This photo is from a stormy day when I went out to see how it was to photograph the veil in the grey sky of a storm. Sometimes the photography is a dance between the gusts of wind, the light and how the silk responds.
Nahari Silks began in 1999 as a business, but before this, veil dancing was and still is a part of sufi dance meditation. We dance with silk veils to play, to move and to feel the spiritual awareness expand in dance. We dyed our own veils for class and performance but there were never enough veils for the whole group. So, after one winter workshop, my teacher, Adnan Sarhan, helped me to cut my first bolt of silk. I began to dye silks as I travelled with Adnan and the business grew, allowing me to travel, dance and study with my teacher since 1999.
Belly dance is a beautiful art form and natural to the body. Dancing with the veils develops poise, grace, sensitivity to the space, eye hand coordination and emotional expression. It really helps with other forms of physical movement, sport or dance, because the eye, hand and body coordination and strength, develops when you dance with the veil. It is an amazing workout for the body, the mind, the emotions, the sensitivity and the creativity using all of them, similtaneously.
Nahari Silks is a business owned, operated and created by an artist. My name is Tamsin and I dye the silks. Originally I began as a sculpture but adapted my creativity to my lifestyle and interest in Sufi meditative movement. Working with color is very special. Being able to see the colors relate to each other, to create the new colors in between. I create many different combinations that inspire people to dance and move and have fun while doing something that makes them happy and feeling alive.
I would like to thank everyone who has a Nahari Silk veil and who enjoys the beauty of moving with silk. The freedom to create and to travel and to combine all that I love is extraordinary.