Beyond Borders: A high-five to impeccable talent & content beyond man-made boundaries.
Social Nation is now in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. And our new initiative called “Beyond Borders” aims at highlighting the content creator maestros from this region and bringing their amazing work to your notice. One such creator is Huda Almorzaaq, a remarkable artist and architect hailing from Bahrain. Her distinctive talent and exceptional creativity have propelled her to become one of the most renowned female creators in the area.
Coming from an architectural background, Huda has successfully built a flourishing career with a deep passion for art that spans various mediums, including architecture, visual arts, makeup, and fashion. Her innovative approach to content creation through art has captivated audiences worldwide. Recognizing the power of social media as a platform for artistic expression, Huda Almorzaaq took to various online channels to share her work and connect with a broader audience.
Also Read: We Are In Love With Mrunu Panchal’s Stunning Winx Club Makeup Looks Series
Getting Noticed By TikTok
Huda’s ability to evoke emotions through her art and engage her followers in thought-provoking discussions propelled her to social media stardom. Her exceptional talent and online presence spread far and wide, all the way to TikTok. Impressed by her artistic brilliance, TikTok invited Huda Almorzaaq to showcase her art in their office, a testament to her standing as a top creator. She was one of the only two chosen TikTok art creators to create a painting for TikTok office and hang it there.
The other girl is a very creative artist from India. “They did the video of me unwrapping the painting and hanging it. It was an amazing feeling, you know, every content creator goes to this office and they take videos or interviews there. When I see the video and I see my painting there, I’m like, okay, my family is proud, but I’m more proud!” said Huda. This collaboration served as a launching pad for her career, amplifying her reach and solidifying her reputation as an influential artist and content creator.
From Art To Makeup
While art remained the foundation of Huda’s creative journey, she soon expanded her content creation to encompass makeup and fashion, seamlessly merging her passion for art with the world of beauty. Her makeup transformations became a canvas for her artistic skills to produce striking looks that celebrated individuality and self-expression. Huda’s foray into fashion further showcased her impeccable taste, as she curated unique ensembles that reflected her artistic sensibilities.
The Beyond Borders series gives the larger world a peek into up-and-coming artists that you need to watch out for. So here’s introducing Huda’s story and artistry to the global audience. The Social Nation team had a fun yet insightful interview with Huda regarding her journey, love for creating art and what being a social media influencer is like in Bahrain, from the MENA region.
How was the journey from being an architecture student to a content creator?
Architecture is the art of creating spaces and as an artist who is also an architect, I get to combine the knowledge of these two to create content on social media. I was always an artistic child and I realised that I want to create my future in an artistic field where I can combine my work and my interests that I love. And that’s when I decided to become an architect because I realised that it combines most of the things that I love, which are art, engineering and mathematical thinking.
Further on, I got employed in an architecture firm and designed some buildings and villas in Bahrain. My start in social media began in my final course as an architecture student since I had a lot of free time and that’s when I decided to go back to painting. I started seeing TikTok videos where people had trending art ideas. So I used my art as a tool and started creating videos on TikTok focusing on art either through makeup or on paper and canvas.
It took me almost one week to reach 10k on TikTok which was a huge step for me because I was a girl who had a private account and I come from a very religious and traditional community and being a girl in social media is not something very common here in my area. A lot of people didn’t accept it in the beginning but they came around and loved it, especially after seeing the content that I was creating.
I became more active on social media during the lockdown and grew my presence. I started noticing that I am getting paid more in social media, than as an architect. So I did a lot of research, asked a lot of people, and calculated where I see myself in the future. And by the end of 2021, I took my final choice and left architecture and devoted my entire time into content creation and art.
What are the 3 common learnings that you can apply in both of these professions?
One of them is you always have to search for an answer. If there is something you don’t know, don’t just sit there and accept the fact that you don’t know it. You have to google it, you have to ask for it, you have to even find people that know it.
The second thing is to always be creative to stand out. In social media, people who always stand out are the people who have something different and new to give to the table. It is exactly like an architect. The architect that creates something new and something different, something not usual to people, either visionary or in terms of the feelings and the physical design, always stands out in the architectural field which is exactly what happens in content creating and social media.
And the third thing is to always take risks. In architecture, we focus on creating designs that we can’t even imagine if they will come to reality in real life but with time make it happen. We start crazy and with time it develops into the final form or product that was planned.
How has your life influenced your creative work? What are your primary sources of inspiration?
Being an artist, I have always painted what I feel, or think, or what I want to see based on the ideas that I have in mind. But after joining social media, I started to paint things that I didn’t think about. People’s comments on social media always inspire me either by giving me weird challenges that I have never thought about making a painting with, or sometimes they ask me specific things that elixir ideas in my mind.
For example, one time they asked me to make a neon painting and then one of them told me that it looked like a galaxy, that’s when another light popped into my head and I then applied it to my paintings. Sometimes they give me hard challenges and then after I finish the painting, they give me other ideas so I redo the challenges. It is very interesting. It’s like now my paintings are not just mine but also of my followers.
How did you transition from drawing & painting to impeccable makeup?
Artistic makeup was first introduced to me by TikTok. Since the first week that I joined TikTok, I did an artistic makeup video. I did like daisies on the cheeks with the blusher, it was very beautiful. It was my first attempt to do art on my face and to be honest, I got the idea from TikTok. It was already trending and with time I started to develop this idea – like there is a pop-up light in my head and then I will start to change its colour or brighten it more and that’s how I reached this level of now creating different makeup. Most of the time, I don’t go out with normal makeup. I usually put maybe flowers or a cherry or whatever thing that I have in mind.
