RELATED TIBETAN SCRIPTS: Calligraphy in stone.

All across Asia, calligraphy carved into wood is traditionally used to prominently display building names, placed above doorways of temples, palaces and shops.

The natural grain and figure of wood makes a beautiful natural ground for fine calligraphy, a match made in heaven, or painted in the classical combination of lapis blue with gilt gold letters carved in relief, such as the above sign that sits pride of place over the main entrance of the Lama temple in Beijing.

Also common on temples in Tibet, this sign gives the name "The blessed place of tushita heavenly joy" typically in three languages: Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese.

In contrast is the below sign is from a Japanese sweet store that reads "Forever Happiness"

A contemporary combination of natural wood and calligraphy has been artfully explored by Vermont based Tim Brookes, who runs the worthy 'Endangered Alphabets Project'.

Tim recently contacted Tashi to carve his Tibetan calligraphy in wood, an on-going project that in time will boast a number of hand carved master pieces, which are intended to raise funds toward Rokpa International that has many projects in the Tibetan homeland, such as the preservation and education of the Tibetan language.

Above, "Moon over Water" is a piece created by Tim Brookes using calligraphy by Tashi Mannox, the top left ideograph is the word moon the Tibetan Drutsa script. Below right is a Wartu Sanskrit monogram of two words Eh and Vam. for a greater explanation of Eh-Vam, please follow the link here.

Here below is another wood carving shown though the process of creation by the skilful hand of Tim Brookers, once again using a Tashi calligraphy as the subject. The words "Graceful Kindness"arranged as a circular design is also a popular tattoo design and available as a high resolution down-load.

The below image shows the Tibetan syllable hum, that was hand carved by another artist Mel Du Pontet, in a piece of English Yew wood some 20 years ago. The piece has aged a beautiful rich colour. A piece of Boltic amber fills a knot hole that incorporates part of the syllable, this is the ma sound that represents the sun, below which is a crescent moon, both symbols are part of the whole character that has been gilded in real gold leaf. Here

Stone Mantras

The idiom "set in stone" is generally a metaphor for something 'firmly established', be it a set of rules or a schedule difficult to change. Yet for an artist it may have a more literal meaning as to have their creations carved in stone. This is evident with the highly skilled stonemasons of the bygone middle-age Europe, who erected lofty Cathedrals of stone that seem to defy the law of gravity.

While on the other side of two continents high up on the Tibetan plateau; sacred mantras were carved in stone as a different form of devotional practice.

Yet despite social change and religious degeneration, the robust nature of stone has stood the test of time, proving itself as a medium to be one of the best in longevity.

Earlier this year of 2013, Tashi was contacted by a Frenchman Yann Devorsine, also a fellow Tibetan Buddhist and a stonemason.

Yann had spent some years living the Kingdom of Bhutan, where he had been given the opportunity to practice his skill carving mantras and prayers in the local landscape. A suitable place for such rock carvings, as the tradition of carving mantras on stone has been a historical practice reaching across the broad length of the Himalayas as far as Mustang and North into Tibet and Mongolia.

Yann asked Tashi for the use of one of his calligraphy designs on a particular boulder in Bhutan, which opened up a partnership in carving devotional mantras and prayers on stone in Europe.

Tashi's Mani mantra mandala on a boulder is Bhutan.

More recently Yann carved Tashi's calligraphy for a friend in Algarve, Portugal. The natural landscape of the landowner provided handsome boulders in which several different mantras and seed syllables could be deeply incised or to stand proud, both catching the light to dramatic effects in contrast; revealing the beauty of these sacred characters firmly set in stone for many generations to come.