Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Exhibition 1

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 

في يوم ٢٢ نوفمبر ٢٠١١ تم أفتتاح المعرض الفنّي الأول لفن لف الورق بالعالم العربي و الشرق الأوسط
ومن ضمن احتفالاتنا باليوم الوطني ال ٤٠
 لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة 

on 22nd Nov. 2011, the 1st Paper Quilling Exhibition in the Arab World & the Middle East
As part of our celebrations of the UAE's 40th National Day

وبمشاركة مايفوق ٧٥ مشاركا من داخل وخارج الإمارات 
ومايزيد عن ١٥٠ عملا فنيّا 
بالاضافة إلى ١٠٠٠ دمية مصنوعة يديويا بفن لف الورق لمحاولة الدخول لموسوعة الإقام القياسيّة جينيس 

 the participation of over 75 artists from UAE and around the world
over 150 artworks varying from framed work to 3D creations
in addition to 1000 handmade quilled dolls for a Guinness World record attempt due end of year 


لنبدأ قبل المعرض بيوم 
Lets see what happened the night before the exhibition :) 


Susan Lee .. can't thank you enough and your hubby Ricky .. for all the help you provided me the night before the exhibition
I can't thank the other ladies too enough to do them justice .. but your attendance on the day of opening was great .. 

هذا الفيديو هو الأول من سلسلة تحتوي على ١٠ مقاطع مصوره للأعمال المعروضه
this is the 1st video of the 10 videos series that included most of the displayed work
" I found out later that my camera went down and was acting funny at different times without realizing it while shooting .. so I'm sorry that your work might not have been recorded " 



Happy Quilling 
Amna :) 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Baba Zayed

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 


I wrote this on 2nd Nov. 2010
and I'm posting it here today
because it all came back to me 

I can't stop it .. 
whenever I'm about to do something worthy 
it hits me .. again .. 
I want to achieve a goal 
I dreamt about it .. planned it .. worked hard for it 
and I'm very close now to achieve it 
and it hit me again 
so I cried .. and still crying .. 
I wish you were here 



by Amna Al Fardh on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 at 1:07am

Time has passed faster than I imagined .. or thought .. 
I remember everything vividly as if it were only last year 
today I realized it would be 6 years since he passed away 
and for a moment it all came back to me and I lost any desire for anything and everything I ever wanted 
it was my last year .. last semester .. so close to earning my MBA .. 
and I got the miserable message on my cell phone .. 
I looked around me .. the professor was still talking .. 
people from all nationalities in my class .. all listening .. 
there was only me .. another local girl .. and a guy .. 
I wanted someone to tell me that was a stupid joke .. 
but there was another message from my other sister .. 
it can't be 
someone please tell me 
the guy left the class .. 
I left the class too .. and the girl followed 
everyone was normal outside the class .. 
no one knew yet 
I tried to call my sister 
she answered but said nothing .. she just cried 
I cried too 
I wept 
I was looking around me .. 
why is everything so quiet ?
someone please tell me its not true 
another girl began to weep in the ladies room 
I fell on the floor and was in tears 
people were asking what had happened and I couldn't talk 
I stayed where I am not knowing what was going on around me but cried like a child 
my driver was outside 
I told him to head back home 
there were at least 4 more hours to go 
but the driver didn't say anything .. I think he also knew 
I couldn't stop crying in the car .. and was reading the message over and over again .. 
only half an hour .. and I was bombarded by phone calls and messages from overseas friends 
no .. I can't believe it yet .. 
my father called .. only then I answered 
I cried like crazy .. and he kept quiet .. then was sobbing .. then he said .. be strong .. 
I didn't stop .. my father repeated .. be strong .. and pray for him 
and I cried again coz now I was sure he was gone .. 
my heart ached and I didn't stop 
my father repeated for the last time .. be strong .. he's our father and we can only pray for him now 
cry .. and pray for him .. and pray to God that we all meet with him in heaven 
and he hanged up the phone 
I reached home not wanting to talk to anybody 
my uncles were discussing stuff that I didn't care about 
I didn't know what was going on around me .. 
but it was Ramadhan 
and if he did pass away 
I can do nothing but pray for him 
but I didn't want him to die 
I thought he won't die .. 
at least while I was still alive 
I still had many things to achieve while he was still alive 
I wanted to see him 
I wanted to meet him 
I wanted to tell him you can now be proud of us 
of ME .. 
I didn't get my turn to tell him that 
I didn't 
what am i going to do 
why should I do anything 
why should I do anything anymore 
he left 
and he won't be here anymore 
I didn't have the heart for Eid 
and then the national day was reminding us again that it has happened 
and he's no longer here with us 
I won't be pinning his picture to my scarf to celebrate national day 
I can't look at the flag without crying 
I can't look around me without crying again 
I took leave from work 
dropped from all my courses 
lost any interest in anything I was aiming for 
after a month my father was talking about Haj and his friends 
it just hit me then 
what if I die too 
I want to be able to do one last thing 
I want to go to Haj 
nothing will help me now 
I need to go to Haj 
my best friend was the same 
we both decided to go to Haj 
at that time things started to brighten 
and I had comfort at last 
at the masjid 
at the very top 
I was looking at Kaaba and the other 4 million who were there to perform Haj 
I remembered him right there 
our father 
Zayed 
I thought of all those people who loved him 
there were 4 million back then 
the day of Eid 
4 million or more 
all praying to God 
there were millions praying for Zayed too 
and I cried there too .. only I was happy 
and prayed to God that we all be gathered in heaven on the day of judgment 
Zayed .. you left .. but you are still in our hearts 
you live through your sons and daughters who will continue to do your will 
I was very happy that I decided to go to Haj 
and came back 
and completed my courses in the next 6 months 
and on my graduation day 
my father was there 
my sisters were there 
only few local graduates were there 
and the national anthem was played 
we chanted the national anthem like school children 
very loud 
everyone was staring at us 
but the very few ones didn't care and kept going on 
I felt proud 
he's there in our hearts 
he still is 
and forever will be 
and for every achievement that makes me happy 
I still wish he was still here 
what would he have said if he saw what I did 
and can't help but drift away and imagine his smile 
baba Zayed 
we loved you as a father 
and now again 
I'm determined to be the best 
coz baba Zayed 
I am your daughter 
and always wanted you to be proud of me 
and I know had you been still with us 
you will be proud of me 
and i won't settle for anything less 
but to make you proud of me 
Baba Zayed 
you are in our hearts 
الله يرحمك يا زايد 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

