November arrived quietly but held a powerful current beneath its surface. It was a month of movement, alignment, and what I’ve come to call my time releases—intentional periods of letting go, clarifying my commitments, and honoring the cycles through which my work emerges. These releases happen both internally and publicly, especially through my Time Release print editions, which have become an important part of my artistic approach.
Living here in Doha, I had the opportunity to participate in two deeply meaningful gatherings this November: the Islamic Art conference at VCUarts Qatar and the Africana Studies conference at Northwestern University in Qatar. Both reminded me of the expansive ecosystems that shape my work—faith, diaspora, memory, intellectual rigor, and community. I also joined Liwan Design Studios, a creative community I’m excited to grow with. And I received news of a fellowship in New York—something I look forward to sharing more about soon, inshaAllah. Meanwhile, my studio is moving steadily toward preparing for two museum exhibitions opening in January. The year is closing with momentum.
Amid all of this, I return to the page every day. I have been journaling since I was six years old, long before I had a name for the things I was learning or the woman and artist I would become. Journaling has always been a spiritual and clarifying practice for me—a quiet place of truth, unfolding, and self-recognition. Whether I’m writing in my personal notebooks, my studio journal, or here with you, the act of writing remains central to my development as an artist. It is where I process, release, imagine and realign.
My Time Release print model grew out of a reflection on community and making my artwork more accessible not just through exhibitions but also in people’s more personal and intimate spaces of belonging. Each Time Release is a finite window—an intentional moment where the artwork and the collector meet in time. The final edition size is determined by what unfolds within that moment. When the window closes, the edition seals itself, and a new chapter begins. TR1, TR2, TR3… each one becomes part of a living lineage, mirroring the iterative and cyclical themes in my work and in my own spiritual practice.
Time releases, both internal and artistic, remind me that emergence is not a one-time event. It is rhythmic. It is layered. It requires returning—to the page, to the self, to what is essential.
As we enter December, I feel called to deepen that return by sharing it with others. I’ll be hosting art journaling sessions this month—spaces where we can write, sketch, reflect, and hold time with intention. Art journaling has always helped me clarify the next chapter of my life and practice. It feels right to close the year with community, with guided reflection, and with the quiet, generative power of the page.
If November was about release, then December is about returning—rooting into presence, creativity, and the wisdom that rises when we slow down enough to hear it.
Here’s to entering the month with clarity and an open heart.