My calligraphy, type design and graphic design for projects 

in oriental languages and scripts of the Middle East 

(Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew)

I am that I am. Exodus 3:14. My calligraphy in 3 languages (Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac) for the cover of the book about Moses. The calligraphy was created for a figurative composition: The Burning Bush of Moses. Publisher Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher of books and journals related to history, languages, and religious studies, with specific areas of expertise in the Ancient Near East, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Archaeology, Biblical Studies, Classics, Early Christianity, Jewish Studies, Linguistics, and Syriac.

Elena Narinskaya. The Life of one Chosen by God. 

A Study of the OT Stories of Moses i Jewish, Christian and Muslim Sources. 

Syriac Easter Calligraphy. Qom Moran men Qabro, Shariroith Qom. Mhaymninan wmawdenan. He is Risen, He is Truly Risen. 

We wish you all a Happy and Blessed Easter 

(ܩܡ ܡܪܢ ܡܢ ܩܒܪܐ ܫܪܝܪܐܝܬ ܩܡ ܥܐܕܐ ܒܪܝܟ݂ܐ)

Create Syriaс-language lettering for Publishing House Gorgias Press 

(Piscataway, NJ). The calligraphy spiral in the tradition of Aramaic magic bowls tells the story of the formation of the publishing house.

Create Syriaс-language lettering for Publishing House Gorgias Press 

(Piscataway, NJ). The calligraphy spiral in the tradition of Aramaic magic bowls tells the story of the formation of the publishing house.

Lettering for a book about Mar Isqac of Nineveh (St Isaac the Syrian)

Calligraphy for the book "The Art of Language" by Lonely Planet (London)

Calligrapher: Oleksiy Chekal

Book designer and manager: Tina Garcia

Work on syriaс (Syro-Aramaic) calligraphy for  the book "The Art of Language". 

Сalligraphy styles: Maḏnḥāyā (Madenhaya) и Serṭā. 

"He who travels much is wiser than he who lives to a great age"

Inscription for Syriac and Arabic for the sword "**Patience is the key to joy".

Easter, Syriaс Crosses, Late Estrangela and Artificial Intelligence (Midjourney).
Qom moran men qabro shariroith qom
(ܩܡ ܡܪܢ ܡܢ ܩܒܪܐ ܫܪܝܪܐܝܬ ܩܡ)
He is Risen, He is Truly Risen.
A creative Easter mix between history and modernity, Syriac calligraphy and modern technology, tradition and experiment.

The process of searching for harmonization of plastic writing for the design of the Gospel of John in Aramaic with a parallel Cyrillic text (Maalulya, Syria). Aramaic phrase in Syriac, Arabic writing, and Cyrillic transliteration.

mšyḥ' ḳm! Christ is Risen in Palmyra language and reconstruction of Palmyra 

(Syria, I B.C. - III A.D.) calligraphy based on epigraphy. P.S. Perhaps this is the 

only Easter greeting in the world you see in Palmyrian letters form. 

The Palmyrian writing finished using after the destruction of the city by Aurelian 

in 273 and after that the city was dying and waning before by the 6-7th century A.D. 

There are no examples of calligraphy on parchment or papyrus, only epigraphy remains 

in inscriptions on buildings and funerary portraits. I tried to imagine how the inhabitants 

of Palmyra wrote on the pergamen. Apparently the shape of the letters was influenced 

by both the Semitic tradition of calligraphy and Roman monumental writing. 

The process of developing the perhaps world’s first calligraphic exercises scripts based on the Palmyrene alphabet (1st century B.C. - 3rd century A.D.) 
As a result of my scientific research into Palmyra and Aramaic writing, I conducted an online workshop on Palmyra-Aramaic calligraphy and epigraphy for philologists and semitologists.

Design for First Autumn School of the EX-PATRIA Project, 

which is organized by the University of Lille in France
AD LIMINA ORIENTIS / Oriental Christianities on the Silk Roads during 

the Long Late Antiquity. Languages, Texts, Objects, Images.

