Art of Islamic Pattern was founded by Adam Williamson & Richard Henry in 2008. Richard and Adam have given workshops, presentations and public lectures at many of the leading cultural and educational institutions in the UK and beyond, including:-
NYU & Spotify, USA, The British Museum, The British Library, The Victoria & Albert Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, The Slade School of Fine Art, Central St Martins, The Royal Society, Asia House, Cambridge University, Pardis University, Isfahan and Zaytuna College, Berkeley, USA.
Art of Islamic Pattern now includes a group of practicing artists, craftsmen and specialists from around the world.
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Adam Williamson
www.adamwilliamson.com
Adam Williamson is a sculptor and carver and decorative pattern specialist. He has been commissioned by HRH the Prince of Wales, Oxford University, Shakespeare’s Globe London, Kew Gardens & Westminster Abbey.
Adam is a leading specialist in biomorphic art (Arabesque / Islimi), he is a sessional lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London he has lectured at Cambridge University and taught in schools and museums across London, including the British Library, V&A, British Museum and PSTA. He wrote the Islimi chapter for theThames and Hudson book: Arts and Crafts of the Islamic Lands and recently published the book Profound Patterns.
Adam has traveled to study & work with many artists and craftsmen around the world including Keith Critchlow and Norhaiza Noordin. He was the subject of a documentary when he traveled to Malaysia and Indonesia looking at woodcarving and biomorphic art in that area.
Richard Henry
www.richardhenry.art
Richard Henry is an artist and teacher with particular interest in the contemplative aspects of pattern. He has a background in philosophy and cognitive psychology and studied for two years under Keith Critchlow, one of the world’s leading authorites on the geometry of Islamic patterns. Richard has subsequently lectured widely on this subject, and has devised and taught a number of practical courses on the geometry of Islamic patterns for the British Museum in London’s Worlds Arts and Artefacts programme. He has undertaken field studies in Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Turkey and Iran.
Richard is the co-editor and illustrator of Miranda Lundy’s Sacred Number, book about the history and symbolism of number, and has participated in a number of group shows and educational projects exploring links between geometry and art. Richard is a visiting lecturer at the The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, the Slade School of Fine Art, Central St Martins and an associate lecturer at the Open University in London.
Sama Mara
Sama Mara specialises in two-dimensional Islamic geometry and also engaged with contemporary topics in geometry including fractal theory and non-periodic tilings. He is particularly interested in the connections between things that geometry bridges so gracefully including the relationships between art & music, between science, nature & art and enjoys teaching mathematics through the means of pattern and geometry. He is currently engaged in a three year research and art project exploring the hidden relationship between pattern and music.
Sama has worked for many years in digital media producing videos, photos, websites, designs for print and animations. He is interested in the application of the principles underlying traditional Islamic geometry into the contemporary practice of design and architecture.
Tutors’ Works:
Dandelion
Digital print and pencil on handmade paper, Sama MaraBu Inaniya Study
Ink on paper, 80cm x 80cm - Richard HenryStained Glass Window
Adam Williamson Client - Cambridge Muslim CollegeAsh Sculpture
Adam Williamson - Solo Exhibition 2008Sea
Painting by Sama MaraPlaster Carving for Console Tabel
Adam Williamson - Private clientSol
Fused Glass with GoldAsh Sculpture
Adam Williamson - Solo Exhibition 2008Ash sculpture detail
Adam Williamson - Solo Exhibition 2008 Measure of Man, built for Global Peace and Unity exhibition at the Exxel Centre
Rhombic Triacontahedron in Oak, 1.8 m x 1.8 m, Adam Williamson & Richard Henry (October 2010)Ummayyad Pattern
Mixed media on paper, 30cm x 30 cm - Richard HenryCarved limestone and ceramic Fountain
Adam Williamson - Private ClientGeo Moon Wave
Lateefa Spiker Uzbek Variation 1
Triangular earthenware tiles, Richard HenryUnravelling pencil sketch
Lateefa SpikerMural Detail
Adam Williamson & Lateefa Spiker - Client - Kenza RestaurantGarden Project - Carved Limestone Fountain
Adam Williamson - Private ClientCeramic and Stone Mosaic - Garden Project
Adam Williamson - Private clientGeometric Carvings, Limestone, Slate and Marble
Adam Williamson - Private ClientsMamluke Illumination - Gold leaf on Vellum
Adam Williamson - Private Client Geodesic Dome (V2 Icosi-Dodecahedron) for Arab World Arts Day, Victoria and Albert Museum.
