Category: Reflective Journal

Reflectively written blogposts that allow me to ponder on my research and experiences to conceptualize ideas for future direction

The Other Story Project–collaboration

The Other Story Project is a fascinating community project initiated by Fatima Al Banawi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  Here’s a bit more about Fatima Banawi herself: I find her and her work very inspirational. The focus of my own past community projects in Karachi has been to provide a platform for the stories and voices of women and children. And now, with my MA project I hope to reach a greater understanding of contemporary forms of narrative art, not to mention the interchangeability of mediums such as writing, painting, sculpting, performing etc. The Other Story Project also has another arm …

Visual Journal, page 1

Ayla is 2 months old. Rayyan and Manahil are 4 and 5. My online art classes are picking up. My regular calligraphy painting orders are still flowing in. I’m discovering more and more about art in Jeddah and loving it. And most important of all, I am in the midst of MA fine art digital online through Camberwell College of Art. And even though I am relishing every minute of it and I feel soooo inspired by my colleagues and professors, not to mention the OODLES I end up learning every single time I speak with them, I’ve gotta say, …

Visiting the Luminarium

A few days ago I heard that the Luminarium had arrived in Jeddah. Isn’t the name itself so awe-inspiring and mysterious? Reminded me instantly of the book ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern. Anyway, I took out some time on the weekend to go see the Luminarium and the first word I can think of to describe the experience is: mesmerizing. It was mesmerizing, fascinating, calming, stimulating all in one. It was a giant inflatable, handmade organism that glowed gently from within with flickering lights in different hues and colors and a gentle soothing rumble of music resonated within it. …

Experiment #4: Mosaics with acrylics on canvas?

Making a pure mosaic was… exhausting. Was it because it was so time consuming? Was it because it was my first time ever and the fear of failure was gnawing away at me even as I worked? Was it because work isn’t work when you are doing what you love, and what I love is painting? All these questions rose restlessly in my head when I worked on the piece “I capture the desert”. At the end of that artwork I did feel a sense of triumph. I had trudged my way to completion and even though the piece was …