Arts Lab 6.0: Salma ElGendy - Month 3

We’ve just finished the MAF residency, and while the beginning was a bit challenging, the remaining days went really well. We had a group of creative and calm students who were incredibly productive. By the end of the residency, we managed to complete most of what we set out to do, and it was really rewarding to hear the students say they enjoyed the workshop. We're all excited to finish the game and finally get to play it. It’s been a lot of hard work and brainstorming, but we can’t wait to see it come to life!

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We made a trip to Ruginoasa to get inspiration for our personal artwork. We visited a museum and a palace, where we saw traditional items and heard folkloric stories, including some about the winter traditions. I really hope I can create an artwork that reflects this history and culture and does it justice.

One of the best parts of the day was the snow! Although I’d seen snow before, this time it was thicker and fluffier, making it such a joyful and satisfying experience to walk through. I also made a snow duck hehe.

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On Saturday, November 23rd, we had the Egyptian Night, and it was EXHAUSTING, to say the least. Ziad, Yasser and I began preparing from the night before, which made it a pretty lengthy process. We had at least 6 different dishes!

One of the highlights for me was cooking Koshary for the first time – and it was actually my first time cooking any kind of rice, so it felt like quite an ambitious dish to start with. I called my mum, and we cooked it together over the phone, which made me realize how much I miss her. I was really proud of how it turned out!

I also made my "Toffee Biscuit Cake," which has somehow become my specialty. I found the recipe ages ago, and since then, I’ve made it for family, friends, and every occasion I can think of. This time, I had to make it in a smaller tray than usual because I couldn’t find a bigger one, but it still turned out great. I remember seeing someone take a piece, then turning around to put the plate I had in my hand back in the kitchen, only to turn back and find it all gone. That moment of seeing it disappear so quickly felt pretty satisfying as the cook! I had four people ask for the recipe, and I was happy to send it to them. I really hope they try making it themselves!

Most of the food that day was something new for us to cook, so we were a little nervous about how it would turn out. But thankfully, everything was great, and we got amazing feedback on the whole night. Mission accomplished!

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I have started working on the Folcloristica trophy. I did a lot of sketching and researching for different symbols and items and their meanings to try and create a trophy that best fits the region and Heleșteni, the village that won “The Most Beautiful Village” competition. I also added some of the sewing patterns from the Heleșteni traditional clothing. It’s still a work in progress and I’m also still not sure about how to glaze it but I’m hoping I’ll start getting a clearer picture of how I want to do it once I’m done with the building, have it bisqued and then I can decide.

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Tomorrow, I start working on my personal artwork which is slightly stressing me out since I still can’t clearly envision how it would look. I have the general idea and I started sketching some of the things we’ve seen to decide which elements to use based on what would be possible to be transferred/drawn on clay. I decided to use white clay for this artwork and am hoping to do a black and white piece perhaps. I tried testing pigments for coloring the clay but it wasn’t much of a success so I have to find a different way to achieve what I’m thinking of. We’ll see how it goes. I think it would look very cool if I manage to have it turn out the way I’m hoping.

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Fast forward to the MAF Exhibition!

The board game turned out amazing! We even got to test it with some of the guests, and it was genuinely fun to play. Although, I have to admit, the evil cards we designed seemed to conspire against me—I kept drawing the worst ones and couldn’t win :’) It was hilarious how unpredictable the game turned out to be, thanks to the diversity of the cards and tiles. We made a lot of new friends that day which was also a great bonus.

As for my personal artwork, it faced a bit of a setback in the kiln, with some parts breaking due to insufficient drying time. Thankfully, I managed to repair it, though the final stage felt a bit disheartening. I decided to use a black wash for the color instead of a glaze, as none of the glazes really aligned with my vision. In the end, I’m proud of the result and even more so of the feedback I received from Romanian visitors. It means a lot to me that they felt I represented their culture and folklore well through my work.

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The creation of the Folcloristica trophy went great considering the tight timeline. I’m happy with how it turned out. I just came back from the studio after applying the glaze, and I’m really hoping for a good result after firing. It’s been a bit nerve-wracking since I couldn’t do consistent tests, and the glazes are unfamiliar ones I’m using for the first time. Not knowing exactly how they’ll turn out adds a layer of stressful anticipation, but I’m trying to stay optimistic!

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We’re currently getting ready for the Mission Impossible Christmas Market. To be honest, I’m not feeling overly excited about it at the moment—it feels a bit disorganized. That said, it’s a new experience, so I’m keeping an open mind. Hopefully, it will turn out to be fun in the end!

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We’ve been doing Secret Santa in the house, and I have to say, I’m pretty happy with mine—they’ve been amazing! I’ll admit, I might not be the best Secret Santa myself, but I’m doing my best to pick thoughtful gifts they’ll enjoy. I hope they like the little gifts I’ve chosen for them.

The next big thing on the horizon is the Christmas holiday. I’m really hoping we receive our residence permits soon because I’d love the chance to visit my cousins in Germany—I’ve been looking forward to that.

In the meantime, we have a busy week ahead before the break. I hope everything goes great. Hopefully, after the holiday we’ll come back refreshed, recharged, and ready to dive back into everything with renewed energy.

Three months down. Four more to go.

Report written by Salma ElGendy, she's from Egypt and she's one of the 14 volunteers participating in Arts Lab 6.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps program.