LandMark Hotel Bazaar

It has finally settled down some since my exhibit and bazaar that I was involved in. You don’t realize you are trucking on until you finally stop to breathe and realize you literally haven’t had a minute. Busy, to me, is always good, but sometimes a breather is definitely nice.

I was involved in a bazaar at the LandMark Hotel here in Amman, Jordan that was incredible. Met some really interesting people from around the world as well as locally. Its actually was quite interesting to see how the entire system of it works. You sit at your table, smile and hope people like your work enough to purchase it. I did good though, sold most of the wooden bowls and coasters and the rest were sold from my Facebook Art Page. I also was interviewed on TV and a ton of pictures were taken. It was definitely an experience!

 

First Group Exhibition

So many updates and yet so little time. I promise the next few weeks will be of me updating you on all that I’ve been working on and updating you on exciting happenings. I had my first group art exhibition on October 21st which was the most stressful, fun and inspiring time in a while. Being able to be among such talent and knowing so many people out there came to support me via e-mails, phone calls, purchasing paintings, and simply being there to cheer me on was so humbling. I do know such good people, and am so grateful to each one of them. This is a special thank you to all of you who have been there from the beginning telling me I could do it, without all you guys, I wouldn’t be where I am.

The exhibition is where some of the proceeds from the sales go to cancer research and such. The owner of Sararash Art Gallery is a talented friend of mine who helps the community by bringing art lovers and artists together in a space surrounded by art. The exhibition does end on November 18th, but in the next few months I should be working on something else, updates will happen soon!

For now, enjoy the pictures below, and if interested, contact me for an art piece.

Endurance Performance Art Piece – Carry That Weight

Art is subjective. It can be on canvas, wood, paper, video can be used, or performance. What I love about art is how multifaceted it can be, if you are trying to convey an emotion or message, anything can truly be used. This piece truly is inspiring. Emma Sulkowicz is working on her senior thesis called “Carrying that Weight”, a project where she carries her mattress, the same mattress that she was raped on in her own dorm room, around with her everywhere she goes. Not only to convey the weight of what happened to her, but to show how something so private needs to be discussed and dealt with in the proper way. By utilising elements of protest she not only brings the subject of rape into a conversation that needs to be talked about, but actually demands a right on her campus to be treated as one who was abused.

It not only symbolizes what happened to her in a very public way, but actually shows people the sort of weight rape vicitms carry around with them every single day. A performance art piece that truly is touching, well thought out, and inspiring. It has created such a movement across the world, and I truly salute her for her bravery and openness. Emma Sulkowicz, you are one hell of a brave woman.

Working Around Sickness

 

You learn to juggle when you work full time at one job, and then go home and work on art pieces full time. Weekends become work days where you spend 11 hours a day trying to catch up on all things that have deadlines, and I can honestly say as tired and sick as I am, I am enjoying every minute of it. My body, on the other hand, crashed. That is alright, spent all day in bed, trying to get better, and then woke up and worked some more. Things happen and you learn how to move around them to get other things done as well. Im working on commissioned bowls, bowls for an event at the American Embassy, and bowls for Holy Land Design’s store, where I purchase the wood and I am proud to say they sold out of all my pieces.  I’m also in the process of working on collaborating with another wonderful store here in Amman, that truly is an inspiration.

With all this going on, you start to learn what is important and what isn’t. I am definitely spending less time wasting my hours on Facebook, yet still trying to keep my art page up to date for all you wonderful followers out there. I am hoping on taking a week off work where I can sit down and work on art pieces for the upcoming exhibit as well. You get to the point where the only thing that keeps you sane is all the to do lists you keep creating and the satisfaction of crossing things off it, yet I still feel like I haven’t quite accomplished enough. I know, I am a tad obsessive.

Here are the prepped bowls from last Friday. I have almost completed most of them, and will be sharing them in another post soon! Through all this craziness, I try my hardest to remember to update my blog. It is the least thing I can do for my followers!

 

Jordanian Illustrator – Ibraheem Alawamleh

I had the privilege of meeting an illustrator / cartoonist a year ago who had such a different style from all most in Jordan. Being inspired by the world around him, Ibraheem uses illustrations with images, bringing together reality in images and illustrations in a mix that makes you truly question what is real and what isn’t.