More dolls .. and yes .. even more dolls

السّلام عليكم 
and peace be upon you 



More dolls .. and More rolling and non stop quilling .. 
but I hope all goes well .. 
wish me luck :) 


well that was the sweet part 



and 



the ugly side of it all is this 

for someone like me .. it is NOT easy to select the right colours 
so eventually things end up as in the above picture 
and I have to clear up two rooms because we have visitors during the weekend .. 
oh well .. 


work in progress .. 

take care for now :) 
Amna

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Meet my dolls

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 


so I was sick 
I had few irritating human beings at work
I am assigned to head few committees .. and still more to come 
and I am too busy to scratch my ears

But .. I'm a survivor .. and a very determined one 

working on my national day project 
and few other things .. including my dolls 


so .. meet some of my dolls .. 
you'll have to remember these after a month or so .. 
hopefully :) 




don't forget to visit on Friday 4th Nov. 

a cool fun filled blog hop awaits us all 


Have a great day :) 

Amna


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Finally

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you all 

we now have a place to hold our exhibition 
and a suggested date too 

so now at least we can concentrate on our artwork 

I can even sleep comfortably now 

I never thought such an attempt where other organizations would take advantage of .. 
is going to be such as fuss 
I know its not that easy 
But I have done more complicated things and arranged for more serious official events thru out my career 
the truth remains .. that arts and local talents will remain unsupported and forgotten 
oh well .. you could not have dealt with anyone worse than I am 
so the exhibition is going to be held .. FINALLY .. 
and we have a great group of artists who are willing to give all their support 
what else can we ask for?  nothing :) 
we can move any mountain now 



Saturday, August 13, 2011

Seeing flowers everywhere

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 


Next month will be a busy month 
trying to get as many people as we can to participate in our project 
meeting the committee for finalizing an agreement to host the exhibition 
contacting entities for funding 

many things and many more that I may not have thought of .. 

But most importantly 
I'm seeing flowers everywhere :S 
I also remembered how crazy I got when I visited Japan last year 
I took many pictures of flowers .. 
and was so THRILLED .. to find Hydrangeas 
I love Hydrangeas 
and here's one I took 
and I'm working on making a quilled one 

I'm in love with hydrangeas 

Take care for now :) 

Monday, August 1, 2011

Ramadhan

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 


its the first day of Ramadhan 
and its been 10 years or so 
and I still remember my late grandmother 
her daily phone calls 
scolding me for not eating properly 
or reminding me to eat 

one of the reasons I picked my cell phones number 
is that it was easy for her to dial 
and haven't changed it since then 

I keep glancing at the phone set or looking at the homes phone 
I smile .. thinking that she'll call again 
there she is .. she's going to repeat the same thing 
and in a second 
I remember that she's no longer there 

I miss her so much 
she's the reason .. I am .. what I am 
I miss all our old ladies 
who used to call me Auntie 

Shaikh Zayed 
also passed away in Ramadhan 
my life changed with his death 
I wanted him to be around
I wanted him to witness my strength 

But everything has a reason
and I will always have them all in my heart 

May God rest their souls 
and bestow his mercy upon us all 
and grant us to meet them in heaven 

Ameen 

Friday, July 22, 2011

Featured Artist / Roxann Dragula

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 

I came to know about todays artist after my participation in the North American Quilling Guilds Annual Competition 2011
Met her on facebook and hope to meet her next year :) 
When I saw her winning artwork, at first I thought where is the quilling?
the entire thing turned out to be quilled :) 
oh well you will have to read and find out won't you?

