The beauty and technique of Islamic tile painting, as seen on mosques and palaces in the Middle East
and Central Asia, was made familiar to children at a workshop run by Medaf Studio during the
ongoing 13 th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), which kicked off on May 11 at
Expo Centre Sharjah.
The 12-day festival, which is holding 750 workshops in all, will see three workshops on Islamic tile
painting employing the “tape resist technique” on different days.
The workshop, meant for children in the 5–10-year group, also saw a few older children attempt the
art helped by trainers Mariel and Joy. Children were given a blank square canvas on which they drew
geometric lines, marked specific points where masking tape were used to criss-cross the canvas, and
coloured the non-tape areas with water colours of their choice. The tapes were peeled off once the
colours were all done according to a pattern, revealing a beautiful star-shaped design.