I’ve wanted to write a blog since I started with Islamic geometry.

I wanted to keep track of everything like some kind of journal and at the same time, help others in their journey.

I’m not a writer. English is not my mother tongue. You don’t even know how many times I’ve wanted to have a little recorder in my head that could write down all my thoughts.  As soon as Eleon Musk invents one, I’ll be the first to buy it HA!

All those thoughts just disappear when I have to put them in a blog. I stare at the blank page in search of inspiration.

 

Writing a blog about Islamic geometry was not an easy thing. You have to be consistent. You can’t write it for a week straight and then disappear because you have nothing else to say. It’s a commitment.

Somehow I took my will and courage and decided to give it a try.

52 posts. One per week. It’s manageable, right?

I planned every topic, and I wrote 30 blog posts in the first 2 months of the year, so at least I would have been covered until August.

It’s December now. The blog posts are 48 instead of 52 as I took 2 weeks off in August, and I’m going to take 2 weeks off in December. But looking back I’m so glad I took the leap.

 

Things change so quickly, and even if one year may seem scary, time flies so fast that you don’t even notice it.

Who would have guessed, one year ago, that we would have had a pandemic in 2020? Not me.

 

I started studying geometry in late 2016-beginning of 2017 just because I came across Samira Mian’s online course which was on sale and I thought “it’s cheap, I’m gonna buy it and see how it goes.”

Imagine if I decided not to buy it.

I kept practising every day for almost one year. In April 2017, I was already selling my first artwork. I had my very first exhibition in October 2017, and in April 2018, my first brand collaboration. In 2019 I was teaching workshops, and this year I have a blog about Islamic geometry.

Crazy huh?

 

But I’ve also pitched offers to companies that never replied back.

I’ve made offers to clients that were out of their budget and then changed my mind and made an offer for half the initial price (I didn’t know how to price my work back then – so unprofessional I know).

I created designs that I didn’t even like (nor the client did) because I really didn’t have time for that collaboration, but I was afraid to say no.

I’ve worked very hard, and even if all of this was new to me, I didn’t let that bring me down.

 

I invested in my knowledge with regard to not only geometry but also other stuff like websites, blog, photography, teaching, digital drawing etc.

I made it work even with an 8-5 cubicle job. I’ve worked to the point where my health suffered. But that has made me so grateful for what I have now. 

I know it’s such a cliché but I couldn’t have made it without your love and support. If you are curious about the 3 things that I’ve learnt from you check this blog post.

I can’t wait to see what else is yet to come.

 

For all the beginners out there and for the people who think their art is trash this is for you: it’s hard to see someone in the middle of their journey and compare it to your beginning. Never do that.

Roll up your sleeves, keep your nose down and remember that every artist has crumpled up paintings in the trash.

 

2021 Update: I’m writing this note because it will be fun 20 years from now to read this again and remember how things went. Pandemic is still on. Crazy right? But 2021 has been an amazing year for me. 

I’ve created two online courses to help people learn complex Islamic geometry in a very easy and beginner-friendly way. Not being able to travel the world to teach and connect with people, I found my way to do it anyway. 

It’s funny to me that every year I choose a different way to express my art and my passion. In that way I’ve been able to experiment and find what satisfies me the most. Who knows what 2022 will be about 🙂