The Ajami Surface: Relief, Colour & Metal Leaf

About this course

Participants explore Ajami’s visual language through historic interiors, floral motifs, borders and repeated decorative structures before following the tradition’s staged surface process. Demonstrations cover nabati relief, egg tempera, pigment mixing, gilding, coloured glazes and enamel outlining. Learners transfer a selected traditional design, build and refine the raised ornament, test colourways, and progressively complete an individual panel. Guidance throughout the course focuses on correcting edges, improving line quality, clarifying the pattern and refining the finished surface.

What you'll learn

• Apply nabati paste to create and refine raised ornament
• Prepare egg tempera binder and mix colours from a limited palette
• Apply metal leaf and coloured glazes to a raised surface
• Use enamel outlining and painted detail to define the design
• Complete a panel through the main stages of the Ajami process

Is this course right for you?

The course is listed as suitable for all levels. It combines demonstrations with individual practical work, sample-board exercises and guidance on each participant’s panel. Learners follow a structured sequence from design transfer and relief through gilding, colour, outlining and finishing.

Before you go

• Work is carried out on prepared, gessoed wooden panels, with sample boards used for practice.
• Participants shape wooden sticks into application tools for the relief work.