For my calligram project, I chose to create an image of a bird with the calligraphy of Allah (الله) inscribed on its wings. Growing up, my family and I would visit our cousins on their potato farm in Washington State every summer. My earliest memories are of playing hide and seek in the hay barn and my excitement when the tiny barn swallows danced around me. This is why I chose the small bird to signify the power of Allah. Allah's greatest gift is life, and nothing feels more alive than the swirling birds in that barn. Much like the whirling dervishes, their dance feels hypnotic and pious.

 In creating this image, I used photoshop to make an abstract and colorful drawing of an image of a small bird I found online. For the colors, I chose a blend of orange and teal, colors on opposite ends of the color wheel, signifying Allah's beauty and presence everywhere one looks. I then photoshopped the calligraphy to appear as though the letters made up the bird's wing feathers, as Allah is not separate but entwined in everything we perceive.

In the image itself, I purposefully chose to place the word Allah on the top of the bird's wings. In flight, humans predominantly gaze upon birds from below. In this way, the bird becomes a symbol for the ideas of Zahir, or apparent meaning, and Batin, or esoteric meaning. If a mortal were to look upon this bird in flight, he would be unaware of its message. Only someone who stands on the mountains of knowledge and piety could look down at the bird's wings and see its true beauty. 

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