JEDDAH, 27 July 2006 — Around 20 women in black abayas enthusiastically gripped their stone, pieces of marble and electric saws as they set out to learn more about sculpture. The House of Artists in Jeddah has organized the first women’s sculpture workshop.
The four-day workshop began on Saturday and was open to anyone interested, whether members of the house or the public, said house secretary Abdul Mannan Hashem. He added that the workshop was one of the house’s summer activities and that the next one would deal with Arabic calligraphy.
The famous Saudi sculptor Ali Al-Tokhais is in charge of the workshop. He said that he had given many lectures and workshops in the past but this was his first for women.
Al-Tokhais spoke highly of the participating women and said that they had become adept at handling the stone and the tools for cutting and shaping it.
He said in the beginning they were a bit hesitant about handling the stones, marble and the electrical saw. But they successfully surpassed all obstacles in just two days. “After only two days I felt that all their fears were fading,” said Al-Tokhais.
Tagrid Al-Jadaani, a Saudi woman painter, said that for a long time she had wanted to learn how to sculpt. The curves and soft lines in her paintings have caused critics to observe that she would probably be good at sculpting.
The House of Artists is holding a sculpture workshop, also given by Ali Al-Tokhais, for men next week. Al-Tokhais, who has attended sculpture workshops in Italy, France and other Arab countries, is well-qualified to teach the subject.
