The Râbita (رابطة) is the deep bond between teacher and disciple that transcends the personality, and can exist without them ever meeting.
I was hoping for a design that would express the closeness of that relationship, but didn’t expect the letters to lend themselves to such “geometric intimacy” – not only fitting together completely, but also pairing up to form perfect arcs.
I usually do a computer study before starting construction on paper, but here it was impossible, the design was too complex. I went straight to the final paper, and you can see some imperfections in the pencils where I had to try different things.
My next difficulty was how to execute it. I wanted it all gold, but covering over all my pencil references would make it impossible to ink. In the end I opted for gilding it in increments. The hairline between two different stages of gilding would be my guide.