It's Roxy :)



1) When did you start paper quilling ? and how did you know about it ?

I have been an artist just about all my life; I can't remember when I was not doing art even as a small child. I would do Quilling in small amounts here and there to add with my art over the past years but had no idea it was Quilling. For many years I had gotten away from my art due to many reasons and none of the reasons were good reasons. During late 2008 to 20010 and early 2011 I was unemployed during that time I started getting back into my art. I was doing some research on the web and started running across art that was being called Quilling. As I said before I had no idea what it was or how to do it but it looked like what I had been adding to my art. In late 2009 I ran across the NAQG and joined the guild in 2010 I also found the UK Quilling guild and became a member at that time. I am Quilling full time now when I'm not working and the rest is history, I will never stop doing my art ever again something that has been the love of my life 



2) Do you read books about quilling and other crafts? or what sources do you use mostly ? 

I have many Quilling book but to say that I have sat down and read them all, no I guess you can say I collect more Quilling books than I have read. I have my Quilling books as reference books that I use to stimulate my imagination. Being more of an abstract artist life it's self is my best source it provides me with a much larger source of inspiration. 


3) Describe yourself as an Artist , what other hobbies do you like and practice? what other forms of art do you like? how long have you been crafting in general ? 

I am more of an abstract artist I don't refer to myself as being a crafter. I truly believe there is a fine line between the craft of Quilling and the art of Quilling I prefer to be classified as a Quilling artist. I can do other art styles but I am better known for my abstract art. In the past I have done watercolor art and charcoal art and have thought about adding the two along with my Quilling. 



4) do you work or study? and does practicing hobbies affect any aspect of your life? 

When I started Quilling full time I had been unemployed for quite some time, but now that I am employed full time I have found that the responsibilities around our home have shifted. My husband loves my Quilling so much he has jumped in and takes over responsibilities when I am working on my projects. 



5) do you attend workshops or give workshops ? 

I do not attend workshops but will teach when asked. I have been asked to collaborate with Lucia Sinning's art class in Spain 2012. Lucia Sinning was the 2011 People's Choice Award winner at the 2011 NAQGCON. I am much honored to have been given this opportunity. I would love to find work teaching Quilling this would be a dream come true. 

6) You are one of the recent winners at one of the categories at NAQG Con 2011 please tell us something about the piece you created and how you came about it :) 

When I decided to enter the 2011 NAQGCON Quilling and Beyond competition I had no idea what I would make but I knew I would come up with something. I was sitting at the dinner table with my husband one evening talking over what I should do. My husband had given me several good ideas but I told him it had to be something that had that WOW factor to it. It had to be something that was electrifying. Just as I said it I looked at my husband and said that's it I'm going to add electricity to my Quilling. My husband replied you can't do that you will burn the house down. I told him relax I would not burn the house down and everything would be just fine. I had no Idea how to even start making this lamp but I knew that once I got it started it would all start coming to together. I started with the bottom it was insane making that large of a coil it took me several days just to coil the base. Trust me a large rubber band became my best friend. I would coil paper until I was tired and use the rubber band to hold it together until I returned to it. The large open rectangle ring coils were a little trickier to do. With a little help from some blocks of wood and a few failed attempts the body of the lamp took shape. To make the shad was more time consuming than trouble. 



7) How long have you been taking part at the NAQG?

I have been a member of the USA NAQG and the UK Quilling Guild since early 2010. 



8) have you gained any benefit from your art? what kind of benefit ?

The benefits I have gained from my Quilling are priceless and could never be duplicated or replaced. The benefits are the friends that I have gained literally all over the world some of whom I have met and some I will meet for the first time when I attend the UK 2012 conference. 


9) do you have a website or a blog that you would like to share with us? or how can our members get in contact with you 

I have a website that I'm working on to sell Quilling supplies I will let you know when it is open but for now you can get in touch with me by sending email to QuillingByRoxyD@Yahoo.com 



Note from Roxann:
My art card that was given to the artist Howard Solomon after visiting his museum was featured in Ann Martins blog All Things Paper. My Pink art card has been the front page of Quillers. 


