What do you get when you mix
7 planets and 7 domes?
Homes with high tops, stars that are fixed
A planetarium of your very own
...a brief throwback to May's Kalila show: this work has never before been seen like this, all at once, not even by me (no space in my studio for this!) - all the 4 scrolls lined up side by side...
..it's great to see both sides like this as I'd only ever seen it in my head. Glad they all line up...
…the other bodies that align, sometimes, are the planets in our solar system (or in the painted orrery in my head). It's now time for 7 separate paintings, and 1 major work, or universe...
…7 paintings of the 7 planets, one on each day for an hour to finish at midnight. 7 planets in 7 days: An astrological extravaganza in oils. Join me for some midnight painting! (London time) 11pm-12 midnight, an hour’s session painting the planets in order of their days! We’ll combine the ancient and the modern and cover them all, in their ancient order of the week and updated to include planets not seen with the naked eye. I believe the intensity of the atmosphere and colour nuances of the heavenly bodies can only be achieved in oils (we cover the planets in a different way in water-based miniatures). This unique painting-teaching-performance is a one-off event series and will be recorded but won’t be repeated. You do not need to take all the classes (at https://www.vaishaliprazmariteaching.com) although to experience the full intensity and drama of the experience then I recommend taking on the entire solar system this summer. If, like me, due to UK airport waiting times, you are unable to go on holiday this summer, why not journey on an astrological-astronomical cruise of the solar system in your own studio instead? It’s a holiday out of this world. It’s intense, it’s extraordinary, it’s midnight churning creation in action… which makes it very similar to the solar system itself...
...there are actually more planets: did you know there is a potential planet hidden deep within our solar system? How to paint a potential planet? Find out in July and at https://www.vaishaliprazmariteaching.com.
Day 1: Monday 11 July THE MOON AND EARTH Monday is of course moonday. While the moon is not technically a planet, for all intents and purposes in ancient times it was/is. It’s incredible that the disc of the moon is the same size as the disc of the sun when viewed from our extraordinary vantage point, the Earth. We cover the crescent moon in miniatures here and there so now we’ll treat the moon in its full circular glory. We’ll also paint our home and perfect planet with its swirling clouds and beautiful blue water.
Day 2: Tuesday 12 July MARS mardi. The red planet, and the planet of war. A cold, desert world that may end up being another temporary home for future humans, who knows…
Day 3: Wednesday 13 July MERCURY mercredi. The planet of communication and movement and the fastest planet.
Day 4: Thursday 14 July JUPITER jeudi. The jovial planet with its signature red spot, a centuries-old storm that is bigger than Earth.
Day 5: Friday 15 July VENUS vendredi. The planet of love, it spins in the opposite direction to most planets (since you don’t always need to go with the flow). It’s also the hottest planet.
Day 6: Saturday 16 July SATURN samedi. The saturnine planet of melancholy with its signature rings made of ice.
Day 7: Sunday 17 July THE SUN Sunday is the day of the glorious sun, our home star.
And more:
Day 8: Monday 18 July URANUS a cold, pale aqua-turquoise giant that almost spins on its side.
Day 9: Tuesday 19 July NEPTUNE a cold blue windy giant. Dark and distant, it was located - conjured? - entirely through mathematical - magical - calculations.
Day 10: Wednesday 20 July PLUTO and its ice mountains and frozen plains. It is technically a dwarf planet now and has been demoted in my lifetime! Imagine how that feels from the planetary point of view.
Day 11: Thursday 21 July DWARF PLANETS The dwarf planets of Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris are other dwarf planets. Haumea is an oval planet! And there is even a hypothetical, tentative planet…
Day 12: Friday 22nd July THE POTENTIAL PLANET Deep in the solar system lies a potential PLANET X… how do you paint a potential planet? Let’s find out: https://www.vaishaliprazmariteaching.com...
…And finish your interstellar journey by bringing the planets down into your homes, in the form of 7 domes. The Pavilions of the Haft Peykar هفت پیکر. A miniature adventure week Intensive Party: Join me for some night painting! Following on from the 7 planets, follow Prince Bahram wandering through his 7 pavilions of 7 beauties in his palace of princesses. A locked room contains their 7 portraits, one princess from each of the 7 climes, and he falls in love with… all 7 at the same time (different times, different rules). Later he sets out in search of the seven and they become his brides. An architect constructs 7 domes to house each wife and each dome corresponds to one of the 7 planets and is associated with that planet’s colour. Each night, each princess tells him a story and he learns from each one in turn. We’ll discuss Julie Scott Meisami’s verse translation and the Sufi, mystical meaning of the whole poem - of which the 7 Domes are just a part - in class. The Haft Peykar itself is a part of the Khamsa (Quintet) of Nezami… poems within poems within poems a bit like tales within tales within tales that I will never tire of like the 1001 Nights! This series of 7 tales is also part of the Hasht Behesht (8 Paradises) and although there are 8 paradises (as in Islamic heaven which has 8 gates), 7 of those paradises are Bahram’s pavilions. This unique painting-teaching-performance is a one-off event series and will be recorded but won’t be repeated.