Jesus Prayer in Old Georgian (Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri) in Syriac (East Syriac style, Madenhaya) and Arabic (Nash style) for First Autumn School of the EX-PATRIA Project, which is organized by the University of Lille in France AD LIMINA ORIENTIS / Oriental Christianities on the Silk Roads during the Long Late Antiquity. Languages, Texts, Objects, Images.

Arabic calligraphy for different 

tasks and projects

Calligraphy of Basmala in the style of turkish calligrapher Filibeli Bakkal Arif. 

(بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم)

Figurative arabic calligraphy style (نستعلیق‎,‎ Nasta'liq).

The creating and assembling a Shiite Shahada in a circle. 

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسوُلُ اللَّهِ وعليٌ وليُّ الله

Figurative arabic calligraphy style (ثلث‎, Thuluth)

The process of creating and assembling a Sunni Shahada in a circle.

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ‏

The cover design for a book about Muslim religions and my Arabic calligraphy.

سوريا - دار الدم 

Сурия — дар аль-дам / Сирия — обитель крови

Syria is home of blood / Calligraphy, dedicated to the war in Syria.
Kalam, my blood, paper

Logo of the school of Semitic languages at the Ostroh Academy. 

Moabite (Paleo-Hebrew) font, Ashkenazi script and modern Hebrew. And two squares as a popular element of ornaments in the Middle East.

While working on the graphic image of the exhibition project "Celebration of Freedom" (with rare specimens, Agadot) came up with the idea of playing up the symbol of Keara's dish for the Passover Seder. Сalligraphic ornamental flower from the word PESACH, reminiscent of the Easter dish KEARU. Inside are: 

1. Zeroa (shankbone)· 2. Beitza (roasted hard-boiled egg)· 3. Maror /Chazeret 

(​horseradish)· 4. Maror /Chazeret (onion)· 5. Charoset · 6. Karpas (parsley).

In the ornament it turned out to convey the explosive joy of the Exodus and liberation.

Freedom Festival. Pesach History and Traditions 

in Jewish Museum & Tolerance 

Center Curator: Liya Chechik / Research Consultants: Maria Kaspina, Uri Gershovich, Grigory Kazovsky / Exhibition Architecture: Agniya Sterligova and Planet9 / Exhibition Projects Director: Henrikas Yasas / Graphic Design: Oleksiy Chekal

Judith. The Jewish figurative calligraphy for exhibition and conference "Female Corporeality and Religion" in Belgium (Catholic University of Leuven). 

The text from the midrash goes something like this:
"And she clothed herself in royal garments, and put a royal diadem on her head. She adorned her head, and gave herself a glorious and brilliant appearance. And all who saw Judith admired her."
The image of Judith symbolizes not only feminine beauty but also a sharp mind associated with courage and sacrifice. The text inside the silhouette of Judith is identical to the text below and was created in the tradition of figurative calligraphy that was widespread in the Middle East. The type of Jewish calligraphy is close to the Sofer script, similar to Ashkenazi sacred writing, which is based on the rules established by Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575). The proceeds from the sale of the works, according to the organizers of the conference, will be used to demine Ukrainian land.
You can read information about the conference here:
https://theo.kuleuven.be/kosmoi/conference2023#Programme

The design process for two books on Judeo-Christian dialogue for a publishing house Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group (Imprints LEXINGTON BOOKS). Edited by Nicholas de Lange, Elena Narinskaya, and Sybil Sheridan
Volume one: Elonei Mamre: The Encounter of Judaism and Orthodox Christianity
Volume two: A time for Every Season/Purpose: 

Judaism and Orthodox Christianity Facing the Future

The process of finding vowel and diacritics positions 

for the Hebrew script and developing a font for the Psalter.

Book cover design about the Christian East for the monograph of my friend 

Alexei Muraviev. The process of finding plastic unity between the 5 scripts: 

Greek, Slavic, Georgian, Ethiopian and Syriac. Psalter 55:7 

"Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness". 

A cloud of inscriptions flies around the collective 

image of a hermit on a pillar in the Syrian desert in the spirit 

of the iconography of St. Simeon the Stylites

Working sketches for a multilingual typeface and trying to achieve a close visual impression of different scripts (Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Latin, Greek, Cyrillic) This font is dedicated for an interesting project related to translations of the Psalter.