Tezhip, Mastering the Art of Calligraphy Decoration: From Paper to Perfection
 
This online course covers traditional paper preparation, calligraphy placement, and border design using Rumi and floral motifs. Over five weeks, participants will create a fully decorated calligraphy piece with guidance from Nagihan Seymour. Live Zoom sessions include demonstrations and feedback.
 
Duration: 5 Weeks (1 live session per week, 2 hours per session)
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Platform: Zoom Online
 
Dates:
Wednesday, 04.06.2025 05:00-07:00 pm UK Time (BST)
Wednesday, 11.06.2025 05:00-07:00 pm UK Time
Wednesday, 18.06.2025 05:00-07:00 pm UK Time
Wednesday, 25.06.2025 05:00-07:00 pm UK Time
Wednesday, 02.07.2025 05:00-07:00 pm UK Time

Week 1: Paper Making and Preparation
Learn the traditional process of making and preparing paper for calligraphy. Ahar preparation and muraqqa making.
Content:
- Overview of the course and materials required.
- Paper Selection: Understanding different types of paper suitable for murakka (traditional paper for tezhip)
- Paper Making: Introduction to the traditional paper-making process. Preparing “ahar”

Week 2: Calligraphy Placement and Border Preparation and Design
- Learn techniques for placing and adhering calligraphy to prepared paper.
- Introduction to Border Design:
- Importance of borders in calligraphy.
- Overview of traditional border styles.
- Selecting the right border design for different styles of
calligraphy.
 
Week 3-4-5: Border Preparation and Design
 Master the art of creating and decorating borders to frame
calligraphy.
- Understand and apply traditional motifs and patterns in
calligraphy (hat) decoration.
- Importance of symmetry and alignment.
- Exploration of common motifs in Islamic traditional art forms.
- Learning both rumi and floral motifs and how to design border
patterns.
- Preparing alternative designs.
- Painting traditional motifs on borders or within calligraphy
designs
- Complete the final decorated calligraphy piece.
This course plan provides a comprehensive journey from raw materials to a fully decorated calligraphy piece. Each week builds on the last, ensuring that by the end of the course, participants have both a theoretical understanding and practical
experience in calligraphy decoration.
During the course, Nagihan Seymour will demonstrate the decoration of a calligraphy piece provided by a professional calligrapher. If you have a calligraphy piece ready
for decoration, you’re welcome to use it. Alternatively, you can draw and decorate a Kufic calligraphy piece that will be sent to you at the start of the course digitally. Other options can be discussed with the instructor during the first lesson.
If you don’t want to prepare your own paper during the course, please feel free to use illustration board (mount board), A2 size preferred, any light colour will be suitable.
 
Materials List:
For Paper Making and calligraphy sticking:
- Cornflour ( 5 spoons)
- Alum ( A couple chickpea size)
- A couple sheets of gelatine or 1 teaspoon of gelatine powder
- Water
- Cooking pot
- Illustration board
Link: https://www.jacksonsart.com/daler-rowney-studland-mountboard-a1-
23x33in-super-white-1062
https://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/products/crescent-illustration-board--
300-sheet-16-x20--cold-press%7CCRE300-16.html
For painting:
- Tracing paper
- Ruler
- Compass
- Preferably mechanical pencil (0.5)
- Eraser
- Paint Palette
- Preferably gouache paint (white, black, blue, green, blue, yellow, red, gold)
Alternatively, you can use watercolour but still a white gouache will be essential.
- A cobalt or ultramarine blue acrylic paint (my preference:
https://www.cassart.co.uk/winsor-newton-professional-acrylic-colour-60ml-
cobalt-blue--c/)
- Brushes, size 2 (synthetic watercolour brush), Size 0 and size 000 (Kolinsky sable, watercolour brush series)
My preference: https://artdiscount.co.uk/products/winsor-newton-series-7-
finest-kolinsky-sable-brushes
Please note that it is not miniature series. Miniature brushes are not suitable for this style of painting.
 
Attendees will receive hand-outs, weekly homework, and feedback throughout the duration of the course to track improvement.
 
This course will be held in zoom online platform, it is a recorded class and recordings will be available to watch after the class for 12 weeks.
 
A day before the lesson you will get an invite email with the login information. After each class, you will get the pictures of the patterns of the day and corrections of your homework.
 
(Open to all skill levels ages16 and up| Recordings will be available to watch for 12 weeks after the course. The recordings will be share in 24-36hrs after each lesson)