Ghulman’s passion for calligraphy came after his mother enrolled him and his brothers in a calligraphy class to improve their handwriting. Little did she know that one of her sons would become a calligraphy guru.
“I took a summer calligraphy foundation class, and I grew fond of it with time. I found myself practicing how to draw the letters on a daily basis,” he said. “The summer after, I enrolled in another class to improve myself and learn more about this art. I learned more about calligraphy and learned how to produce a piece of art using only letters.”
Ghulman now gives classes to people who want to hone their calligraphy skills. “I now get paid for my passion. I give classes and courses to people who keep asking me to guide them through this artistic skill. My mom even asks me to teach my younger brothers and sisters how to have good hand writing,” he said.
Gulman also participated in school contests to compete with calligraphers from other schools in Jeddah. “I earned third place in my first contest, and first place the year after. In the third year, I won third place. This year, I participated and won first place again.”
The young calligrapher has been working on his skills ever since he was 11, but he always kept it to himself. It was when he turned 17 that he shared his hobby with the world.
“For years, I had been sketching and drawing words for myself. I never thought of sharing this with anyone until I started showing my pieces to my friends in school. My schoolmates were very fascinated with my work and started asking me to write their names on canvases and T-shirts,” he explained.
Ghulman later decided to further improve his skill by developing his handwriting with other kinds of calligraphy. “I started to read more books and searched the Internet for more calligraphy types other than the original Arabic,” he said. “I learned more than three kinds of calligraphy — from Turkish calligraphy, English calligraphy, Iranian calligraphy and two kinds of Arabic calligraphy.”
In addition, he uses specific pens to write with. “It all depends on the fabric I’m writing on. I use regular pens if I’m writing on paper and pens for fabrics when I write on T-shirts,” he explained. “There is a special pen that I like to use: The Reed pen with different inks. This pen is a long piece of wood that you dip in ink and it makes handwriting look better and more authentic.”
“All my products are handmade; nothing is printed or computer made. This is why it might take longer than usual to produce an art piece,” he explained.
During a get-together with Saudi bloggers, Ghulman met the founder of Design Magazine. “I wrote the word “Design” on a piece of paper at the meeting, and Kholoud Attar, the founder of the magazine took it and scanned it and then published it in the following issue. After that, people started contacting me and asking me to write for them,” said Ghulman.
Later, he wrote a friend’s name on a shirt as a favor. “The T-shirt turned out to be stylish and unique, and that is when I warmed up to the idea of making more shirts for my friends and family. So, I started with school friends whom I charged for each T-shirt,”
Ghulman later turned his hobby into a business. “I started participating in open bazaars showing people my calligraphy skills on T-shirts, and many people started calling me to make orders and write their names on different materials,” he said. “I participated in a number of bazaars and made a good name for myself and learned how to market myself too.”
The young calligrapher wishes to make a big name for himself to brighten his future. “Now that I graduated from high school, I’m looking to study interior architecture. I have been always attracted to all types of design. I want to start my own graphic, interior design company in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“I want to develop my knowledge into creating something new and unique. This is what makes a designer or an architect special because Saudis are always attracted to something unique,” he added.