Day 1: Monday 25 July The Princess Naz Pari of Khwarazm and the Moon in her Green Dome. Khwarazm is Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Still Central Asia. [In the Hasht Behesht this is the Slav Princess.]
Day 2: Tuesday 26 July The Princess Nasrin-Nush of Saqaliba and Mars in her Red Dome. Saqaliba is the Slavic lands of Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. This story is the basis of Puccini’s opera Turandot. [In the Hasht Behesht this is the Tatar Princess.]
Day 3: Wednesday 27 July The Princess Azarbin of the Maghreb and Mercury in her Turquoise Dome. The Maghreb is Northwest Africa: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia as well as bits of the Sahara and Spain. [In the Hasht Behesht, this is the Rumi Princess.]
Day 4: Thursday 28 July The Princess Humay of Rum and Jupiter in her Sandalwood Brown Dome. Rum is Rome. More specifically, it is Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire). [In the Hasht Behesht, this is the Arabian Princess.]
Day 5: Friday 29 July The Princess Diroste of Iran and Venus in her White Dome. [In the Hasht Behesht, this is the Khwarezmian Princess.]
Day 6: Saturday 30 July The Princess Furak of India and Saturn (the original poem starts on Saturday) in her Black Dome. Serendip was Serendipity, the island of Sri Lanka.
Day 7: Sunday 31 July The Princess Yaghma Naz of Turkestan and the Sun in her Yellow Dome. Turkestan is Turan. Turan is not Iran. Turan is Sogdiana. Sogdiana is Transoxiana. Transoxiana is roughly Xinjiang, west China, and Central Asia. Obviously these don’t correlate exactly with ancient borders and in poetry are somewhat mutable too; camels ignored them and so did birds. Sometimes this is the Princess of Nimruz - Balochistan/Afghanistan, and sometimes this is the Greek princess!
Please also note that we will solely focus on the Domes in these classes and not the Princesses - which are covered separately in much more detail in the focused Painted Ladies class series (also not repeated). 7 is special...
The Painted Ladies series continues with the famous Turquoise Lady. If you missed the male equivalent, I invite you to watch my latest edited meditative miniature films at https://www.theperfectbrush.co.uk/shop...
...in other giant painting works myself and the kids painted this giant turtle. It was an 'exercise painting' - the real thing will be coming soon, a collaboration between myself and the kids hopefully on a beach in Cornwall...
...Other works in progress are 3 camels and the ongoing Court of Gayumars painting. We chat more about works in progress in monthly meetings I host. The Zoom link is via the Forum https://www.miniaturepaintingforum.com or here's the direct link:
JULY MEETING
Vaishali Prazmari is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Vaishali Prazmari's Miniature Monthly Meeting 19.7.22 6-7pm London time
Time: Jul 19, 2022 18:00 London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84015252709?pwd=d-jzrel_mTAtI03TT_dDKnFzCtwJms.1
Meeting ID: 840 1525 2709
Passcode: 376540
Join by Skype for Business
https://us02web.zoom.us/skype/84015252709
...What do you do with summer sunshine? Work hard and play hard and prime and prepare paintings with the kids. Also, go sightseeing in London on an open-top tour bus (Caspian requested). Speaking of parties, apart from the prolonged painting planetary party I'll host online in July, the beginning of June was all about the Queen's Jubilee and street parties. It was great - the party literally came to us and I didn't even have to organise it; a break from all the other planning I do daily...
… planning, practice and performance. Circus folk do this with aplomb. We watched Circus Abyssinia from Ethiopia who played and juggled with fire. At 1 hour long it was a bit short for my liking - I could have stayed an extra hour - gearing up for my hour-long planets and domes, just shows how much can be done in 1 hour, though!...
...can you spot the ladybird on Kashi's jumper? Red on red. He spent a while looking at this little bug and the little bug spent a while exploring and wondering where all the green was. We put it safely on a leaf after examining it closely. In other bugs, a grasshopper - I'd never truly looked at one of these properly before. It really hopped, just like its name. Other birds and beasties examined included 2 parrots. The green tuti actually said 'Hello!' to the kids - another thing I'd only read about in books and now experienced in real life. Kids are great for this! The Tutinama - the Book of the [talking] Parrot is actually a kind of reverse 1001 Nights: the parrot speaks to a woman whose husband is away to try to talk her out of adultery. Note the paisley (boteh) pattern on the sofa and carpet - Paisley returns is an upcoming class I'm excited about. All these childhood things are returning once more, everywhere it seems. Another childhood love - the trope of the slippers that turn up at the toes. Kids love it too. This was the smallest size I could get. Not much more use out of these and then we'll graduate to bigger sizes as they grow! Universally yours,
Vaishali Prazmari
