Ceramic zombie heads and Khobar’s "paint your own pottery" cafe

Desperate to do something different, my friends and I went to a ceramics cafe in Al Rashid Mall. It's a place where you can sit down and order food, all while painting your own pottery. On their Facebook page the cafe markets itself as a kid friendly place, but after double checking that they did in fact sell food and ceramic items to those who've gone through puberty, my friends and I indulged our inner five-year-olds and painted zombie faces.*

Be happy, Live More... Easy enough right?

By now I'm sure you're sick to death of shoes and you've read enough art reviews to keep you going until summer comes around. Let's watch some TV then shall we? Let's.

Like mother like daughter: "Shoes of Saudi Arabia"

Emelda is a 32 year old housemaid from Tarlac in the Philippines.

When I interviewed Datiba I wasn't able to sit down with her daughter Emelda, who works at Saja's house as a housemaid. Thankfully I was able to return and interview Emelda.

What happens when urban goes corporate

Tucked away in a little corner on one of the Amwaj Islands, you can find a creative space called Malja. Calling itself a hub for contemporary artists, designers, and musicians, the Malja building is relatively new, only opening its doors at the end of January. Owned by Red Bull, the space is multi-purpose as it has a gallery, DJ's stage, recording studio and a small art/dance room inside.

I'm fabulous: "Shoes of Saudi Arabia"

Sharifa is a 23 year old graphics designer from Dammam. 

I met Sharifa through my friend Todd and we sat down one rainy(!) afternoon to talk about her famously large shoe collection.

I'm more than meets the eye: "Shoes of Saudi Arabia"

Hanadi is a 28 year old contract adviser from Riyadh and Al-Khobar.

I met Hanadi one afternoon while I was sitting down in a cafe working on my blog. She came up to me to compliment me on my boots and I asked her if she would like to be a participant in my project. We met up several weeks later at Mathaq to conduct her interview.

People here judge a lot: "Shoes of Saudi Arabia"

Al-Anoud is an 18 year old student from Riyadh. She is part of Saudi Aramco's college preparatory program.

I meet Al-Anoud when she comes to Jori's interview. Unlike her friend and her sister Razan, Al-Anoud is tall and has long curly hair.

A housemaid's story: "Shoes of Saudi Arabia"

Datiba is a 58 year old housemaid from Tarlac, the Philippines.

So far in my photography series, I had only interviewed one non-Saudi, "Jane" from the Philippines. Saja, who recruited her two friends Fajer and Sara, said that Datiba, her housemaid's mother, may be interested in my project. She was in the house visiting her daughter, as she works for another family who lives close by. Datiba agreed to be a participant and we sat down to talk.