The art on your feed looks extraordinary! Is there any artist that you would love to collaborate with? Why?
Yes, to be honest, there are some content creators whose work I really love. I like Abby Roberts‘ artistic makeup. I’m a big fan of her work. Also, I got the chance to meet some artists on social media. Even though they live far away from me, we tried to collaborate either by painting the way they do or by them redoing a painting made by me. They even take some ideas of my challenges to do it in their own way, which is very interesting. We artists on social media get inspired from, take approval from, and contact each other.
Many artists have a signature style or theme that runs through their creations. What would you say is the common thread in all your work?
My followers call me “Malka Al Ghiyoum” which is the “Queen of Clouds” because clouds are the common things in most of my paintings. Even in my face artistic paintings, I put clouds. Once I even did an eyeliner cloud, it was very small. So, my followers started calling me the queen of clouds and I think that’s my signature. Now, people see me as the girl who always paints cloud and I love it!
Art can evoke strong emotions in viewers. What do you hope people feel when they experience your work?
The thing that I always focus on in my paintings is using bright, happy colours. I try to make some dark paintings, you know, the paintings that when you look at, you feel like it is taking your spirit or making you feel bad. I try to paint it but I can’t. It is not my style. I always want to give joy to people or I hope that when they look at my paintings, they have a glimpse of happiness. Like, I want them to see the bright coloured paintings and automatically smile or at least this is what I hope because this is the easiest way to get into someone’s heart and make them feel good. We can’t really change what’s going on in the world or in people’s lives. Maybe art can reduce this pain in people and give them hope.
Your face art is so dreamlike! Is there any beauty product that you swear by? If someone wants to achieve your look, what product(s) should they start with?
For artistic makeup, I usually use any makeup available in my closet and I try to adjust it according to the needs of the painting or the idea that I have in mind. There is no specific product that I would advise you to use, even though I really hope most of the makeup industry or makeup companies create a collection for artistic people. Where we can maybe turn or create a palette of eyeshadow into watercolour paint for the face. Or maybe make paint that is similar to acrylic paint, that is easier to blend and it’s becoming a little bit thicker than eyeshadow. It will be very interesting and easy and even more fun to create art with it.
But as advice for everyone, if you want to do some artistic makeup, don’t just put your thoughts into one kind of product. Be creative with whatever things you have. I usually take whatever eyeshadow palette that I have, no matter what the company is. I either spray some water or setting spray on it and mix it to turn it into watercolour. People always seem to get shocked at what I do. Sometimes it ruins the palette depending on the company or the product where it came from and sometimes it even smells. But in the end, I did get my creation and I did apply my idea and finished my painting and made the video.
Have you seen any Bollywood movies? Are there any Bollywood movies that you loved watching in the recent past? What do you love about them?
Okay, that’s an interesting question. I’m a big fan of Bollywood and Indian movies! I have said it out loud. The best movie that I have seen so far is “PK.” You know, it changed a lot in my way of thinking. It changed a lot in the way I see things and rules and whatever things that might affect human decisions or human life. In my field of studying architecture, I also watched “Three Idiots.” It was amazing. You know, in general, this actor (Aamir Khan), I don’t know what his name is, he is the main actor in Three Idiots and PK.
I also watched other movies of him, all of which are awesome. I have seen other movies where he’s not the main character and I still love it. I’m a big fan. Sometimes I even go to the cinema to watch Indian or Bollywood movies. At the end of the movie, there is always something affected in me. I always keep thinking about the idea that I got from the movie for weeks and weeks, which is exactly what I love to have after finishing a movie.
What does your Instagram feed look like? What sort of content do you enjoy watching?
Okay, most people will say that my feed is just art and makeup. But the funny thing is 60% to 70% of my feeds are cats. I’m a big fan of cats. I do have art and a lot of paintings pop up in my feed. I have makeup and fashion also. I have sometimes ‘trips’ content, like people advising you to visit this place when you go to this country and stuff like that because I also love travelling.
What has been the most rewarding moment in your career till now?
What I love about social media is that whatever effort you put in, you will get back what you deserve. The more hard work and content you put in, you will get paid back by followers and by being recognized by companies. Every day I wake up, I see the views and people giving me good comments, I’m really happy. People see me in the street, telling me how much they love my art. These are all amazing moments.
The first huge thing that happened was when a big newspaper company in Bahrain reached out to me to write an article about me. When they published it, I showed it to everyone and it was the happiest moment! Everyone was so proud. Even my grandmother told me “I’m so happy that at this age, you reached the level of being in a magazine.” Making your family proud is an amazing reward.
Then more magazines and newspapers started reaching out for interviews. I started getting used to it, but still, every time things are published, I am more happy. I never imagined I would reach this level. I always knew I would do something extraordinary in life, but I never imagined it would be this fast or it would be starting point in social media.
What advice would you like to give those reading this interview?
Don’t be afraid of changes and taking risks. No matter how far you have gone to achieve something, if life gives you something else, that doesn’t mean you have to stick to whatever thing you spent most of your life doing. Maybe the future holds things that are much better than what you had in mind.
I have always studied and worked as an architect but by the end of time I’m seeing myself as a content creator and god knows what the future holds for me. Maybe there is something even bigger for me. I don’t know what I’ll be doing 3-4 years from now. So just accept changes, it may hurt you because you are just transitioning from a worm to a butterfly.
We had such a great time chatting with Huda Almorzaaq about her artistic journey which we’re absolutely in awe of! Her commitment to her craft and eternal positivity is just so infectious. Needless to say, her content is beyond stunning and deserving of all the love it garners.
