ISLAMIC GEOMETRIC PATTERNS – MASHRABIYA

Here I wanted to create a small screen inspired by the mashrabiya. To do this there were three primary decisions that had to be made: what form it would take, what pattern would exist within this form, and finally, what medium it would be completed in?

With respect to form – in the first illustration, I’ve depicted my thought process. Researching arches found within Islamic architecture, I created these 4 samples. They include – from left to right – a keel arch, a round arch, a keyhole/ horseshoe arch and a more extravagant form of an ogee arch. Of these, I chose the keel arch, for its simplicity and straight edges – making it easier to cut out – as well as its pointed arch, which I thought made it more interesting than the plain rounded arch.

The next step was choosing a pattern. Of those presented here, I chose the first, for its larger shapes which again was done so out of ease.

Lastly, I had to decide on a medium to carry my design out on. Initially, I thought about doing it in card and creating something similar to my work entitled ‘Scraps’, from working with the found object. In the end though, I went with clay. Unfortunately, the clay I used wasn’t great, whilst making it. That said, despite my difficulties with its texture and drying time, I quite like the final result.