Through the study of selected sections of Bahá’u’lláh’s mystical text The Hidden Words and reflecting on its spiritual and symbolic meanings, participants will create artistic projects that represent the themes of symbolic language, spiritual identity, transformation, and Divine Commands. They are encouraged to share their art and experience in various settings to engage in uplifting and meaningful conversations about the course themes. This course will be especially useful for tutors of Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute in their efforts to share the Hidden Words with participants and encourage them to “strengthen the habit of reading passages from the Holy Writings every day and reflecting on their meaning.”

Projects: There are seven artistic projects designed for this course. Each project will be introduced at the beginning of the related section, during the Zoom video conference and is due by the following week. Video tutorials have been selected for each project which provide the list of needed materials as well as various directions. For those participants who find weekly projects formidable, the course was designed to allow them to choose one project per topic and finish the course by doing four projects.

Supplies: Video tutorials provide a complete list of materials needed for each project. Following is the general list.

Old magazines, books, newspapers, and colored craft papers for collage projects
Cardboard boxes as recycled material
Drawing paper, pencil, pens, and fine tip black marker
Cutting materials including X-Acto knife & blades, scissors, and cutting board. You can use recycled cardboard as a cutting board as well.
Liquid acrylic paints, watercolor set, and/or different color inks
Elmer’s School Glue and a brush for applying it
8”X8” or 8”X10” canvas

You may need additional materials depending on the direction of your project.