The Garlands Of Autumn

His eyes have looked at me through my quick passed Autumn.

 Now our days are shorter, nights are longer and the skies are covered with the cloudy cloak of winter. 

I remember seven years ago, when I first laid eyes on a certain amber joyful trickster, he seemed to have stepped out a fairy tale book and rooted himself into my nook, with  mischievous grin he won my heart and changed the flavor of my life.

Looking upon this furry soul while resting his head right on my lab as I weave these lines for you, he's sinking deep in dreams of bird chasing, trail sniffing, bones chewing and many wanders to come. I can't discribe in words how deeply his presence have affected me and I'm joyfully grinning and thankful for much love and happiness he brought into my every day.

In keeping my promise to my amber companion I share with you my work of late inspired by his autumn garland covered coat.

Through dried leaves wounding his way  back home after his morning wanders, with muddy paws and coat covered with wonders

 leafs & twigs, birds & bugs, snails & mushrooms, flowers & feathers

 and many delights of autumn tales tangled into his wild amber hair..

If you take a closer look you'll see.. a bird standing on a branch of  a tree. 

to that bird there is a tale,  it starts with once upon a messing tail...

I met that lonley gray feathered minstrel of spring, his flock departed beyond the sea like all megrants birds do, but he couldn't follow without his lost long wing tail.. in gray to  grayish plumage he stood out amongst the green of the park behind my house.. singing, announcing his presence proclaming his territory.... every morning I was joyed to hear his distinctive melody of day break that carried in the freshnies breeze of our morning wanders as he followed us from tree to tree..

until next spring when he had found a partner, despite her long wing tale she decided to stay, to share a nest to share with him a branch of  a tree..

four eggs she laid, and the tree where one lonesome shrike stood, was soon covered with 6 healthy singing shrikes, celebrating their new wings among the rustling golden leafs of autumn.

Until one morning I didn't hear their songs of my past year, I searched every park and I looked at every tree, the wild gray feather songsters left without a trace.. and all they left behind is a one signle feather covered with dew.. and a warm memory of  a song that still echos within my heart too. 

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Little Morran

As many of you know, I made a sketch of a pup name Morran for Camilla Engman's The Morran Book Project.

While working on my own contribution, I got to know Morran through the eyes of Camilla while browsing through the photos of her little pup and I started to feel acquainted with Morran while working on her inpsired sketch that I was overwhelmed with sadness upon Camilla's sad announcment of Morran's departure.

Despite the grief, the book project was completed and there were too many contributions for this project that Camilla decided to make two books, one of which includes the jurry's selection of 77 sketch and illustration and the second will include all the 236 contributions. I was honored to have my sketch of little Morran included in both books.

You can browse through the book pages here, and you can purchase the book here.

Also worthy of mentioning that all the book's profit will go to WSPA - World Society for the Protection of Animals - Sweden (WSPA international).

Terri Windling also listed my sketch along with information about the project on her Friday Recommendation post.

This is the first time to have a mention of my work and the first time to have my work published, it sure is exciting and I'm grateful and thankful to Terri, Camilla....

And to you too Morran!

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Morran!

Laying on a bed of dandelion, concertina player in the full moon

Morran is the tiny companion of artist Camilla Engman, and this was my

submission for her upcoming project "Book Full Of Morran", I sure hope my work will get Morran's tail wagging!

Meanwhile I can feel the piercing looks of my amber pup, so I made

a promise that my next sketch is going to be of my own mischievous, grinning companion.

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The Lantern & Colors!

Tucked away in an alley in one of Cairo's oldest quarters, craftsmen weld small metal pieces that will come together to form a traditional lantern. Ramadan lanterns, known as 'fanous' (singular) or 'fawanees' (plural), light Cairo nights in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan.

The traditional fanous are shaped from tin, wire rings and coloured glass, and lit by a candle. Plastic battery-operated versions are available these days, but they lack the charm of the original.

