Shami Orkibi fastidiously unwraps his tidy box of Japanese Sumi watercolors, a large rectangular sheet of watercolor paper and begins to paint.
Large dripping streaks of hot pink sumptuously stain the white backdrop. With the symmetry of an inkblot, he paints loosely and calmly. Organic shapes and dreamy wheel shaped mandalas emerge.
A small brown mole dances on his right lip as he twists his mouths while beginning to speak, "I found my first box of Sumi watercolors in my parent's basement," he says. "A remnant from my mother's art school days. I almost never know what a painting will look like…I act spontaneously and it just comes out."
"I just made an exhibition a few months ago, where I displayed my paintings and pottery," Orkibi explains. "It was quite successful, especially with the pottery part. I suppose it's easier for people to invest a bit of money these days in functional things. When I'm painting, I like to make symmetrical shapes, and incorporate flowers, ornaments, circles, hazy colors. I like foggy pictures especially - the mystery of the unknown…I somehow feel connected visually to the unfocused, even though I need a very high level of control in my life."
He hands me a photograph of some hazy trees and while we're talking begins to paint a version of it with watercolors.
"I see my art as a combination of three elements: inner world landscapes, folk art and nature. I feel my painting is very rich to the observer - some find mountains and trees, others native American motifs. I guess all these components are growing inside me - in all of us rather, from the subconscious."
It was Carl Jung who introduced the concept of the collective unconscious to the western world, Orkibi explains. It is a higher state of consciousness through which we remember the roots of the human mystery.
"For a long time I've been occupied with what's going on inside me…how to be quiet and listen to my emotions and ideas. I feel there is so much emphasis these days on listening to outside voices. This happens in kindergarten, school, even art school and sometimes we forget the quiet familiar place where we come from, something we are connected to all the time - nature, richness, abundance, joy and emotion. For myself, when I listen too much to the outside world, my creativity is blocked. Take note, some art teachers are full of ego and decrease creativity in students, while there are those that can make you fly."
"My advice for those wanting to study art is to observe young children. Look at them. See how they create innocently, spontaneously and remember there is a place like that for you also. We all need to listen more to the cycles of nature, the elements, animals, and to do without expectations, without knowing. When a person is sensitive and open, they can channel the beauty of creation. Sometimes slowing down can speed up the connection to one's creativity. Return you to the basic things."
As we're talking Shami begins to gather up the brightly colored orange tablecloth and replace it with another.
"I get inspiration from anything…a rose blooming in my garden, a giggle from my niece, beautiful textiles and wheels," says Orkibi, a curious mixture of a boy and a wise, old, nurturing grandfather.
There is a thick volume of Sufi poetry sitting on his coffee table, a gigantic Suzani mandala from Morocco on the wall, and a bounty of treasures to be uncovered throughout his home.
He invites me to look through his sketchbooks. Page after page I notice a common theme. It reminds me of the native art by North American Indians. I see natural history; I feel simplicity, no pretentiousness. There is an uncharacteristic naivety and softness in his paintings. I don't hear screaming manifestos, declarations or philosophies.
I see pure energy and hear the echo of a Rumi poem, 'Be soft, be humble like earth so that flowers of many colors can grow from you.'
Orkibi invites me on a picnic hosted by a childhood friend. We sit on lawn chairs and observe our surroundings. A young couple is occupied with their children. The father takes his two year old daughter on his lap and asks, "What do you want to do? Eat something? Play with the children? Play ball?"
"Maybe she doesn't want to do anything," whispers Shami. "Maybe she just wants to be."
"I've learned a lot through the people I have met," he says. "Especially friends in the desert who have a very simple life. And Nadar Halili is a good teacher for me. He works with earth, building shelters for the poor staying with him in California. I'm also interested in building with earth."
"Since I studied with Nadar Halili, I've been interested in building with straw bales coated in a mud plaster. The benefits are amazing. You can make beautiful energy efficient homes for very little money. Straw bales are easy to work with and form thick organic-shaped walls. The element of beauty and the fact that the walls breathe suits sensitive people who react strongly to their environment. If you live in sealed cold walls that may be the life you and your children will lead. If you are breathing natural creative curves, it will probably give rise to emotions, thoughts and behavior that matches such an environment."
Whether talking about building houses, creating murals for inspiration, or the spirituality of painting and pottery, Shami has a single attitude which is to remember our common right to be free, not to need to legitimize ourselves to anyone and to follow the path of least resistance.