Art in the family

I believe there's an underlying creative streak in my family (in the wider sense of the word) that breaks out more overtly for some while for others, it remains something to dabble with. My late father loved to draw and his younger brother, my uncle Ibrahim Abdul Hamid, is adept with the drawing pencil and has a way with words as well. My cousin Kamaruddin Abdullah not only is great at drawing but he plays the piano by ear and was a member of The Grim Preachers in the 1970s.

My younger sister Zakiah Omar, or Noni as we call her at home, is an amazing example. She did her undergraduate studies in quantity surveying in Sydney, Australia (because she was a whizz at maths in school), but chucked that to become a journalist when she returned home. In 1990, she went to Berlin, Germany, on a Goethe Institute cultural exchange programme, little knowing that she would meet her future husband Hanno Baethe, a professor in videography, there. Together, they forged a partnership in producing interactive media. Noni's success in her field led her to be offered a professorship at Konrad Wolf, Germany's film and television university, where she lectured in German.

Zaid Omar, my youngest brother, knew from the start that he was going to be a graphic designer. So after university, a short stint in Berlin and some time with Freeform Design, he set up his own design firm, Milk Design, with his old-time friend, Wei Shein. Their design work is excellent and they are continually busy. On top of that, the two are behind techno group byaduoorgroup and have produced a CD.

In 2002, Zaid designed a very striking poster, Misconception, for an international exhibition overseas.

Sister Zawiyah Omar (Oyah), who opted for early retirement, got her hands into decorative painting, examples of which are now found around her home. She even painted a screen for our mum's new house. By the way, I think she takes orders.

Yours truly did spend some time painting away as well but, sad to say, my paints are somewhere in my store-room at the moment.

I have no doubt that my brother Zaidan (Idan), who lives in Kuching, and my half-siblings, Zaihan (who's in the architectural field) and Zurina, have a creative streak in them too.