Yasmine el Rayes, My diary

Yasmine El Rayes, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, poet, painter, was born in a small village called Jdita in Bekaa. Her parents were modest and loving. They worked hard to send her to private schools and get a good education. During her studies, her art teacher saw her potential and loved her paintings. To encourage her more, he gifted her a book about the famous painter Matisse. You can see Matisse’s influence in her colors, shapes and stories.

By the age of 18, Yasmine got married, became a teacher and moved to the city. For the first time she was away from her home, her family her cocoon. Too busy by this new chapter, being a full time mom for 5 children, a teacher and a wife, she put her passion for drawing on hold. Being introvert and shy, drawing was her haven, her zen place, her sanctuary. She expressed her emotions, pain, joy, love, worries, war, hunger, peace and even God by doodling at first then using any kind of canvas from a piece of wood, a paper, a napkin even a box. 

Afraid of being judged and criticized, she hid her paintings under her bed or behind the books. Becoming a widow with an empty nest, she let loose and became unstoppable. She made more than 1000 pieces and was finally confortable sharing them with the world.

This exhibition portrays a part Yasmine’s journey, few pages of her diary and a lifetime achievement.