Modular frame structure in pine with 5.4m span. Adam Williamson & Richard Henry (2010)Stained Glass Window detail
Adam Williamson - Client - Cambridge Muslim CollegeCarved Limestone Table Detail - Garden Project
Adam Williamson - Private ClientWhite Sculpture
Adam Williamson - Exhibited in Hannah Peschar Sculpture ParkSt Ethelberga's Chuch, Bishopsgate, London
Adam Williamson carving, roundel design by Keith CritchlowOak sculpture
Adam Williamson - Arts Pilgrimage Exhibition, Norfolk, UK 2012Restoring Westminster Abbeys Cloister
Adam WilliamsonMamluke Illumination - Gold leaf on Vellum
Adam Williamson - Private client Cross
Blind emboss on vellum paper, 20cm x 30cm, Richard Henry (2003) The Decad - Illustration from Miranda Lundy’s Sacred Number.
Graphic collage of hand-drawn and computer generated elements, Richard Henry (2005) Yantra
Chinese paints, gouache & silver leaf on paper, 30cm x 42cm, Richard Henry (2007) Moorish Tiles
Set of 8 earthenware tiles, Richard Henry (2001) Tile Mosaic (private commission)
Joint project Richard Henry & Delfina Bottesini. Stoneware tiles (2004) Tensile Dome (Icosi-Dodecahedron), Appledore Visual Arts Festival
Light-weight temporary tensile geodesic structure with 7m span. Richard Henry (2004) Girih Tiles (various woods)
Set of laser cut tiles designed for interactive exhibit at Royal Society Summer Show 2009, Richard HenryGirih Tiles (various woods)
Set of laser cut tiles designed for interactive exhibit at Royal Society Summer Show 2009, Richard Henry Measure of Man, built for Global Peace and Unity exhibition at the Exxel Centre
Rhombic Triacontahedron in Oak, 1.8 m x 1.8 m, Adam Williamson & Richard Henry (October 2010) Measure of Man, built for Global Peace and Unity exhibition at the Exxel Centre
Rhombic Triacontahedron in Oak, 1.8 m x 1.8 m, Adam Williamson & Richard Henry (October 2010)Stained Glass Window detail
Adam Williamson - Private ClientLateefa Spiker Painting Mural at Kenza Resturant
Adam Williamson & Lateefa Spiker - Client - Kenza Resturant, Liverpool Street, LondonYin-Yang
Block print on torn Chinese papers on canvas, 20cm x 29cm, Richard Henry (2006)Marriage
By Sama Mara. ParquetryDandelion Variation 3
By Sama Mara. Water Colour and print on handmade paperDesert
By Sama Mara. Giclée Print on CanvasForest
By Sama Mara. Giclée print on canvasLuna
By Sama Mara. Paladium on SlateLuna
By Sama Mara. Palladium on SlateRipple
Lateefa SpikerGeo Patch, Oil on Engraved Plaster
Lateefa SpikerLuna
By Sama Mara. Palladium on SlateSol
By Sama Mara. Gold on Fused GlassSol
By Sama Mara. Gold on fused glassSol
By Sama Mara. Gold on fused glassCedar dome built in Canada by Adam Williamson
Tiles
By Sama MaraTriangulation
By Sama Mara. Gold and Oil Paint on SlateThe Duke of Rothesay Crest Detail, Hand Carved Burlington Slate
Adam Williamson - Client - HRH The Prince of WalesSpring sketch
Lateefa SpikerTurquoise Rising
Lateefa Spiker Decagon Table
Oak table with tile mosaic top, Richard Henry (2001)Decagon Table (detail)
Oak table with tile mosaic top, Richard Henry (2001) Uzbek Variation 2
Triangular earthenware tiles, Richard HenrySphere
Block print on hand-made paper, 19xm x 28cm, Richard Henry (2004) Vesica
Vesica - Chinese paints and gouache on paper, 38cm x 58cm, Richard Henry (2006)Tessellating Reuleaux triangles. Free standing Oak by Adam Williamson
Biomorphic woodcarving by Adam Williamson