Introduction to Naskh script Part II
4-week online workshop with Deniz Öktem Bektaş
May 10- 31, 2025 | Saturdays from 9 am to 10 Am ET
Fee: $ 55
Open to continuing students | Recordings will be available
Course Description
This workshop continues from Intro to Naskh Script I, with a greater emphasis on providing feedback on the students' work. The instructor will briefly introduce a new weekly lesson that includes a few variations of each letter combination. Students are expected to work on all or part of the corresponding letter combinations on their own and submit homework by Friday.
This practice will give insight into the classical teaching method, where students spend time each week writing a lesson on their own that is then corrected by the teacher.
During our final session, Ms. Deniz will do a special presentation on The Noble Hilye of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We will delve into the importance of the Hilye-i Sharif in written form in Islamic calligraphy. The Hilye-i- Sharif (Noble Hilye) is a beautiful and ornate calligraphy art form that embodies the moral, spiritual, and physical descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Class Recordings will be Available.
Prerequisite: Completion of "Intro to Naskh Part I" or equivalent beginner-level proficiency in the Naskh script for continuing students.
Class Schedule
Hilye-i Sharif of Propher Muhammad (pbuh) by Deniz Oktem Bektas
May 10 (Week One): Introduction to a few variations of the letter “sad” connections. Homework feedback.
May 17 (Week Two): Introduction to a few variations of the letter “tā” connections. Homework feedback.
May 24 (Week Three): Introduction to a few variations of the letter “ayn” connections. Homework feedback.
May 31 (Week Four): Presentation on the Hilye-i Sharif. Homework feedback.
Materials
Reed Pen/Java Pen (1-1.5 mm)
Glossy White Paper
Black Ink (Non-waterproof calligraphy ink)
Ink jar with lika (silk yarn)
Writing cushion/pad
Optional: Slanted surface
Website suggestions for supplies
Instructor Bio
Deniz Öktem Bektaş was born in Holland in 1976. She graduated from ‘İmam-Hatip’ high school in Istanbul in 1994. After completing her studies at the Department of English Literature at Boğaziçi University, she continued her graduate work at Georgetown University in the U.S.A. While working on her masters at the Department of Communication, Culture and Technology, she met Mohamed Zakariya with whom she started calligraphy lessons in riq’a and naskh. Coming back to Turkey at the end of 2002, she continued to take calligraphy lessons with Hasan Çelebi and Davut Bektaş in the scripts of riq’a, naskh and thuluth. In 2007, she obtained her ijaza in the naskh and thuluth scripts. She received encouragement awards in naskh at the 7th International Calligraphy Competition organized by IRCICA in 2007 and at the Calligraphy Biennial in Sharjah in 2008. In the national calligraphy competition conducted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey (2015), she received 3rd prize in writing several pages from the Qur’an in the script of naskh. Mrs. Öktem has participated in exhibitions in Turkey and internationally, and continues her work alongside her husband, Davut Bektaş, in their studio in Istanbul.