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Majnouna

Tutorial queen
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In view of dA being scraped to feed AI engines with stolen art, for which a class-action suit has now been filed against them, I have at last done what I kept putting off, and put all my work in storage.


The tutorials are still available on cedarseed.com/tutorials

The recipes (more of them) are still available on cedarseed.com/category/recipes .

Most of my illustrations and photos are still on cedarseed.com among other things.

Malaak can still be read on malaakonline.com.


My main art practice, and where my real attention is, is on majnouna.com and I have a lot happening elsewhere on the web (such as my really cool substack: majnouna.substack.com).

I’m also on instagram (@joumajnouna) and majnouna@zirk.us on Mastodon.


18 years on dA is long enough, and for at least half of that I found the site uninviting and barely usable. See you under other skies.

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Hello strangers,

Just dropping in to announce that after many years of trying to create an online course, you can finally learn Arabic calligraphy with me on Domestika — specifically the Kufi style I specialise in. Check out the trailer for what to expect!

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I hope everyone's well and keeping safe! Since January, and especially during the last 3 months of (ongoing) isolation, I have worked on this groundbreaking book: A handbook of materials and art technology used in early Islamic manuscripts, for artists and art lovers alike.

Preview Cover

This is a concise, approachable, illustrated manual examining the main materials used in manuscripts during the Abbasid period, their qualities, and when safe, how to prepare and use them. 126 pages in full colour, A5-sized and wirebound for maximum practicality, with all the necessary technical info (such as the difference between paint and ink, binders, other additives) and lots of historical recipes! It is largely based on medieval Arabic inkmaking treatises that have not been translated, let alone by someone experienced in the use of these materials, so this material is being brought to a general audience for the very first time.


The book is now available from my shop, but please be patient with delivery because there's a long queue of Kickstarter backers and pre-orders...

Preview Toc
Preview Spread2
Preview Spread
Alternative Hibrs
Verdigris
Preview Back
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Did I never post about this?? Weird! My Lebanese cookbook was published about a year ago. If you're interested in a nice selection of over 30 Lebanese recipes, all illustrated and easy to follow, with an introduction to ingredients and the merest whiff of snark sprinkled throughout, look no further! You can grab it in my Cedarseed shop, where there are also other random food-related items for stocking fillers.



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For Inktober I made... ink! As part of my return to natural materials, I started making my own calligraphy ink, based on ancient and durable recipes, and went on to experiment with what I could find while out foraging. I prepare them in small batches in my studio and they are completely environment-friendly. They are available in my shop and 20% off during the month of October, but let me tell you a little about them.

Black Ink (oak gall) 60ml

OAK GALL INK or iron gall ink was the medium used to write on parchment since Antiquity (encompassing Bibles, Qur'ans, even the Magna Carta), before paper brought carbon inks to the fore. The main component is tannin, extracted from oak galls which I forage in my local woodlands, and I prepare the ink according to various recipes, detailed below (all variants contain gum arabic as binder and cloves for preservation. They are all lightfast, durable, and waterproof once dry.)

  • Regular: Oak gall ink is thinner than Indian "ink" (which technically is not ink but a thin paint), with a wider range from deep black to transparent grey depending how much liquid is deposited on the paper; exposure to air darkens it as it dries. It can be watered down to make a grey wash and is completely waterproof once dry, and safe to paint over with watercolour or other. This makes it ideal for use as an underlayer before painting over.
  • Extra black: As above, but a more elaborate recipe involving red wine and honey, for a deep lustrous black (be warned that it smells like wine).
  • Indian-style: This ink is very thick, opaque thanks to the addition of lamp black, and shiny when dry. It works particularly well with dipping pens. It takes longer to dry, and leaves slightly embossed strokes.

These inks are suitable for use with any dipping instrument: bamboo/reed pens, metal nibs (rinse thoroughly after use), quill pens, watercolour brushes...

Botanical Inks 60ml

BOTANICAL INKS are the fruit of my experiments with botanicals, mostly foraged, sometimes diverted from the compost bin*.

These inks are similar to the plants in which they originate in that they change: they are affected by light and eventually their hues fade to a certain extent, and not always in the same way. This is in the nature of these organic products and part of their charm. An exciting red will typically turn purple when it dries, and then gently get paler over time. Tinted greys will become more neutral greys. Here are my observations and recommendations:

  • Great for: Journals, books, illumination, correspondence – anything folded away between uses. The inks do keep their bright hues very well when protected from light.
  • Great for: Anything temporary. Invitations, signs for an event, art designed to fade...
  • OK for: Art for non-sunlit spaces (change will still happen, but more slowly.)
  • Not suitable for: Art to be put up on a wall and constantly exposed to sunlight.

Other than the dye from the plant in question, the inks contain gum arabic and natural preservatives such as white wine and cloves, or iron salts as a modifier. They are suitable for use with any dipping instrument: bamboo/reed pens, metal nibs, quill pens, watercolour brushes...

The glass jars all my inks come in make good inkwells as it's difficult to accidentally topple them. (Always place the inkwell on the side of your dominant hand when working.)

*(Except for the cochineal ink, which comes from an insect. It came about as a by-product of making carmine pigment.)


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Featured

Thanks for all the fish by Majnouna, journal

Now teaching Arabic calligraphy online by Majnouna, journal

Just Published! Inks and Paints of the Middle East by Majnouna, journal

Lebanese Homecooking book by Majnouna, journal

Natural inks for Inktober by Majnouna, journal