Design Principles Applied to Ceramic Tiles: The Marriage of Geometry and Biomorph

Subject
Ceramic
Location
The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts China Centre
Dates
2025.3.3 - 2025.3.14
Tutor
Nooshin Shafiei
Sign up

Drawing from a practical understanding of geometry, biomorphic design, colour harmony, symmetry and tessellations, students will engage with the craft of hand-painted ceramics. A study of tiles from Western and Islamic traditions will reveal not only the Chinese influence in these designs, but also the geometric order that structures and proportions the application of floral motifs.

Students will design and paint a set of Iznik-inspired tiles that integrate geometric principles with biomorphic motifs in a structured, repeating design. They will discover the mathematic harmony of the geometry underpinning these beautiful floral motifs. Students will also engage with practical ceramics processes including the application of glazes and kiln firings.
Discover how the interactions of cultures along the Silk Road have resulted uniquely beautiful and influential ceramic masterpieces, particularly in the Turkish Iznik tradition. This course is an excellent introduction for anyone wishing to explore biomorphic design, tessellation, geometry, and mathematics skills, and the application of these skills in the context of ceramic tiles.
 

Tutor biography

Nooshin Shafiei

Nooshin Shafiei began her career in woodcarving and marquetry before moving on to ceramics, illumination, miniature painting, metal engraving and weaving. She has studied under the supervision of Iranian traditional masters and attained a BA in Handicrafts (Distinction), MA in Art Research (Distinction). She received her PhD from the School of Traditional Arts in 2019. Her research, entitled Reconstructing the Saqqa-khaneh in the 21st Century: Designing Traditional Devotional Architecture for a Contemporary Context focused on the saqqa-khaneh, a public fountain that, since Safavid times, has been a feature of the urban landscape in Iran. Nooshin used her work as an artist and placed a project of creating a saqqa-khaneh for a London setting at the centre of the research. She has over twenty years experience as a tutor and has exhibited her work both in the UK and internationally.