Moroccan Geometry: S7 HW Part 2: 12-fold with qandeel, tessellated

Moroccan Geometry: S7 HW2: 12-fold with jellyfish (Tanashri bl qandeel) (تناشرث بل قنديل

1. Mark the center of the page, draw a circle, and then define first the horizontal and vertical axes. (Use a compass with a larger radius to mark the crosspoints for the vertical from the 90 degree and 270 degree positions along the circle)

2. With the main axes now defined, and using the original compass, draw two circles centered along the vertical axis that meet in the center of the page.

3. With the same compass, draw circles centered along the horizontal axis that meet the circles from step two without overlapping them.

4. Using the same technique as in step one, define the vertical axes of the circles drawn in step three, and, then draw new circles above and below those circles. You may need to attach strips of paper along the top and bottom of the page.

5. Continue to draw circles, as long as each circle is at least half on the page, and find/draw
the horizontal and vertical axes for each row of circles.

6. Now that each circle is divided into fourths, proceed to divide the circles into twelfths by using the compass with the original radius and with the point at the 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, and 12:00 points, draw intersecting arcs such that the arcs intersect the circle. These intersections with the circle will mark the 1:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00, 7:00, 8:00, 10:00 and 11:00 points.

7. Use a set of dividers to find the distance between each of the markings you made in step six. These points should be marked, and will further divide the circles into twenty-fourths. Then make a mark from the edge of the circle along the horizontal and vertical axes, and set a compass radius from the center of the circle to this mark. Then draw a concentric circle inside the one you've just marked in twenty-fourths, and repeat the process for each circle or semicircle.

5. Number 12 divisions of the outer circle, not like a clock, but as if the circle has been rotated 15 degrees, using the diagonals and the marks created with the dividers. Mark the same points on the inner circle, just marking the points where a straight edge lines up from 1 to 7, 3 to 9, 4 to 10, and 6 to 12. 2 to 8 and 5 to 11 are already connected by the diagonals. Label these points on the inner circle with the letters A-L.

6. Connect the following points of the inner circles: A-F and L-G, extending the lines until they reach the outer circle. Repeat on all circles. Do the same with the horizontals, C-J and D-I. Repeat on all circles.

Similarly connect the following points: A-H and B-G, extending the lines to the outer circle. Repeat on the perpendiculars K-D and J-E.

Finally, connect the points L-E and K-F, and repeat on the perpendiculars C-H and B-I.

Thus, each point on the inner circle will be intersected by 2 lines. These lines create the khatem tanashri, the loozat, the inner 4 sides of the sfets, and a point of the twelve qandeels.

7. Now connect the tweve un-numbered marks on the outer circles (which are in the positions of the hours on a clock) to their adjacent mark on the same circle, to form the ends of the twelve sfets, the twelve qandeels around each circle, and the two 6-pointed shapes which bracket the two qandeels between each pair of circles. Thus you will connect 11:00 to 12:00, 12:00 to 1:00, 1:00 to 2:00, etc. The line should not traverse the triangular points of the qandeels created in step six.The line should be extended only to the middle of the imaginary axis between each pair of circles.

8. Now highlight the lines you’ll keep in the pattern, and detach any excess paper used in creating the construction. If you are channelling the lines, it is useful to erase the unused construction lines before preparing the channels, in order to minimize the visual confusion.

When channeling lines, if the channels are large enough, use a small compass to set a circle at the endpoint of each line segment. Otherwise, try to make the channels uniform in width. Be careful to avoid mistakes when drawing the over-unders, as these will cascade until you discover the mistake.

To avoid mistakes when drawing the over-unders, choose the order and keep repeating the sequence. Work from the center outward. When completing an over-under channel sequence, its helpful to erase inside the over-lapping channels to avoid mis-identifying them as you continue to work outward. Take particular care where channels make turns, especially turns greater or less than 90 degrees.

The pattern is now ready for inking. For this geometry, on a 12"x18" sheet of watercolor paper, I used a medium nib on a Lamy AlStar fountain pen, the narrowest I have. If it's a single design instead of a tessellation, I'll go fatter on the nib, up to 1.9

After the channels are inked, the center lines should be erased along with any other pencil markings and smudges.

Now you're ready to color. I use alternating darks and lights on adjacent shapes, and a medium tone if the shape is adjacent to both dark and light shapes. My pallette for this one is red-yellow, and I'm using Amsterdam Acrylic Inks. The color names and numbers are listed next to the names of the shapes.

Khatem Tanashri: Deep Gold (803)