Profile & Introduction
Nausheen Sheikh completed her masters' degree in Visual Islamic & Traditional Art from the Prince's School of Traditional Arts, London, UK. She visited Dubai in order to explore the possibility of fusing Traditional Islamic Art with the modern society that Dubai houses. Her dream has been to combine Traditional Islamic Art & Architectural Concepts with modern interior design in order to create a unique contemporary style founded in the traditional ideology.
The Prince's School of Traditional Arts gave Nausheen an eye to appreciate the beauty, and a sense to discover the essence, of traditional art. It is her ever lasting wish to revive the traditional arts from their dying state; to breathe into them a new life, adding livening colours into a fading painting; finding the rebirth of traditional art as a living tradition.
Nausheen's undergraduate degree in textile technology and design management lends to a textural quality which is very significant in order to create depth and add another dimension of mystery to her work.
She firmly believes and has on several occasions stated that "whether its interior designing or painting or anything one sets out to do, for it to be done well and resonate true beauty there must be a harmony, passion, and a quiet humbleness within ones own self before it can be seen in ones work and mannerisms."
Nausheen is an aspiring young artist of the 21st century, who is constantly aspiring to achieve such harmony and passion at the highest levels in order to further develop her personality, her work, and the traditional arts.
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Nausheen's Area of Art
The Arabic calligraphy is done in various different styles e.g., Kufic, Thuluth, and Naskh scripts. The painting is done on hand made paper which has been burnished, to obtain a smooth surface in order to achieve fine lines of the calligraphy; hand ground, pure pigments and shell gold in various shades - moon gold, venetian red etc.- are used for embellishment.
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Ceramics
Plates
- Hand Painted Stoneware Plates
Stoneware clay is used for making these plates. While the clay is still wet the design is embossed and carved into the clay and various textured surfaces are created. The metallic bronze slip glaze is a custom made glaze and requires high firing at a temperature of 1280 degrees celsius.
- Hand Painted Earthenware Plates
These plates are hand painted using underglazes in several colours and are fired at 1060 degrees celsius after which overglazes are applied. Unique shades of colour are made by blending colours together. Layering of the underglazes is essential in creating an embossed surface or a 3D textural effect in which the pattern can be felt or read by the hand. Lusters are applied after the overglaze has been fired.
Tiles
- Carved Porcelain Tiles
Porcelain rolled out by hand and design carved into the porcelain. The tiles are fired upto a temperature of 1200 degrees celsius. This high firing fuses the procelain particles by completely driving of all the internal water particles within the compound molecules of the porcelain, hence, giving the procelain an invory effect and a smooth polished texture. Design inspirations range from early 7th to 9th century by bimorphic motifs as well as more developed designs from the 9th to the 13th century.
- Underglazed Tiles
Tiles hand painted using underglazes and fired at 1060 degrees celsius. Overglaze is applied first and then the underglaze painted on top, inorder to create an embossed surface, as well as reduce one firing stage. Design inspirations range from the 9th century through to the 13th century, showing the developement and refinement of biomorphic forms.
- Luster and Underglaze Tiles
Tiles painted in underlazes and illuminated in various shades of lustre ~ antique gold, bronze, green and blue. Underglazes are painted in several layers first and then after firing, the overglaze is applied and fired. Then the lustre is applied and fired between 650-700 degrees celsius. The application of the lustre results in various shades and intensities of the colour.
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Geometrical Paintings
The paintings are typically done on hand made paper such as Mexican Bark, Butanese paper, and personally hand made paper using pure pigments and layering with fine tissue paper, as well as gesso panels. The various geomterical patterns are first constructed using a compass and ruler to scale and then the pattern is repeated as required before being transferred on to the final paper. Patterns typically range from 4-fold geometry to 12-fold geometry (or more in some cases). Colouration is done using pure pigment and shell gold in various shades. Patterns are embossed on paper and pigment powder is used to accentuate the design.
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Guilding
Guilding is the application of gold leaf (22-24 carot gold) and shell gold using water and oil based guilding techniques on various surfaces, i.e., on ceramic, glass, vellum, paper, and Gesso panels. Research has been conducted using various shades of gold, e.g., Venetian Red Gold and Moon Gold. Typically, custom made shell gold is created using techniques which are unique to every artist. In Illumination, guilding is also done on on Raised Gesso, which can be applied on to vellum and paper. A special base gesso is applied onto gesso panels prior to guilding on the panel and never directy applied.
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Marquetery
marquetry is the study of veneers, their colours, patterns, properties, and uses in interiors and furniture. It involves the use of various different types of cuts which yield various different patterns in the same veneer. Marquetry skills are applied to geometrical patterns and "weaving" the pathways in geometrical patterns to create another dimension with an opitcal effect.
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Object Modelling
Vairous objects are modelled to scale to visualize interior design concepts. An Example of this kind of work include an embedded lighting in natural wood which can be fitted into a wall niche with concealed lighting, mir hub niche with a Pointed "Horseshoe" Arch which is hand plastered to create a textural surface. The niche houses a guilded incense bottle.
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Paintings
Various motifs are painted on handmade paper, gesso panels, and wet lime plaster for fresco paintings and on glass for use in stain glass. Colouration is achieved using only pure pigments and shell gold in various shades e.g., Jaune - which stand for yellow gold, Venetian Red Gold, and Moon Gold. Various techniques of gilding are also applied for embellishment e.g., Raised Illumination. Both the geometrical and arabesque principles are applied to these motifs.
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Consulting Services
Nausheen offers a wide array of consulting services, from custom paintings to hand weaved cloth design to being commissioned for major building projects. She takes a certain amount of passion in her work and personally responds to every potential client. Contact Nausheen for Art Consulting or for Interior Design.
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