Mazhiv
Mazhiv
Sand
Writing on sand was an interesting experiment to explore the roots and traditions of Vulcan calligraphy. In ancient times, calligraphers would write on a clean, flattened bed of sand in the desert using instruments with a blunt point, such as a stone, a stick with a burnished tip, or a sehlat claw.
In Vulcan calligraphy, the act of writing a text (be this a single word, a sentence, a whole paragraph or an entire book) is referred to as ohalovaya, “the honorable journey”. In this gifset you can observe the journey undertaken to write this specific instance of the word mazhiv. The starting point is called trashan (departure) and the final point, hakel (home). The goal of a calligrapher is to complete the journey and arrive home in as few strokes as possible, in a manner that is fluid and without stumbling; however, there are different paths possible for each journey, and no right or wrong answers as long as the overall goal is achieved. These choices impact the personal style of each calligrapher. Moreover, many glyphs necessitate several strokes to be completed- in the seventh image, you can see how I retraced my steps to complete the A glyph. You can observe in it two characteristics specific of Vulcan vowel glyphs, called glat-kov (sign stone or landmark) and tuhs-yut (crossroads), in keeping with the travelling theme.
Sand is a transient medium, and we write knowing that what is written will not last. We travel forward with the awareness that even though we cannot preserve the work forever, the journey in itself has value.
