AREEJ ABDI
Artist - Printmaker - Educator

'When it comes to art, it's important not to hide the madness'

Atticus Herodes (AD 101–177), Greek Philosopher

Welcome, and thank you for visiting my website. I am a mixed-media visual artist trained in printmaking, photography, and painting, and I’m currently expanding my practice into 3D work and sculpture. I am also an experienced facilitator and educator, running creative workshops and collaborating on community art projects with arts centres, schools, and libraries.

Please explore the site and enjoy the work I create. If you’re interested in viewing or purchasing prints, commissioning a piece, or learning more about my workshops and community work, feel free to get in touch. Thank you, and enjoy!

CREATE, PRINT & MAKE MEMORIES TOGETHER!

Looking for a fun, creative activity to enjoy with your child this June?

Join me, at Lockwood Studios, Guildford, for a hands-on Printmaking Bookmark Workshop where children and their grown-ups can explore printmaking and create their own beautiful bookmarks to take home.

📍 Lockwood Studios, Guildford
📅 Saturday 13th June
⏰ 2:30pm – 4:00pm
💷 £10 per person

✨ No experience needed
✨ All materials provided
✨ Perfect for beginners
✨ A fun and relaxing family activity
✨ Take home your own handmade bookmarks

This is a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together, encourage creativity, build confidence, and create something unique you’ll treasure.

🎟 Spaces are limited, so booking is essential.

Booking in bio or send a DM

Bring your child, your imagination, and a willingness to get creative!

Tag a friend, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or carer who would love to join us. ❤️

#Guildford #LockwoodStudios #FamilyWorkshop #Printmaking BookmarkMaking

I wasn’t attached to this lino block. I wasn’t even sure I liked it. So I cut it up.
I’ve been revisiting some old lino blocks recently.
One came back onto the bench today. I don’t think I was particularly attached to it, and I’m not even sure I liked it that much. I’d simply left it alone for a long time.
But perhaps that’s its own kind of preciousness.
I carved into it again, inked it up, and approached it as an experiment rather than something that needed preserving. There was that familiar hesitation before making the first cut, but printmaking keeps teaching me that change is often where the interesting things begin.
In fact, there’s another block sitting nearby that hasn’t been touched for ages either. I’ve been looking at it for months, maybe years, thinking I should do something with it. Perhaps it’s next.
Lino isn’t precious. It’s meant to be carved, reworked, inked up, cut apart and transformed. Nothing has to stay fixed.
Today was a reminder that sometimes the work needs courage more than caution. Sometimes the best thing you can do is make the cut and see what happens next.
Do you have a creative project you’ve been afraid to change?

#Printmaking #Linocut #CreativeProcess #WorkInProgress #ArtistLife

Playing and experimenting with organic shapes and abstract forms
One block, 3 rounds of carving, and 2 colours. This video is sped up, but the process is a true labour of love—slowly printing, carving, and building the image layer by layer. Every cut is permanent, making each stage part of the journey.
Exploring colour, texture, and shape through reduction printing. Which detail catches your eye?
#ReductionPrint #Printmaking #Linocut #AbstractArt #organicshapes

Exploring the space between printmaking and sculpture.

Beginning with a lino print and then applying layers of plaster, I’m interested in how a flat image can evolve into a physical form. Lots of texture, marks, and surface details emerge along the way, creating something that sits between print and sculpture.

I love the process of transferring 2D ideas into 3D objects—watching an image gain depth, weight, and presence through texture and material.

#LinoPrint #Printmaking #PlasterArt #Texture #sculpture

Studio warm-up time before starting a print project.

I’ve been using oil pastels to loosen up my hands and get my creative brain working, especially when I haven’t had much time to focus on my own artwork. These warm-up sessions often spark new ideas and help me reconnect with my studio practice.

This piece is part of a series exploring the environment through the four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. This one focuses on water — a source of life for humans, animals, plants, and countless other organisms. We are fortunate to have rain to nourish the land, fill our rivers and lakes, and sustain all living things. It’s a reminder of how connected we are to the natural world and how important it is to protect it.

#OilPastels #WaterElement #EnvironmentalArt #StudioPractice #WaterIsLife

I’m so excited to be joining @thejellyreading for Open for Art on 6 June
Come and find me outside Marks & Spencer on Broad Street for a free reflective printmaking workshop hosted by Jelly, where we’ll be creating small prints to exchange and take home.
It’s going to be such a lovely relaxed session, a chance to get creative together, meet new people, and be part of this brilliant celebration of art in Reading.
Check out the link in bio to book your free place — I’d love to see you there
#OpenForArt #JellyReading #OpenForArtReading #ReadingArts #readingevents

Just playing - experimenting and mark-making…
#printmaker #markmaking #experimenting #playing #abstractart

Join Eleven Seventeen – a welcoming weekly art club for ages 11–17.
Explore your creativity, try new techniques, and enjoy making art in a relaxed and supportive environment.
📍 Bracknell Library
🗓 Every Saturday
⏰ 10:00 AM
🎟 Free to attend
Book your place via the link in our bio. Everyone is welcome—come along and get creative.
#ElevenSeventeen #ArtClub #YoungArtists #CreativeYouth #bracknell

Excited to be joining West Dean on their Foundation Diploma — the start of an inspiring journey to expand and push my practice.

The love of print sits at my core, yet the need to stretch and push it further never leaves.

Looking forward to learning with @m_dalton_print and being part of such a brilliant, like-minded cohort.

Here’s to the next module.

#printmaking #artpractice #foundationdiploma #westdean #artistjourney

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@areejabdi

Areej has a wonderful ability to engage children and young people of all ages, encouraging them to participate with enthusiasm and confidence. Areej always strives to bring out the very best in those she supports, inspiring them to be creative, take pride in their artwork, and reach their full potential.

Ben Mitchell

Learning, Participation and Community Engagement Coordinator & Manager

Areej is an exceptionally skilled, creative and welcoming artist who is a joy to work with. She designs and delivers activities that suit target audiences brilliantly and holds workshop spaces with care. Areej is an expert in ensuring creativity can be accessible for all, especially children and young people. The impact she has had on the Crawley community has been wonderful and long-lasting.

Becky Jones

Community Producer

Creative Crawley

The impact of Areej’s work and the involvement it inspired across the community has left a lasting impression on everyone involved and across our libraries.

Anne Hayward

Adult & Digital Librarian MCLIP

Customer Experience, Digital and ICT

Communities

Bracknell Forest Council

CONTACT

areejabdi.artist@gmail.com

AREEJ ABDI Artist - Printmaker - Educator

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CONTACT

AREEJ ABDI
Artist - Printmaker - Educator