As Oman was decking up the streets with lights and flags and the corporate world was gearing up to observe the auspicious National Day, a practising dentist was busy hammering nails and stringing up her wooden canvas to create a masterpiece to pay tribute to the leader, who has turned the fortunes of the country and created a benchmark of excellence in the international horizon. And the result is three feet by three feet artwork on wood, featuring the portrait of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said!
Practising dentist Dr. Hafsa Banu Abid used around 5000 nails and 900 yards of string to create the portrait, which took three months to craft to perfection. A self-taught artist, she has created several works of art over the years but classifies the new portrait as her masterpiece. “His Majesty’s portrait is my masterpiece. May Almighty Allah grant him a long, healthy and prosperous life,” she wishes.
She got inspired to take up string art as a medium of expression following her son’s school activity. He was required to create a work of art with pins and coloured threads on a mounting board, and she was taken in by the concept. “It was so satisfying and the end product was so beautiful… I went on to check out the different types of nails for wood and threads with different thickness,” she explains, pointing out that string art or pin and thread art is an art form dating back to the 1960s. It comprises of placement of pins or nails in a pattern mostly on wood and strung together with thread, wires or fibres.
Soon she began making little works of art for friends and family and the appreciation she received was, as she puts it, ‘Masha’Allah’. “The way their face would light up in amazement made me look for more. I didn’t want to confine myself to just geometric designs, so I tried Arabic calligraphy, scenic designs, portraits and wall art. Then, about three months ago, I felt I could contribute to the National Day through my art. Having lived here most of my life I felt I owed it to the nation, and what better way than His Majesty’s portrait itself!” she states.
Dr. Hafsa, Managing Director of White Smile Dental Specialty Clinic at Qurum, has been a resident of Oman since she arrived here as a six-month-old baby, about 30 odd years ago. “My parents have been residing here since 1973. I call Oman my first home, having spent most of my life here. I did my schooling at Indian School Muscat and Dentistry from Yenepoya Dental College in South India,” she points out.
She has been inclined towards art since her childhood; always aspiring for more while attempting different mediums, be it sketching or painting on fabrics, glass, sand, ceramics, shells, casting and moulding of hand impressions, among others. Calling art her passion, she says, “Art is what gives me satisfaction and peace, with the recent string art portrait of His Majesty occupying the top place. I have given away most of my work to friends and family; recently I have also donated art for the breast cancer awareness event organised by Oman Cancer Association.”
Attributing her success to the support from her family and friends, she says it is the satisfaction that she derives in the art that has kept the flame burning bright. “As a dentist, you create beautiful smiles – so professionally and personally art is a part of me and always will be,” she states.