Sacred Oneness: A Celebration of Calligraphy

An exquisite exhibit of Arabic calligraphy paintings by Bay Area artist Salma Arastu are currently on display at the Muslim Educational Trust (MET) Community Center and the ArtReach Gallery at First Congregational Church (UCC).

MET brings 28 of Arastu's paintings in the series "Celebration of Calligraphy: Sacred Words in Art" to Portland. The works are available for viewing during Community Center and ArtReach Gallery hours until Sunday, May 28.

On April 8, MET Community Center hosted a talk by artist Salma Arastu, who spoke about her inspiration and methods in creating Arabic calligraphy, merged with Islamic patterns. Arastu, who was born a Hindu and embraced Islam in marriage, emphasized the importance of her native traditions and adopted faith in creating paintings and sculptures that echo the universal depictions of the divine.

"I paint to express the prayers of my heart and intend for the energy of the calligraphy, powered by the positive messages from the texts to reveal the joy and celebration that I experience while creating them," she says.

Each painting contains at least 40 iterations of words sourced from the Q'uran, Hadith and Rumi, The lyrical essence of each work reflects poetry in sacred texts. Arastu says that she works several thin layers of acrylic paints to create the patterns and calligraphic strokes. Repeating the words is akin to repeated words in prayer.

"Repeating the verses has a meditate and calming effect on me. Making and painting these seamless and repeated Arabic calligraphy strokes has a mystical feel," she says.

As a visual artist, Arastu has exhibited her paintings and sculptures at more than 40 shows throughout the U.S. She has been invited to Germany twice, first on artist residency in 2000. In 2011, Westphalia Wilhelm University in Münster, Germany invited to publish her paper "Art Informed by Spirituality" in the publication "International Symposium: God Loves Beauty: Post Modern Views on Religion and Art."

Shortly after arriving in the United States, Arastu became an entrepreneur with the creation of Your True Greetings, a greeting card company that uses her paintings and calligraphy to serve the needs of Muslim communities in the United States, Canada, Japan and Great Britain.

Arastu's works are on display at MET Community Center, 10330 SW Scholls Ferry Road and at UCC's ArtReach Gallery, 1126 Park Avenue.

Watch the "Arts America" segment on Arastu's 2015 exhibit in St. Louis, Missouri (segment begins at 1:36)

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