Camels and Chai

Camels & Chai brings people together through art workshops and cultural events inspired by the traditions of the Muslim world.

Check out our lineup of events on instagram or on our website at www.camelsandchai.com

09/02/2026

So happy with my first “Camel Tracks” piece where I draw my favorite cities around the world using markers.

I love drawing pop art-inspired pieces with strong flat colors and bold dark outlines. The brightness of pop art makes my heart so happy!

Ellicott City is my favorite city in Maryland and I love how many EC landmarks I was able to capture in this piece. I hope you all enjoyed the video I posted about how I drew it from 0 to 100.

Stay tuned for the next city in this series and check out Ellicott City Partnership to check out all the fun things you can do in Ellicott City! 🥳

marker art street art graffiti colorful drawing cityscape skyline art

08/28/2026

Trying graffiti and street art today! This is the art style that’s most common in my sketchbook and what I naturally resonate towards when I draw for myself.

I started researching more about the graffiti art movement in the U.S. and seeing the impact of this movement in the 1960s was so cool!

I have learnt about the first generation of graffiti artists like Cornbread, Taki 183, Daniel Buren, etc. and how this work even inspired graffiti during the American and European university protests of 1968.

For me, learning about art movements is just as important as learning how to make the art. I am hoping that connecting with artists from all these times will help me find my own voice too. 🥰

08/25/2026

I have been working on improving my own art style and I feel so drawn to Islamic geometric patterns these days! 🌙🔹

Unlike traditional geometric art which uses a compass to make the 8-pointed star, I like to make these using a ruler since it’s easier (and far more user-friendly for my beginner painting classes!)

I also like filling these geometric shapes with vibrant colors rather than the traditionally-muted tones of blues and browns that you find across a lot of islamic architecture.

Making these small changes makes me feel like I am adding my own sense of whimsy ✨ to Islamic art traditions! 🥳

08/15/2026

Visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum was one of the best highlights of my London trip! 🇬🇧

As a self-taught artist I am trying to educate myself on various art forms and I knew that visiting the V&A would inspire me with centuries of artistic knowledge.

Visiting this museum was so much fun! I came across so many different exhibits and ended up loving the Chinese and Japanese sections of the museum a lot. However, my favorite part of the museum was their Islamic art section which blew my mind and made me so extra excited that I spent a bulk of our day trip in this section! 😅

Getting a chance to see real-life examples of Kufic calligraphy (my favorite style of calligraphy), arabesque designs which show intertwining flowers, vines, and nature as well as the beauty of interlocking geometric patterns from the empires of the Ottomans to Fatimid Egyptians, Safavids, and even Mamluks was seriously so mind bending!

I came back with so much inspiration and a head filled with ideas for what to make next!

Here are some of my favorite Islamic Art pieces from the V&A Islamic Middle East collection.

P.S. If anyone from Victoria and Albert Museum is listening, please increase the lighting in the Islamic Middle East section. It’s a beautiful area of the museum but without more lighting it shows so many shadows rather than the vibrancy of these pieces.

art safavid mamluk iranian saudi pakistani mughal middle eastern art

08/13/2026

Brought Camels and Chai out for a vacation and decided to spend my first day drawing this awesome space! ✍️ 🖼️

07/02/2026

I have been experimenting with watercolors recently and its been so calming to paint in this medium. I have started a whole watercoloring sketchbook now to become better in this medium. I can’t wait to share more pieces as I keep working with watercolors.

06/09/2026

Are you ready for our Desi Pop Art workshop at .md ?

We’ll be hosting this workshop on June 25 at 7pm and in this session you will learn about the history of pop art while transforming some samosas into a bold graphic masterpiece!

Every attendee gets a free cup of authentic Adeni Chai! ☕️

You can get tickets at the link in our bio or through www.camelsandchai.com

06/06/2026

The next Camels and Chai event is here!

We are hosting a Desi Pop Art acrylic painting workshop at .md on June 25 at 7pm.

Learn about the history of pop art and transform some samosas into a bold graphic masterpiece.

Every attendee gets a free cup of authentic Adeni Chai! ☕️

You can get tickets at the link in our bio or through www.camelsandchai.com

Address

Ellicott City, MD

Telephone

+12402307244

Website

http://www.camelsandchai.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Camels and Chai posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Camels and Chai:

Want your business to be the top-listed Shop in Ellicott City?