Paint a tile

Our local primary school, where 4 of the Munchkin5 attended each for six years, had a Paint a tile fundraising day.

Students, alumni and teachers bought a six by six inch white tile for Rm10 each.

They provided special ceramic colour paints for us to draw anything we liked.

It was a real fun day.

I was so impressed by the creativity and artistry of many of the young kids. I hope they will retain these skills as they grow.

As a family we bought twenty tiles and each of the kids painted a pair. We decided to paint the Munchkin5 kufi square together with the legend / guide / translations.

Iran Flag has square kufic

The Flag of Iran has square kufic script.

From wikipedia:

"...writing on the borders between the white, and the green and red bands reading, Allahu Akbar ("God is great") in a stylized version of the Kufic script used for the Qur'an. There are 22 (2×11) copies of this inscription, symbolic of the 22nd day of the 11th month (Bahman) in the Persian calendar—the date of the Islamic revolution (22 Bahman 1357 = February 11, 1979) over the Pahlavi dynasty. The addition of this writing renders the flag non-reversible.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_flag


Source:
Flagspot.net

88 Jalan Perdana

Rushdan alerted me last week to a kufi brickwork at 88 Jalan Perdana. This is a building behind the Islamic Art Museum in Kuala Lumpur. The security guard told me that both buildings were owned by the same person.

It is made of rectangular marble slates. The slates have wavy grooves. I expect water pours down and creates an optical effect.

How it all started

I have always been interested in squares. Geotude comes from that interest. I have never been very good at reading Arabic script fast. One day in the late 1980's while i was working for the Arab-Malaysian Group of Companies, headed by Tan Sri Azman Hashim, a passionate art collector, I sat in a meeting room and there was a framed songket weaving. When i read it, I was immediately able to read the entire verse, Al-Ikhlas. That surprised me. About ten years later I came across a similiar pieces at the Art Gallery at the Hyatt in Johor Bahru. I bought it and some other pieces and still have them till today. I hope you enjoy the collection.

Kufi Squares Presentation

kufi kufi squares

In some cultures the skull cap is known as kufi.

During early 2003 I performed the Haj with my wife. We were in the Holy Land for about a month. During the evenings we would roam the bazaars and nooks and crannies of the city. We discovered a kufi style being sold that was very colourful. I ended up with about 50 by the time we returned to Malaysia. I have given away most to friends and family but have a few left over. They were just enough to create this visual kufi of kufi.

So I have created the worlds first kufi square made up of kufis. 

Truly kufikufi!

Barcamp KL Presentation

My presentation at BarcampKL on 5 april 2009

azlan abas redesign

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the world's first kufi squares in kufi squares

Original graphic from http://arabiccalligraphy.wordpress.com/2007/03/07/khat-kufi-murabba/




 Copyright All rights reserved

my first original kufi square

azlan abas

alif , zai, lam, nun

ain, alif, ba, sin

oops an error, thanx Shukor ! sin missing one tooth!

kufi squares in kufi squares

azlan abas in azlan abas

the world's first kufi squares in kufi squares

copyright all rights reserved

Islamic Art Museum Kuala Lumpur

Logo for Islamic Art Museum Kuala Lumpur is a Kufi square 

Ambigrams by nagfa

Ambigrams by nagfa

asian finance bank

Asian Finance Bank is a new bank in Malaysia.

Their logo is a Kufi Square

munchkin5 kufi kufic square

http://nagfa.blogspot.com/2008/12/one-of-our-most-challenging-requests.html#links

Al Ikhlas Lego Kufi Square

During our visit to Minneapolis, Minneasota, we stayed at a hotel opposite Mall Of America. At the Lego store we bought a cup of 1x1 square purple and 1x1 round blue bricks. Just scoop up with your hands and fill up the cup! I thought this would be enough, but we ran out of both colours, especially the purple square bricks as we built the Kufi square. 

So we improvised and changed the colour of some of the  background.

We present for your pleasure the World Premiere of the World's First Kufi Square in Lego!