The opening day of Effat College and the Prince's School of Arts workshop

Eighteen ladies from diverse artistic backgrounds attended the first day of this workshop. Dr.Eman Mohammed, Extension Program Director in Effat College, welcomed the participants and thanked Mrs. Bin Zagar for hosting the workshop. She hoped the collaboration between Effat College and The Prince's School will continue, and introduced the Prince's School personnel; Mrs.Patricia Arneta, Executive Coordinator, and the instructors: Elise Solveig Delong, Naomi Lousie Preston, and Saba Rifat.

Instructor for the first day of the workshop was Elise Solveig Delong ,an experienced teacher that took part in many Prince's School's international projects like the Cairo Project, and a PhD candidate in the Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts School in England.Mrs. Delong shared her expertise and knowledge with the participants in a presentation about the basic shapes and patterns in Islamic art. She assured the students that they will be able to create complex patterns by the end of the workshop and explained that Islamic art is unique because it is the only art in the world that explored the patterns of five-sided shapes. The participants followed Mrs. Delong's detailed instructions and created patterns like circles, and hexagons. Mrs. Delong stressed that" the objective of this workshop is to help everyone understand how human love for beauty is expressed in Islamic Adornment."

Several of the women who attended the workshop are renowned Saudi artists that have displayed their work in several art exhibitions.Mrs.Hind Ba-Esheen famous for creating pewter
portraits and vases outlined, "I am very excited about learning Islamic art and design because I wish to incorporate them in my work."Raeda Al-Ashour a freelancing artist that has carried out various art assignments like calendars and greeting cards for reputable institutions, expressed her amazement with the skills she had acquired in only one day of this workshop. She also hoped that learning Islamic art will add depth to her work.Mrs.Abeer Al-Saidi,an art lecturer , is preparing a PhD in Islamic art and design. She explained, "This workshop is an opportunity for me to learn new techniques to add to my thesis."