi: If you want light . . .
“if you want light, you must light a fire” Persian poetry by Jalaluddin Maulana Rumi. Persian (Farsi) calligraphy by Stewart J. Thomas www.palmstone.com.
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Seal Ring
brassmanticore: Seal ring with inscription Iran or Central Asia, late 15th-early 16th century This magnificent gold ring holds a jade stone engraved with religious verses known as the Nad-i ‘Ali, an invocation to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The text is written in mirror reverse, suggesting that the stone may once…
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Rumi: Don’t sleep!
Poetry by Jalaluddin Rumi, calligraphy by Stewart J. Thomas, palmstone.com. A popular translation of this passage reads: “The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep! You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep! you really want. People are going back and forth across the…
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Soldier of Freedom
Sarbaz-e Azadi “Soldier of Freedom” designed as a Farsi (Persian) tattoo for a client, by S. J. Thomas. www.palmstone.com