LEARNING RESOURCES
Here are some books and online resources that I have found useful in my pursuit to draw and paint geometric forms.
ONLINE CLASSES
In no particular order, I have found these people and organizations to be great teachers.
KING'S FOUNDATION
School of Traditional Arts
They offer many online lectures, workshops, and short courses on Islamic and other traditional arts and crafts.
https://www.kings-foundation.org/school-of-traditional-arts/open-programme
LIZ STEEL
Liz is an architect by training. She offers interesting classes on sketching and watercolor. I loved her watercolor painting class.
ADAM WILLIAMSON AND RICHARD HENRY
Art of Islamic Pattern became a nexus of cultural exchange during the covid lockdown. People around the world collected online to learn how to draw Islamic patterns.
DR. ESRA ALHAMAL
Esra offers marvelous information about drawing biomorphic patterns. She also creates great paint!
SAMIRA MIAN
A mathematician at heart, Samira offers lots of classes on rosettes. She also provides good painting tips and describes the geometers toolbox really well.
DEARING WANG
Dearing creates artistic renditions of many geometric patterns.
MOHAMAD ALJANABI
Mohamad offers a variety of classes on classical methods of Islamic geometric design.
BOOKS
This image gallery shares some books that I use for learning about geometric patterns, researching the historical significance of their place in architecture, and to understand different techniques for drawing them. You can find or order many of these at your favorite bookstore.
RESOURCES FOR A HEALTHY MIND AND SPIRIT
Here are some additional resources related to mental health and building a spiritual practice that can center you.
SF ZEN CENTER GREEN GULCH FARM
I spend a few weeks at Green Gulch Farm every year. It is a time to reflect on my priorities in life while sowing the land, pulling weeds, raking the property, cooking, cleaning, and meditating. This experience helps to build and reinforce the foundation for a meditation practice.
BAY AREA CBT CENTER
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is awesome.
If you're dealing with any repetitive issue and can't seem to get over it, then CBT is a great avenue for that. There are CBT centers around the world. I joined the Bay Area CBT Center for 8 months in 2019. https://www.sfbacct.com/
Repetitive thinking and muddled emotions can escalate to negative behaviors. One of the secret weapons to this cycle is the body. The body is only ever in the present moment. Our thoughts are not. Looking at this image, the grey arrows are an opportunity to take a breath. You can move into the body and reduce the velocity of the CBT cycle. This takes practice but three deep breaths can soften the experience. Showing self-compassion and kindness to yourself during difficult moments can deepen the interception even more. It can even provide an opportunity to recognize the pain in others.