The Language of Nature: Design Motifs

Subject
Geometry
Location
The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts China Centre
Dates
2024.11.4 - 2024.11.15
Tutor
Mahrukh Bashir

The course will be delivered in-person by Tutor Mahrukh Bashir, with supporting and translating by a Tutor Assistant.

This course will teach students about the cross-cultural exchange between Chinese and Persian/Ottoman patterns inspired by the forms of nature.

Students will learn paper preparation and how to prepare paints from pigments. They will also learn how to make shell- gold from 24-carat gold leaf. Students will then be taught various motifs and how to prepare their own designs that can be translated to various media. They will also engage in practical study of painting techniques, based on the art of manuscript illumination.

 

Tutor biography

Mahrukh Bashir

Mahrukh was born and brought up in Kenya and is now based in London. She gained a distinction from the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Art in her Master of Arts degree in Visual and Islamic Art.

Mahrukh is inspired by color and patterns in the natural world. She uses traditional methods, materials and disciplines that have been used since the Ottoman, Persian and Mughal empires.

She has a special interest and specializes in the arts of the book from the Islamic tradition and is currently completing a traditional apprenticeship in Turkey in order to become a Master in Ottoman manuscript illumination.

Mahrukh's work belongs in various private and royal collections. Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally.

She works on community outreach projects, offers workshops and is a visiting tutor at the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London.