The business is art on stone. Sounds simple, right? The earliest manmade art form is rock painting, which tells stories of civilizations. For the mother-and-daughter duo, it is a business on Instagram that gives Basma Al-Nahdi an outlet to express her creativity.
Al-Nahdi was born with a rare systemic syndrome called tuberous sclerosis. A brain disease that has intellectual and multiple psychiatric challenges. She only has one kidney and lives on an oxygen device. But that does not stop her from exploring her love for drawing.
Her mother, Souad Kandiel, used this avenue as an opportunity to integrate her daughter into society. “I wanted to give the best quality of life to my daughter, who struggles with eyesight and has a breathing problem. She was baffled and depressed because she had nothing to do,” Kandiel says.
The Saudi artist picks up her brush dipped in vibrant colors to paint abstract shapes and designs on rocks for her small business on Instagram. The mother-and-daughter duo made dominos, tic-tac-toe games, funky characters, and heritage-inspired drawings on stones to tell the world their stories.
“We first started giving birthday gifts to friends who requested more of our artwork. I was surprised at people’s reactions, so we opened ‘Desert Stones’ on Instagram (in June),” she said.
With growing interest in what they do, they joined a local bazaar to promote and sell their work.
“What surprised me was the number of orders we got for Halloween and the heritage collection. But, we faced a production problem because we were only two working on this project. Luckily, volunteers helped to make it happen.” Kandiel adds.
Al-Nahdi now also gives rock painting workshops at Arty Cafe Jeddah for people with disabilities and for children who “enjoyed them.”
Kandiel believes that this could be “a local industry for people with disabilities that could grant them jobs for them. For example, some can draw while others can paint.”
She looks forward to collaborating with other Saudi artists and hopes to be supported by the Saudi Tourism Authority or Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage to take their project to the next level.