Roxann almost never shows her work but she was kind & generous in allowing me to have all the pictures of her work.
You can view them here in this video :) 

Enjoy :) 


 Thank you so much Roxy *hugs* 

آمنه الفرض

Friday, July 1, 2011

Bela Shah - Featured Artist

Another great artists to be revealed 
this time multitalented 
it's our Bela Shah :) 



1) When did you start paper quilling ? and how did you know about it ? 
I started Paper Quilling around 2 years ago and I came to know thru a friend who taught me just a fringed flower and a leaf & then I took it from there. 

2) Do you read books about quilling and other crafts? or what sources do you use mostly ? 
I have never read a book on quilling or any other craft.
But I get inspiration from all the friends I have on facebook ..  also the internet at times..... 

 


3) Describe yourself as an Artist , what hobbies do you like and practice? what other forms of art do you like?
how long have you been crafting in general ?
What do I think about myself as an artist ...... well I wld love if you all answer that question. :-)
Well as a hobby I was always into paintings. I do pencil sketching, charcoal painting, oil , acrylics , warli , madhubani, kalamkari, miniature, glass painting etc.....So as far as art is concerned I love each and everything .. I would love to learn it any form .....
As far as crafting is concerned I love paper quilling & I also do iris folding & I have been crafting since 2 years..... 

4) do you work or study? and does practicing hobbies affect any aspect of your life?
I am working with a canadian firm at nite from home .. I teach art during the day time. Practicing hobby always gives me a satisfaction and Quilling is meditative to me coz of the repitative process.
whenever I'm doing any kind of artwork the outside world just doesn't exist. 

5) do you attend workshops or give workshops ? 
I teach art & conduct workshops. 

 
6) have you gained any benefit from your art? what kind of benefit ? 
The pleasure of creating something new & unique is just amazing.And as a teacher imparting the same knowledge to my kids and the smile on their face after creating something gives me a fulfillment.
And I would say my hobby is my profession so when I work it doesn't feel like i m working....
Isn't that simply amazing!!!!! 

7) do you have a website or a blog that you would like to share with us?
The link of my page on FB is HERE

My blog for quilled creations is HERE n Art work is http://bela-shah.blogspot.com/ 
My website address is HERE

8) Anything else you would like to share with the members or would like to add?
I would like to say that people who have any kind of art in them whether its dancing, singing, crafting, or artwork are blessed so just keep going on & on as it gives you a stress free time from your hectic lifestyle. 


Thank you so much Bela for your time ..
now .. Enjoy viewing her work in this video :)


Hope you enjoyed viewing Bela's work 

Have a great weekend :) 

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Malaysian Quilled Flower

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 


An interesting buzz at the Emirates Quilling Guild's facebook group 
yes .. quite interesting 
everyone is sharing their take on a particular technique 
and I am so loving it .. it's quite exciting to wake up every morning .. 
and look at all the new creations there :
you see our Malaysian quilling artists are "SO TALENTED" and so creative and just uhh so good at making this particular flower with a specific technique .. that I started referring to it as their flower 
hence .. Malaysian Flower .. it's easy and fancy to remember isn't it :) 
hummmph .. 
well 
Look at this video first 
so now ya know which technique I meant 

now where did that come from ?
Ummu Solehah Muhammad
She had the tutorial on her blog HERE
That's where I learned it from :)

Asma' Ahmad Bahari of Simple Rhymes 
she is super talented 
she shared with us the steps of making another great technique of making a flower 
of which I called the royal one .. 
because it simply looks ROYAL .. hahah 

checkout her blog HERE


here's some of her work in a video I made recently 

isn't she amazing :) 
and aren't they all amazing and talented artists ?
they sure are ...



Hope you had fun :) 
Amna 

Remaining parts of the video

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 

I know I know .. I only write when things are hectic or when I'm overloaded 
hahah yeah well .. better late than never right ?!!

these are the remaining 4 videos of the tags swap we had last month 
enjoy the amazing work of our talented friends :) 

Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


and finally .. Part 5



Have a great weekend :) 

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Quilled Tags Swap


Enjoy


a note to Paula :)
Click Here
it will take you to a link where you'll find all videos and pictures of previous swaps and activities:)
you can join the group here
Join EQG

Hope that's helpful :) 

Monday, May 30, 2011

Madhushika Lakmini - Featured Artist

السّلام عليكم 
& Peace be upon you


I'm trying a new way of displaying the work of our monthly featured artists at 

so I thought of youtube videos
I hope you'll enjoy it :) 

best wishes 


Amna

Saturday, May 28, 2011

ورشة فن لف الورق بخورفكّان

السّلام عليكم 
& peace be upon you 


it was a long journey to Khorfakkan last Thursday 
never been there before 
and had to come across mountains 
and mountains 
and MORE mountains 
but when I got to my destination 
it was a beautiful place 
and the organization was great and the ladies were super talented
الحمدلله 
كان يوم حلو



enjoy the short video :) 

Amna

يوماً ما

💚