Photography: Andrew Ames. Laser cutting at Bud Saggal Precision Laser Cutting, Providence, RI.
Writing Meander
An exploration of typography as texture transforms the visual shape of a letter into a physical form by sandblasting a dimensional pattern into a mahogany surface.
A digital composition of different scales of Latin and Arabic letters (Matrix Italic Script by Zuzanna Licko and Tawus, a personal Arabic typeface design) is laser cut into a stainless steel stencil to guide a sandblasting treatment. The gradual, time-intensive process of sandblasting by hand yields an uneven surface with varying depths, creating textures of layered letters that replace meaning with a new abstracted design.
The Arabic font, Tawus (peacock in Arabic), is a personal design inspired by old Islamic manuscripts in the Maghribi script or North African Andalusian style. Digitizing hand drawings created a font that achieved modularity while maintaining the elegant flow of the curves and round endings that characterized the original scripts.
