Drawing with sand - Interview to the artist
One of the most peculiar and fascinating arts in New Valley is drawing paintings with the colours of the natural sand coming from the desert.
CISS team met Ahmed Wahaba, the most famous artist drawing with sand in Kharga Oasis. He kindly received us in his laboratory telling us more about his work that consists of creating pieces of arts starting from the elements of nature (wood, sand, etc.).
Introduce yourself and your activity
My name is Ahmed Wahaba and I am one of the artists of New Valley Governorate. I draw pictures representing New Valley and its landscapes and people using the colours of natural sand. I also train people in this art so that it will not disappear after I die. I have been working as an artist for 50 years and I have been drawing with natural sand for 30 years. I run my business alone, the name of my laboratory is Yadawia (“using the hands to do something”) and is located in Kharga.
Please, describe more your products
I document the life of New Valley in my paintings. Each picture tells a story about New Valley: its people, its nature and its houses. Some clients also ask me to create a specific portrait of a person. When drawing, I try to avoid the blue colour because it is not available in the sand of the desert. Instead, I mix natural colours to obtain a mixture that is similar to blue.
Tell us more about your handicraft production process and the techniques you use
The handicraft production process I follow is divided in different steps. The first one is to go to the desert and look for the stones with the colours I need for my paintings. Then I bring them in my laboratory and I smash them until they become really fine. The second step is to find the wood; I use different types of wood, such as dom wood or MDF (an engineered wood product). Then I make some measures to match the wood with the dimension of the picture I am going to realize; finally I cut it. The third step is to put a first layer of light-coloured sand on the piece of wood; after it dries, I draw the figures I want to represent in the picture and I start to colour it with the different colours of the natural sand.
Which product do you think is the most interesting one among the ones you produce? Why?
I love to express the feelings of nature so I especially like the paintings showing the nature of New Valley.
Who are your usual clients?
I mainly sell to Egyptians but also to foreign tourists (such as Italian, French and Americans) during the exhibitions I participate in. Some people come to the exhibitions specially to see and purchase the pieces of art I create.
Which products do tourists like more?
They especially like the paintings representing the nature of New Valley.
How do you see your activity in three years? Do you have a dream about it?
During my years of experience, I developed a lot the art of drawing with sand and I would like to teach this technique to more people, especially young people, so that this art does not disappear when I die. In each exhibition I went there were some people who asked me for courses to learn this technique. The airport of Hurghada even proposed me to set up a space in the airport where I could show the techniques I use to create my products, but my old age prevented me from accepting the proposal. I also would like to teach to young students the basics of the art of drawing with natural sand.
