My name is Marina Abrams and I wrote a children's book about Central Asia. My collaborator is the great Tajik artist Farrukh Negmatzade. His illustrations capture the vitality and beauty of life in his country and are the heart and soul of the book.
The book, called "Orange and Blue: The World of Barzu", is about a little boy named Barzu, his family and friends, and how they live their lives in a mountain village. The book has tales and legends and also teaches people about the customs and traditions of this beautiful part of the world.
Do you know how they make bread in Central Asia?! The local people use fantastic clay ovens called TANDYRS (OR TANOORS), an ancient technology that makes the most delicious and fresh bread in just 5-7 minutes.
And do you know what a TOPCHAN is, my friends? It is an elevated platform, made of wood, that is used in Central Asia for relaxing and eating outdoors. It functions as a table, or as a bed, and often has a smaller table on it for serving food and tea. So, when summer is hot, many chose to sleep on topchan under the sky.
There are 35 amazing illustrations (12x22 inches each) in the book. Farrukh Negmatzade flew over the ocean all the way from Tajikistan and stayed in my house in Maryland as a guest. We had just a little over a month to collaborate. The artist had only one day for each illustration. No drafts. All in one take.
You can see more pictures and learn more about the book on my kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1273236418/orange-and-blue-the-world-of-barzu-english-and-rus
I hope you will join us and enter the World of Barzu!
Enjoy more art from Farrukh Negmatzade here: https://farrukhnegmatzade.com
More info: kickstarter.com
Barzu - main character of the book. He lives in the mountains of Tajikistan.
Sleeping under the summer sky on topchan
Kishlak - a village in the mountains of Tajikistan
Baking bread in tandyr
Grandmother baking bread in tandyr
The City of Blue Domes (from the grandmother's tale)
Angry Maharaja
Wonderful bread from The City of Blue Domes (from the grandmother's tale)
Tandyr Workshop
Making tandyrs (stage 3)
Friends and collaborators! Marina Abrams (writer) and Farrukh Negmatzade (illustrator)
Farrukh Negmatzade. Working hard on illustrations for the book "Orange and Blue: The World of Barzu"
