Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

From making films to teaching art classes

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Most kids growing up tend to watch cartoons for entertainment, But Mai was a little different. Watching TV as a young child was a huge inspiration for her to start her career in the future.


Mai Al Harthi is a 23-year-old Filmmaking graduate. She went for college to The New York Film Academy in America to pursue a filmmaking career in Oman.


her journey wasn’t the easiest in college. She fought hard to pursue a filmmaking career, as she understood and knew everything there is about films. She said, “Films were my best friend during my free time in high school, and I was so devoted to understanding everything about them.”


But things didn’t go as planned.


Mai’s art teacher in high school noticed how good of an artist she was and encouraged her to join the Advanced Placement classes (which is a program for advanced students). That gave her the confidence to become better at drawing.


She said, “In school, you never saw me without a pencil, and I'd always fill up the whiteboards in class with things like the Power Puff Girls or Lillo and Stitch (cartoon characters).”


As a kid, Mai was constantly inspired to recreate her favorite cartoon characters so she started drawing everything she saw on TV.


one of Mai’s earliest childhood memories was when one of her older cousins who is an artist too gave her some tips on how to become better. She said, “My earliest memories were of my older artist cousins giving me tips during family gatherings, and I'd hold onto what she taught me for dear life. She once showed me a technique for drawing the roots of the hair and I still use it to this day.”


Mai didn’t think that going to college for arts would get her anywhere, so she stopped drawing during her studies. She said, “I don't regret that though, because in a way, it's just like eating; it feels okay when you just do it, but a million times better when you're starving. Everything I experienced when I stepped away from creating came out flooding onto the canvas when I came back to it.”


After her graduation, she realized that finding a job with her degree is not easy, especially during a global pandemic. She quickly started looking for other things to do to make a decent living for herself and remembered how much she liked making art before going to college. So, she started an Instagram page for her art. At first, she posted her paintings for fun and as time passed, people started noticing her and asking her for commissions.


She immediately took that opportunity and turned it in to a small business.


After getting the attention on the internet, Mai realized the she wanted more and started teaching private art lessons. She said. “by sheer coincidence, I found a post on Facebook from a mother looking for an art teacher for her daughter. That daughter ended up being my first student in 2021, and kick started what would become my current job. One of my biggest takeaways from all of this was the fact that children thrive off of positive encouragement, and that's been my whole approach ever since.”


Teaching kids fulfilled the gab that was in Mai’s life and also, she started to make a decent living out of it as she says that things are going good for her.


Mai’s advice for young Omani artists: “I'd say to go for it. I heard just about every criticism in the book choosing to pursue a creative field, and I sometimes still do. But at the end of the day, I'm doing what I love and I'm helping others express themselves, too. Even if I'm not exactly where I want to be just yet, I'm working towards it, and I can't imagine my life going any other way or me doing anything else. I'm right where I need to be at this moment in time and it'll all pay off in due time. Just work hard and believe in yourself”


You can contact Mai on her Instagram page @theartofmai


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