Black and White
Small Smile
Pen on Paper
Small Smile shows someone giving just enough of a smile to hint at what is underneath. There is apprehension there, and uncertainty. We do not know exactly what this person is thinking, and that is the point.
Reclining Woman
Pen on Paper
Reclining Woman shows a woman at rest after a full day. The details of the bed and the rumpled blanket tell the story of how busy the day was. This is the quiet moment that comes after.
Oud Woman
Pen on Paper
Oud Woman shows a woman reclining with an oud, the two of them so at ease with each other that they have become one. The music is somewhere between them and inside them.
Musical Family
Pen on Paper
Musical Family shows a family intertwined in the act of playing music together. Their forms weave into each other the way families do, held together by the music they share.
Happy Couple
Pen on Paper
Happy Couple shows two people so intertwined that their bodies become one. The drawing does not separate them. They are body and soul the same thing.
Free Woman
Watercolor and Pen on Paper
Free Woman shows two women: one still behind bars and one who has broken through them. The imprisonment could be political or it could be of the soul. One has found her way out. The other is still waiting.
Contempt
Pen on Paper
Contempt shows a woman looking directly at the viewer with suspicion and assessment. The lines around her eyes show a mind working quickly, taking stock of who is in front of her and deciding what to think.
Crescent Eye
Pen on Paper
Crescent Eye shows a portrait of someone whose obsession has become physical. The crescent appears in their eye, in their mouth, on their body. What you are consumed by eventually becomes part of who you are.
Discard the Blood Fish
Pen and Acrylic on Paper
Discard the Blood Fish shows a woman carrying the vessel in which the harmful fish has been caught. The threat is caught, yes. But there is still so much blood. Catching the source of harm does not undo what it has already done.
B and W Their Sould are Still With Us Two
Ink on Paper
B and W Their Souls are Still With Us Two is the companion to the first. The same theme carries through: those we have lost are not entirely gone. They remain part of us.
B and W Their Sould are Still With Us One
Ink on Paper
B and W Their Souls are Still With Us shows figures resting together within a border of stone, while above them a palm tree and crescent moon rise against a dark sky. The symbols of peace above contrast with the stillness below. Their souls remain with us even when they are gone from view.
B and W Sphinx
Ink on Paper
B and W Sphinx shows the Sphinx looking directly at the viewer, with defiance and a trace of humor. Ancient and knowing, it has seen far more than we have.
B and W Olive Tree
Ink on Paper
B and W Olive Tree is a symbol of Palestine and the olive trees that are so deeply rooted in that land. Some leaves have fallen to the ground to represent what has been taken. But the frame around the tree shows stability and defiance. The roots hold.
Big Curl Portrait
Pen on Paper
Big Curl Portrait is a portrait of a woman captured through her eye. One eye has a swirling design, showing that she is deep in thought. The curl is a mark of a mind at work.
B and W Palestine Oud
Ink on Paper
B and W Palestine Oud shows a Palestinian oud with musical notes and Arabic script flowing from it toward a window. The inscription of Palestine in Arabic grounds the piece in identity and cultural pride. Music here is a form of resistance and belonging.
BW Couple 1 (2003)
Pen on Paper
B and W Couple 1 shows two people close together, rendered in geometric shapes and bold lines. The architectural and natural elements in the background frame them without overshadowing them. This is about the intimacy of two people sharing the same space.
