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The Brief :

1. Design a miniature Quilt 30cm x 30cm

2. Use App.Ollogy to create an organic/floral design.

3. Use Jane Sassemans Appliqué Technique.

Digital Designs

Miniature Painting

When I first came to Iran I went to a miniature painting class with Ostad(Master) Ahmari in Manuchehri Street ,Tehran . It was not an easy skill to learn . It took me a long time and a lot of concentration to focus on being small.

Everything about this way of working is small, gentle and slow movements with a one haired paint brush , making minimum marks and being precise ,the steadfastness and dedication to the process, and of course the silence….

I am a Westerner and our mark making is different .For starters we write from left to right , they from right to left ! So getting the lines to look ‘Eastern’ or Persian was an accomplishment on its own ! I remember the Old Master chastising my work because it looked too ‘graphic’ and I must say I did love replicating the ‘eslimi’ lines in a more graphic way which reminded me so much of William Morris’ work. Of course that is where he got so much of his inspiration . I also enjoyed experimenting with the colours which did not go down well with the traditionalists !

Miniature Quilts create the same emotions in me …. the fear of not achieving perfection ! But what I have understood from this is that it is a learning process…I just have to keep making them till I get it right !

Of course the design and techniques have a big say in how well it comes out . Designers cannot always choose the brief and need to comply to the needs of the project .Maybe I did not make the right choices for this one ,the Mini Quilt I mean, and I should rethink the brief …. but it has led me onto new ideas …and most definitely helped me deal with my perfectionism ….

“ The Conference of the Birds’ written by the Persian philosopher and poet Farid ul’ Din Attar in 1177 is a tale about a group birds embarking on a pilgrimage to find the illustrious Simorgh .They need to pass 7 valleys to get there. Along the way each of their strengths and weaknesses are revealed as are the obstacles or stimulus allowing them to reach enlightenment. Only thirty birds arrive at the journeys end and realize they are the ‘Simorgh’ themselves, a reflection of enlightenment.

Simorgh in Farsi is not only the name for Phoenix but also means 30 birds … si = 30 and morgh ………bird.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conference_of_the_Birds

… and on a much less serious note I have decided to name this piece ‘The Conference of the Chicks” !

The Stitches

I have used a combination of both traditional embroidery stitches and Pateh Doozi stitches .Sue Spargo uses a large library of stitches with cotton and silk threads but the woolen yarns do not allow such complex manipulation so I have been limited to playing around with , size , direction and spacing .

Motifs

Folk Art represents the life of the local community and has strong roots in traditional folk law and cultural heritage.

https://dzignpatch.com/2018/09/29/embroider/

“Gol o’ Bol Bol” or “Gol o’ Morgh” is a very old and prominent motif in Iranian art and Literature , it translates as The Rose and the Nightingale. In Persian literature the rose serves as a literary metaphor for perfection , beauty and the Beloved with the nightingale as the Lover .The rose is proud , beautiful and often cruel while the nightingale sings endlessly of his longing and devotion .As a decorative theme it was used predominantly from the Safavid period onward to beautify all manner of objects from ceramics , manuscripts, miniature paintings and woodwork. The red rose is Irans national flower.

I have included birds from the simple sparrow to the proud peacock. The Peacock has a very great significance in Iranian culture that can be traced back to the Achaemenid era when it is believed to have been imported from India where it originated . It symbolizes power and monarchy as we can see in the Peacock Throne which was taken from India in 1739 to Iran by Nader Shah and is now part of the Iranian Crown Jewels in the National Archives. We can see peacocks in many of the older Pateh pieces and of course it is a pleasure to design with …so much colour and beauty !

The Parrot and the Mina bird are symbols of intelligence and the Parrot especially is admired for its wit . Smaller parrots and always portrayed in pairs as love birds .

The butterfly is also very symbolic in Iranian poetry representing the soul itself and its sacrifice for its Beloved either spirituality or physically , it could be a lover , a passion , a nation…. In literature the butterfly or moth singes its wings as it gets too close to the candle flame as the light is hypnotic ,it cannot help itself.

The Robin is for me and Christmas! Although it is said that The Magi , the three wise kings came from Persian and were Zoroastrian holy men who followed the Stars.