An English gal in Turkey explores the Turkish artistic scene
When Ottoman Sultans attended ritual prayer at an Imperial Mosque, they performed their namaz (prayers) from a raised, gilded loge, an ornately screened religious equivalent of a theatrical Royal Box. These loges (Hünkar mahfili) led back into a secret first … Continued
When I was studying literature at university we came across the mythological story of Tantalus. It’s a pretty horrific tale containing many twists and turns (he steals the secrets of the gods and boils his own son for starters…). But … Continued
A month or two ago I found myself, completely unexpectedly, crying in public. It was a moment that will remain with me forever and, I imagine, define my course to come. So let me tell you the story… I was … Continued
So the panel that defined so much of my last year came out of the kiln and I hated it, remember? I’ve been trying to work out why I had such a strong reaction so I can move forward more … Continued
You will remember that when I finally saw the fired, finished panel that had taken me months to complete… I hated it! But why such a negative reaction? Last post I talked about time as a reason for my reaction. But … Continued
A couple of weeks ago now I finally got to see the fired and finished panel that had taken me, all told, about 6 months to complete… and I hated it! After so much expectation and waiting and determination to … Continued
Last summer I stayed in the beautiful house of some dear friends in England. They are an elderly couple and their home bursts at the seams with drawings, paintings, sculpture, books, pottery… and much of the art is their own. … Continued
So you may recall that penç (“pench”) forms are a view of the flower looking down from the top (literally a bird’s eye view), or a horizontal cross section of the flower. Hatayi forms are similarly a cross section but taken vertically … Continued
It’s a slow journey to perfecting the art of cini. .. to break up all the practice I decided to paint a pomegranate (here shown nearly finished and pre-firing). Not my best work ever but a fun mini – project … Continued
(Here’s some I prepared earlier… funnily enough the tablecloth also has a giant ‘penç’ on it too!) I was thrilled when Poppy looked at my leaves and decided I could graduate to the next step… Step 1: Leaves Step … Continued