Sejada Carpets featuring Arabic Calligraphy – Inspired by the rhythm and color of Islamic calligraphy and surface patterning that are ever-present in Middle Eastern architecture, art and everyday items, I learned that “horoufiya” is an Arabic word that refers to art using abstract alphabet forms. The motif in these carpets spell “Carpet” or rug in Arabic (pronounced se-ja-da). They were digitally designed on a grid and sampled repeatedly by machine knitting. The machine knitting process is actually very physical, as I operate the knitting carriage back and forth by hand, using both hands and the upper body to slide the yarn carriage 36 inches each way across the 200-needle bed. The entire piece of 100% wool was then shrunken to half it’s original size, thickened and texturized by machine washing and drying, and finally steamed into shape. Pieces are hand sewn together.
