By Abdullahi Jamaa
Her Islamic gown is long, suave and gently displays only her face, her authentic smile that beams with respect and responsibility shines a light on her forehead.
Here is Ms. Fatuma Abdi, an emerging visual-artist from Mandera County, whose love for colour, contrast and their effect on texture is astounding.
“I love art…it makes me have a feeling of peace and calmness” Fatma told the The Plu “I am a fun loving girl and very serious when I need to be, I love nature a lot, especially greenery and water bodies”
Fatma uses random pencil strokes, light or heavy shading of paints with a fine touch of pastel colouring to imprint ideal designs and illustrations.
Under her twirling fingers, the tinctures roll, the outline shudders and her eye-catching artwork emerges as real as you and me.
A stunning Islamic calligraphy is the latest of Fatuma’s finest visual artwork, it is displayed as a decal on a canvas plate where the words ‘God is Great’ is written in Arabic with an evocative chic and silhouette.
Her insatiable desire for art has taken some shape and form during her primary schools days when she made sculptures out of clay molds. That was when she was a student at Al-huda primary school in Kajiado.
“My earliest memory was that of art class. I vividly remember looking forward to clay modeling in the afternoons. I used to be good in it” Fatuma says
She is a lady of many interest, she has a daytime job where she works as an Information Technology Officer at the county Government of Mandera.
Fatuma who holds diploma in business ICT from the Institute of Advanced Technology in Mombasa currently pursues Bachelor of Science and Information Technology at Mount Kenya University.
Enthusiastically art is hedged in her mind and heart and that is why this hardworking lady finds the time to study for her degree, attend her daytime job while advancing her part-time hobby.
Her stylish painting is a rare thing to find in the entire Northern Kenya where art and fashion is still in its embryonic stage or non-existent altogether.
In 2009 when she first stepped forward to attempt visual art, she started painting on printing papers using school watercolors.
“The result was almost perfect so I kept on doing more” she recalls
The 26 years old enterprising lady is now channeling her creative energies into an eponymous collection of still life painting, Islamic calligraphy and landscape drawings.
Every single day of hers comes with more experience, more love and more acceptance of her artwork. Admittedly, she learns a new thing in it every day.
“Yes my interest in art is increasing. Just like fashion, art techniques change from time to time and I have to follow and see what others are doing. Now that I have a bit of experience I try most of those new techniques” she said
Through social media, she built a clientele fond of her artwork; she set up a happy-veranda-studio within her family’s home where commissions are rolling in through selling of her work earning between Ksh. 5,000 to 20,000 per item, depending on the size and degree of painting.
Fatuma is yet to take a leap of faith; she can’t just leave her daytime IT job to paint full time, this is so because, the community in Mandera and elsewhere in Northern Kenya is yet to accept art as a career.
Faced with catalogue of challenges, cheerful Fatuma has to stand up with slim chances to step forward as a celebrated visual-artist in a region where access to basic needs is hitherto a nightmare for thousands of Somalis.
“Somali society doesn’t appreciate art. They don’t understand art” She says “unavailability of art supply is also a big problem, I have to get materials from Nairobi” she notes
But Fatuma lives with a brimming hope that one day her artwork will be embraced wholeheartedly by members of the Somali community.
“That with time Somalis will find some love for art and I also believe if I keep painting I will one day accomplish my goal” She hopes
