By Shayan Ashraf
![calligraphy love, peace.pdf[82].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cf71a0f4241b9000186be86/1613101281284-63Z1R4ABPSCTFQJ834YV/calligraphy+love%2C+peace.pdf%5B82%5D.jpg)
This is a scan of a simple piece Shayan created that combines Arabic & Hebrew calligraphic traditions. He combined four words: "Ahava" (love in Hebrew, generally with a divine connotation), "Ishq" (roughly the Arabic counterpart of Ahava), "Shalom" (Peace / greetings), and "Salaam" (Peace / greetings). He chose to connect Ishq & Ahava while also showing how each independently begets the other and, together, depict peace stemming from the juncture.
About the Artist
Shayan Ashraf is a Muslim Bengali-American from NYC who enjoys creating calligraphy in English, Hebrew, Arabic, and Bangla. He combines different styles together to celebrate the diversity and commonalities among various cultures, inspired by rich calligraphic traditions of communities across the world.