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An Achievable Artistic Reading Project for the Arabian Nights Starts 8 January | £31 | Online Book now 1001 Nights: An Achievable Artistic Reading Project for the Arabian Nights £31 per month Each week in class we discuss 7 nights. If you would like to join this class please feel free to do so at any point; email me in advance to discover what night we're up to. You read 7 nights per week. (Or as many nights it takes to make up the full month of 28, 29, 30 or 31 nights.) We meet online once a week, 4 times per month. Then we talk. All of life is here. You get inspired. Fill your cup in a structured half hour. We are all Dunyazad. I’ve read the entire Nights a few times now: it’s part of my Slade School of Art research and epic project - a contemporary visual interpretation of the Nights. I have favourite stories; I am excited to share those. I’ve thought about the Nights now for the better part of a decade and it was the first book I remember as a child and early reader. This is an artistic reading group but you need not be an artist to join. The Nights tangent several spheres apart from art and literature including theatre, film, dance, music, opera, ballet and more. There are several translations and there will be several more: like that other world-famous book that changed the course of Western civilisation forever (the Bible), the Nights are a work in progress. We’ll use the Malcom C Lyons Penguin translation, the current most complete translation into English. As new translations appear we will take them into account; if you read other languages I encourage you to read those concurrently (for instance there are good French, German and Italian translations; of course they are translated into many of the world’s languages including Chinese). Midweek Wednesday nights, 10pm London time Upcoming Sessions Dates: 8 January 2025 to 29 January 2025 Total of 4 sessions • Wednesday 8 January 10pm - 10:30pm London time • Wednesday 15 January 10pm - 10:30pm London time • Wednesday 22 January 10pm - 10:30pm London time • Wednesday 29 January 10pm - 10:30pm London time Book now

Tales of the marvellous and news of the strange: natural marvels and oddities ‘Aja’ib wa-Ghara'ib Starts 8 January | £249 | Online Book now Continuing with January’s island magic theme we focus here on sea creatures. Paint narwhals, crocodile, tortoise, turtles and a fish lady. Borne from a desire to present a truly comprehensive picture of all miniature painting, and emerging from my latest ongoing research into the world of the 1001 Arabian Nights, these classes are like a cabinet of curiosities for miniature painting. The TALES classes comprise 3 strands: Characterless Characters, Objects and Ingenious Devices and our final strand - Natural Marvels and Wonders. If, like me, you find stories and marvels irresistible, join me in painting a collection of marvels and wonders. We have covered the Vegetal and the Mineral - it’s time to address the Animal. Humans have found wonder in the tiniest fleas and the wide open seas and the far flung stars (and now we’re going to Mars). These things are the stuff of stories, the razm o bazm (fight and feast) of the Shahnameh and the magic everyday fabric that is the stock in trade of the Nights. The many varied and countless aspects of the world that was Shahrazad’s master plan: show them all to Shahriyar and present a picture of all life to him so he sees the nuances and not only the extremes, and comes to completion through her stories. Upcoming Sessions Dates: 8 January 2025 to 29 January 2025 Total of 4 sessions • Wednesday 8 January 7pm - 8pm London time • Wednesday 15 January 7pm - 8pm London time • Wednesday 22 January 7pm - 8pm London time • Wednesday 29 January 7pm - 8pm London time Book now

Transformational magic - The Classic of Mountains and Seas Starts 8 January | £399 | Online Book now There is a toy theatre thread that runs through the current crop of books. Between the Peepshow and the moveable books there is the Harlequinade book - also known as a lift-the-flap book. On the stage the Harlequinade was a precursor to the Victorian pantomime, itself part of Victorian theatre and then toy theatre tradition, so the motif of dressing up and cross-dressing runs through this too. The Harlequinade book is an important link in the history of moveable books which we are tracing. Monsters and metamorphoses are a good subject for these 'changing faces' types of turn-up books. Having done a Medieval Islamic bestiary (the Book of Useful Animals), we now turn to one of the 4 great classic novels of China, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, also thought of as a Chinese bestiary, similar to the wonder genre of books such as Marco Polo's Travels or Il Milione. This book about mythic geography tells of fantastic creatures and wonders such as a 9-tailed fox, people with 3 heads and pigs that fly. We'll take inspiration from this ancient book and the Harlequinade format will also allow new creations to be made and bring these into a new dimension. And of course we will also add colour. Class includes a bespoke handmade leather cover to paint and free postage to anywhere in the world. Sent separately depending on production schedules. Make your own library of handmade Islamic style books! Upcoming Sessions Dates: 8 January 2025 to 29 January 2025 Total of 4 sessions • Wednesday 8 January 9pm - 10pm London time • Wednesday 15 January 9pm - 10pm London time • Wednesday 22 January 9pm - 10pm London time • Wednesday 29 January 9pm - 10pm London time Book now