I was volunteering at MOSAIC Festival in Mississauga over the weekend and came across the most fantastic Miniature Art show ever presented in North America. Works of artists from all over North America, Europe and South Asia were selected.
http://www.cre8iv80studio.com/bazgasht.asp
Some artists like Tazeen Qayyum were at the festival explaining the entire technique behind the highly labor intensive art of miniature painting. She explained how miniature art students sometimes learn how to catch a squirrel in order to pull some hair out to make the brushes. The artist drops some water on each strand of hair and the ones that curve are discarded and the ones that remain straight are kept for the brush. A feather and some quills are used to complete the head of the brush.
In order to create the flat effect on the paper, the artist must paint several layers and make the natural pigments assume and unreal and almost plastic or acrylic smoothness. All the paint pigments are made from natural dyes.
The show itself was unbelievable. Highly charged and political works were displayed in the show which helped enlighten my sense of pride in South Asian art practice.
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