TEHRAN Being an artist and an athlete may seem strange to certain people, but for Ahmad-Ali Namvar who is a Kan Karate-Do athlete and an illumination artist, sports and art are inseparable. He says he is indebted to sports for his concentration on illumination works. Born in 1964, Namvar, is an illumination artist who has presented remarkable works. He became familiar with illumination in a calligraphy atelier. Speaking in an interview with the TEHRAN TIMES, Namvar underlined that at first, illumination was unknown to him but that after several years of practicing and carrying out research he achieved the level he desired in this field. Namvar learned illumination under the supervision of Master Mohammad-Baqer Aqamiri and Master Bahram Saleki. He emphasized that illumination is a very hard art which requires accuracy and time, adding that because of the great hardship required to master illumination, many beginners leave it at preliminary stages and that currently there are only a limited number of illumination artists in the country. Namvar has taken part in several group illumination exhibitions including the Islamic Miniature Biennial as well as the holy Qoran exhibition. Namvar along with 60 other artists worked on illumination of the holy Qoran at the Seminar on Inscription of the Holy Qoran in One Day. He was awarded the appreciation plaque and crystal statuette of the seminar. Touching on illumination styles, Namvar referred to Mogul, Teymouri, Seljuk and Qajar as the most important illumination styles, saying that he himself follows Teymouri style and that every artist chooses a particular illumination style for himself. Namvar who has worked on illumination for about 11 years has so far illuminated several books including "Golestan" by the renowned Iranian poet Sa'di in 1993, "Kalamat-e Elieh Gharra" in 1993 and the book by Khajavi Kermani. He has also created several illumination works for the Association of Iranian Calligraphers. Namvar stressed that from the time when Islam came to Iran, the holy Qoran has been always accompanied by the art of illumination, adding that illumination in Iran dates back to the Sassanid dynasty and reached its climax in the Safavid era. With regard to the above background, it is worth knowing that one of Namvar's works was selected as the best work in last year's holy Qoran exhibition. Namvar further called on those in charge of Qoranic arts to pay more attention to artists who present artistic works related to the holy Qoran. He believes that everyone can be an artist provided that the ground is paved for his/her talents to flourish. In the meantime, beside the art of illumination, Namvar began practicing martial arts in 1981 and now holds Dan three in karate. He has also practiced kendo under the guidance of Hossein Karamyar president of Iran Kendo Committee of Martial Arts Federation and has obtained Dan first by Sensei Sadao Kotaka president of the U.S.-based International Classical Kendo Federation (ICKF), which has appointed Karamyar as its sole exclusive representative in Iran, the Middle East, the Far East and the Eastern Hemisphere. He said thanks to practicing kendo, "I have obtained peace of mind, great concentration, and self-confidence", adding that, "I am determined to continue kendo."