Inspired by Shaun Bryant and Cory Loftis, both incredible illustrators, Ibraheem tries to learn from the best. One piece of advice that he lives by is constantly practicing to fine tune his work. Being around him, he has inspired me to continue working even if I feel like quitting. Constantly posting images of works in progress while showing us the steps he takes in creating his incredible pieces shows all of us how without practice, without document the steps needed, you can never see how truly progressed you have become.

His dream is to one day work on a Pixar movie as an artist, and to live in South America. Knowing him and all his hard work, I truly see that happening in his future. You can check out Ibraheems work on his Facebook Page.

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Interview – Jordan TV

I know I know the coolest people out there. How do I know this? Because the coolest people are the ones who not only support you when you don’t even believe in yourself, but push you no matter what, day or night to keep creating work, even if you can’t seem to be able to lift a pencil. The coolest people are the ones who share your art proudly, and get your work seen by other amazing people, who also share your work, and others who find your work so unique they they actually want to know more, so they set out to interview you live on TV, or write articles about you. It keeps going in a spiral until you sit so dizzy and stressed with all the work you need to do for people who are so excited. It’s good stress. Busy stress, and I am loving every minute of it.

Special Commission

I was commissioned to create a very unique bowl where the bark would be completely removed, and the entire bowl would be painted. After the bark was removed and sanded down where I could draw and paint on it, I proceeded to sketch out the leaves and paint them. Due to the curves and angles it was not an easy task to create the leaves in a way that would not only  not be warped, but proportional.I ended up not only painting over the sketches, but sanding it all down myself again to start all over. Eventually, I got the hang of it and sketched out the leaves where I wanted them  to be. Then came the paint, and what a task that was! Trying to create it semi realistic enough where they actually looked like leaves, and were still interesting enough to look at took some time. When I started to cover the entire bowl with black my heart sank. The beautiful grain of the wood was disappearing before my eyes and I thought the piece would be too simple, but it surprisingly seemed to create a sort of mood that was needed.  I actually really like the way this bowl came out and the client was extremely impressed. Im not sure if i would do it again, simply because I love see the raw wood along side the paint. Let me know what you guys think.

Exciting Things!

 

I’ve been quite a busy bee lately! A special thank you goes out to Be Amman for writing such a great article about me. It’s helped spread the word about my work and I have been getting some commissioned work that’s been keeping me busy every day of the week. From all that I have been contacted to be on Jordan Television on Wednesday. Hopefully, I won’t croak and will be able to post it on here for you all to watch (and try and figure out my Arabic). Below is what I have been working on this last week, including a piece for the upcoming art exhibit. Let’s hope I can keep this going!

 

Where the Hell is Brandon – Humans of New York?

What is more frustrating than finding out that one of the most inspiring people you have heard of is in the same country as you doing his project? Not being able to locate him. Brandon started Humans of New York by moving to New York and simply taking pictures of people walking the streets. What is fascinating by this simple project is the charm, quotes and advice of the people whose pictures are taken. Just like Postsecret, Humans of New York not only brings strangers from around your area together, but the entire world. Since his project, people have started all around the world Humans of Amsterdam, Humans of San Francisco,  and others including Humans of Amman.

I would absolutely love the opportunity to meet Brandon and to sit and talk about his experience. Where the hell are you Brandon?

Follow his Facebook page here.

“I want to be a pilot so I can fly everywhere.” (Dhana, Jordan)

“If you speak gently, you’ll find good people wherever you go. If you find a bad person, just move on to the next person.” (Petra, Jordan)

BeAmman

 

I had the privilege of being written about in BeAmman, a website dedicated to highlighting the best of Amman for local Jordanians and visitors. They offer insights on the best restaurants, activities and cool places to visit while roaming the streets of Amman. It was pretty humbling to see the reaction I received from the article. People seem to love my work! That’s not to say I don’t love what I do, I do, very much so. If I could simply work on art for the rest of my life I would be one happy paint splattered girl! People seem to want my wooden bowls as gifts for loved ones, or to put in their own homes and that makes me so happy. So, I have been on a crazy mission of trying to complete orders, trying to work on paintings for the group exhibit, while trying to keep caught up at work, blogging and everything else. Who said busy isn’t a wild party? 🙂

To check out the article on BeAmman, click here.