once again - never forget walkabout at creekside

'never forget' walkabout invite . 2015

back by popular demand, i will be leading another walkabout to promote 'never forget: an illustrated guide to dubai's best kept secrets'. the walkabout will happen on saturday 31 january, from 9am - 12pm. 

the walkabout begins at creekside, where we will then head to some of the areas mentioned in the book. make sure to bring your sketchbooks, cameras and a pair of good walking shoes!

there is a fee of aed 100 to participate in the walkabout. so make sure to register your spot by emailing tashkeel@tashkeel.org.

participants will receive a limited edition tote bag, which includes a copy of the book, and a colour pencil set. for more info, make sure to check out the invite above, and also the walkabout page on tashkeel's revamped website.

i end this post with some images below, which includes interesting finds from the last walkabout.

 images from previous 'never forget' walkabout . 2014

meet pepper

pepper . 2015

pepper 001 . 2014

pepper 002 . 2014

pepper 003 . 2014

a couple of years ago, i was approached by a positive, optimistic, female, emirati entrepreneur who was introduced to my work and really liked what she saw, leading to a collaboration i am happy to have worked on.

asma, the proud owner of the hundred wellness center is extremely passionate about pilates and a healthy lifestyle. she opened her humble pilates studio, which has gained recognition and grown over the years, becoming one of the leading health and fitness centers in the city. she is also a true supporter of the arts and the creative world. if one pays a visit to the beautiful center, you will notice some of asma's acquired artworks hung around the building, combining both her interests in one space.

the collaboration began with the intention of creating a pilates-themed illustration to adorn the center's walls. the initial brief was pretty free, so i came up with some introductory sketches which were discussed and led to variations of the illustration.

the illustration evolved over the course of the project, becoming more refined, less of a cliché, and focused on one particular pilates move - the rolling ball. the final result was not one, but three illustrations to visually show the move in it's different positions. after the illustrations were complete, asma loved the character and decided to name her pepper!

it was a really fun project to have worked on and truly humbled to have worked with asma on this. thank you for the opportunity. i hope pepper becomes somebody iconic at the center and loved by all...

make sure to head down to the hundred wellness center if interested in pilates and a healthy approach to life. and make sure to say hit to pepper!

i leave you with a couple of illustrations from the initial phase of the project. it shows how far the illustrations have come from the first drawings. i do love the initial ideas, but didn't work for this project i guess. you do however, definitely see elements extracted from both sketches which fed into the development of pepper.

phase 1 of pepper . 2013

first zine workshop of 2015

diy zine workshop with khalid mezaina . 2015

results from previous diy zine workshop . 2014 

a belated happy new year to all the krossbreed lovers. wishing everyone a positive 2015...

first on the agenda for the new year is a new diy zine workshop. back by popular demand, i will be hosting another diy workshop at the magazine shop, on wednesday 14 january, from 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

make sure to register by sending me an email if interested in participating. also, there's a minimal fee of aed 20 to take part in the workshop.

looking forward to seeing you all getting creative on the 14th. above is an inspirational image of some of the results from the last workshop.