Service Description

Attar’s Mantiq al-tair or Manteq ut-teyr (Language of the Birds) of 1487 30 birds together fly free In Attar’s perfumed philosophy Wings, prayers and a poem Fragrant feathers fly home Think and paint like a master Sufi Paint the 30 birds from Attar’s Conference of the Birds in the 30 consecutive calendar days of November. In each day’s 1 hour class we’ll paint a different bird from the classic Sufi poem. At a gathering of the birds, the wise Hoopoe suggests they all search for the Simurgh, or phoenix, who can be their leader. After many adventures and much peril, involving travelling through 7 valleys (of the Quest, of Love, of Knowledge, of Detachment, of Unity, of Wonderment and of Poverty and Annihilation, each more spiritually refining than its precursor), only 30 birds are left. At the end of their journey they finally realise that they themselves make up the Simurgh (si (30) murgh (birds)). This unique intensive painting-teaching-performance is a one-off event series and will be recorded but won’t be repeated. You do not need to take all the classes although to experience the full intensity and drama of the spiritual journey then I recommend taking all the classes, since the full canticle provides a comprehensive artistic overview of bird typology with a variety of beaks, tails and feathers. Follow these fowls and join me as we paint one of the most famous Sufi poems of all time ~ Like birds, timings for these classes also flit around to catch different time zones and moods. £30 per bird (half-price at weekends when my own nestlings may be present) 1 hour and 1 bird per day Mon £30: 11-12pm Tues £30: 10-11pm Wed £30: 9-10pm Thu £30: 11am-12pm Fri £30: 3-4pm Sat £15: 8-9pm Sun £15: 10-11am All London time You will need: - Miniature painting supplies (go to the Forum at www.miniaturepaintingforum.com > Resources for a full list of supplies) - Paper ready prepared with relevant bird on it, traced and transferred and the lines inked in. You can use mine as templates, or even print mine out and colour in if you want to take it as a relaxed colouring session. Please note that we will not cover the preparation and teastaining of the paper in this class (that is covered in other miniature classes); it is a painting only class. You can choose to do 30 separate birds or combine them all into one larger painting. Good afternoon, good evening and goodnight!