In Ramadan Egyptians turn to lanterns, Fanous is a time-honoured accompaniment of the holy month. As a symbol, the Fanous is somewhat similar to a christmas tree or menorah. It is hung on balconies during Ramadan and takes the center of dinner tables when families gather to break fast together. The history of Fanous in Egypt streches back to Fatimid era, which ruled large swaths of the muslim world starting the 10th century. Actually there are many different stories about the origins of the fanous. The most interesting story dates from the reign of the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah. Apparently women were only allowed to go outside their homes during Ramadan, and they were preceded by a little boy carrying a copper lantern so that men in the streets would move away. But even after the laws were relaxed, people liked the lanterns so much that their children would carry them in the streets every Ramadan. Since then, fanous has always been an integral part of Ramadan in Egypt. However, the most probable origins of fanous were described by Al-Maqrizi. He traces it back to the Coptic Christians who celebrated Christmas by decorating the streets of ancient Egypt with colorful candles. The tradition of celebrating with lights goes back even further to the torches used by the Ancient Egyptians, which was continued by the Copts using candles, and endures today with Fanous Ramadan.

Nowadays children still take to the streets in Ramadan nights carrying their candle-lit lanterns and singing the famous rhyme, “wahawi ya wahawi iyyaha,” which some researcher believe is an old pharaonic song to the moon deity. In one version of the song, the children say, “if it were not for Ramadan, we wouldn’t have come, or bothered to get our feet tired, o merciful God.” In another version, they say, “the sultan’s daughter... iyyaha, is wearing a caftan... iyyaha, with tussels... iyyaha, let’s go get it... iyyaha.”

My work here is a tribute to the holly month of Ramadan and also to Adly Rizkallah, a writer and painter whose work I have long admired since childhood. I was starry-eyed to meet him and his work in flesh couple of years ago before his departure from our world. I was humbled to have him admire my work and this memory of our encounter, even though brief effected me deeply, and his words of encouragment still echo in my ears every time I hold a pencil and set to work.

(Hussam Elsherif, I see my youth in you, I wish you success. Adly Rizallah)

I was inspired by one of his books that I deeply enjoyed, the book is called "The Lantern & Colors" and it speaks of Ramadan's flying lantern and it's three guardians that roam the skies in search of someone worthy of the colorful, musical and magical lantern. It struck me that this was the only fantasy book dedicated to children that speaks of the spirit of the Holy month of Ramadan!

I thought that since the book of which my inspiration came from is called "the lantern & colors" It's only appropriate to color my sketch. Coloring is far away from my comfort zone, unlike working with pencils, once you add colors there is no going back. but I guess in order to learn we have to travel beyond our comfort zone and experince new alternatives and realities which in turn could change the way we comprehand the world around us.

I've tried experimenting with colors on a draft of this sketch but I wasn't satisfied with the result, I think there are many details which makes it difficult for a first step with colors, so I decided that I need more time to experiment with colors, get equanted and hear their voice...

So here they are.. the three lantern guardians...

riding the glowing orb that flies, soaring high through the skies

They play their instruments, they sing it loudly

those ancient rhymes of "wahawi ya wahawi"

With the beginning of September we said goodbye to Ramadan, after a month of daily fasting it is a joy of all Muslims to celebrate the three days long "Eid Al Fitr" that translates as the breakfast feast. People went out with family and friends, and it's tradition to buy new clothes and then to show them off of course.

And every where there was colors colors colors!

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A Teapot Tale

First rough sketch for a children book I'm illustrating, it's an adaptation from Salah Jahen's nonsense poem.

انا انا انا ابريق الشاى

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The Wind

A blow of Autumn Wind

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Grandpa's Magic & Inspiration

This sketch was inspired by one of my grandpa's nursery rhymes full of magic, it tells a short tale of a curious mouse who likes to lick the honey off of it's tail!

الفار بيحب العسل

بيدلدل ديلة و يلحسة

سوسو سوسو

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