During our travels through the Midwest, my wife and I got the opportunity to meet Muslim artists in Detroit and Chicago. The experiences left us inspired and wanting more, that’s for sure! I write this on the last leg of our trip, completely in awe of the golden hearts that we have encountered.

One such individual is Sevim, an artist who is a pioneer in her own right. Sevim moved to the United States from Turkey and has been practicing, selling, and teaching Ebru, a Turkish marbling artform, for over a decade. She is currently based in Chicago where she teaches at the American Islamic College and graciously hosted us for a special workshop in her home studio.

We were graciously welcomed by Sevim at the door and taken to her small studio, the perfect size to fit her, myself, and my wife Fatima Zehra for a private class. The walls were decorated with some of her prized pieces, and the house decked out with the most gorgeous artwork. Her husband, a traditional Turkish folk musician, had instruments set up around the house as well, leading to an overall atmosphere of creative cultivation throughout the house.

Sevim explained the general process of Ebru to us, as a one hour workshop was not nearly enough to capture the subtleties and nuances in creating great Ebru pieces. A tray of water is prepared with a thickener, in this case, agar agar. Specialized brushes and tools transfer water-based paint (treated with oxgall) onto the surface of the water, and help the artist create patterns and designs. This artwork is then transferred onto a pretreated paper, resulting in a unique piece every time.

 

“Creating an Ebru piece is a metaphor for my life: You keep doing what you know to be right, adding bits of color here and there, layering where it feels appropriate, but when you take a step back and look at the finished product, it’s never exactly how you imagined it. That is where Allah’s influence comes in. Even though the paintbrush is in my hand, it isn’t me that creates the art, it comes from somewhere else. From a special place.”, Sevim explained.

For her, the Turkish art of Ebru is an inherently spiritual activity, just as doing calligraphy, or creating music can be. Creating artwork is not always fun, sometimes it can be frustrating, sometimes it surprises you, and such is life. Having given us a newfound appreciation for ebru, wisdom for life, and some phenomenal Turkish tea, we got to talking about artistry in the American Muslim community at large.

Our communities are full of artists at every skill level, whether we realize it or not. However, oftentimes, this skill is not developed because the artist does not feel as though they have a space in which to express and work on their art. If we are more conscious of creating and participating in spaces where Muslim artists can flourish, we could resuscitate Islam’s legacy of patronage of the arts, and a flourishing American Muslim narrative through these arts.

Our Chicago trip would, of course, be completely incomplete without a visit to IMAN in Southwest Chicago. They have taken the spirit of art and creativity and fostered it in a supportive and loving environment. I definitely plan on coming back to this space, to this city, and hope to share company with Sevim again soon.

If you are interested in learning Ebru or starting out as a beginning Ebru artist yourself, Sevim does sell beginners kits with everything you need (instructions included)! Do check out her website to learn more about her, her work, and to pick up supplies to get started yourself!