The Muslim Artist at Work

It is is not difficult to paint or draw. Anyone can do it. Some may do it better than others. For the Muslim artist it should not be any more different from anyone else. The first thing I say to my students is; "Please do your best, don't be afraid"

Many may say that they cannot draw and is afraid of their work being laughed at or dismissed as frivolous. For the Muslim artist, there is comfort in the knowledge and belief that God is perfect and He alone can create in perfection. Therefore we must not be afraid of the end result of our work because it is the process which is the most important part of the experience.

Since Muslims recognised that God has all the responsibility of being perfect, we would do our very best and accept what we did. We are merely "photocopiers" of all that is around us. Mind you we must do our best and not make something with a haphazard attitude. A person's first reaction to seeing our work is honest and should be taken as constructive criticism. That is; whatever the comments we hear be should be able to build our resolve to do better or improve in anyway we can. Or we can simply ignore the negatives; in fact we must and remember that it is the process that is more important than the end result.

The creative process is the reason, in the first place, why we are artists. The sensual feeling of the paint brush, the soothing colors, the passion of drawing, the joy of building and the satisfaction we get from involving in our selves in something so enjoyable that we do it even if there is no monetary benefit from it.
It is especially important for adults to remember this when asked by a child if they like their work.

Scenario - Fatima is happy. She just finished her drawing for the story she wrote yesterday. She loved the rabbit she drew and the colors she used. She shows it to her teacher. What do you think the teacher's reaction should be?

Some may laugh or begin to point out all the "mistakes" Fatima made. but remember that it was the process through which Fatima learnt not the end result. She learnt from using colors and developing her brain creatively.Our students should not copy a template which we made for them nor should they be told what to do on the exact details of their work. They must be able to use their imagination and inventiveness as this is the objective of art in our classrooms; to build a brain that is creative and innovative.

For the adult artist, this creative process is equally important, more so because much more planning is involved. We plan our compositions, make sketches, practise and practise until we have something we like to develop or work on. Not all of our pieces will be a masterpiece but that is okay because the Master of masterpieces is not going to laugh at our work.