Iznik tile painting workshop

Iznik, a town in Bursa province, produced the tiles that line the great Ottoman mosques and palaces, in cobalt blue, turquoise and the famous tomato red. The workshop is run by a tile artist trained in the traditional method, in their studio or in a meeting room at your hotel.

The artist starts with a short introduction to the motifs: tulips, carnations, hyacinths and the saz leaf, and what they meant. Each guest chooses a pattern, transfers it to a bisque tile by pouncing charcoal dust through a pricked paper stencil, outlines it with a fine brush and fills it in with glaze colours. The artist and assistants go from table to table helping with brush control.

The tiles are glazed and fired at the studio and delivered to your office about two weeks later, each with the painter's name on the back. Teams can also paint a set of tiles that together make one larger panel for the office wall.