With my best wishes for a fulfilling year, I bring you this new piece begun on the last day of 2011 and finished on the first day of 2012:
Fitra فطرة is the primordial nature (or natural disposition) of a thing or being when it is first created or born; it is the state of the newborn baby and "the natural human," completely unspoiled. I have been saving this word for today for obvious reasons. The choice of white and silver was to underline the purity of that stage which is very much like a blank page, and it also fits the day: in Lebanon the first day of the year is associated with the color white, and the first meal of the year is supposed to be made up of white dishes (such as kebbeh bilaban) to welcome in the new year.
Print on
Redbubble, creation process:
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I was looking for a very simple expression, preferably that
could be arranged in a square as that symbolizes wholeness. |
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| As white on black requires many layers and that gets messy and uneven, I used a roller instead of a brush, and masking tape to define the square (this is risky and takes some experience, as the paper will almost always tear) |
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| Using marks around the square, I start inking the lines. |
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| This is just to show the black lines, as the final step was to ink over them in silver, for a more subdued effect. The gilding looks golden here because it reflects the wooden surfaces around it. |
