Apprentice profile

Born 1979 in Gothenburg. My name—Samiy Nadi Anani—is Arabic and was given to me by my paternal grandfather Badder Anani. Samiy derives from the Arabic word sky. Nadi is one who calls out for someone or something. So Samiy Nadi means ‘The one who calls from the sky’. At the age of 4, I lived a year in London, and attended Play School there. Then Jordan Play School and Primary School in old Jerusalem Palestine. Then I returned to Gothenburg Sweden. At 9 my family settled down and I lived in a suburb of Gothenburg until I was 20. I work as an artisan stone mason, bricklayer, and plasterer. In this profession I work with Kakelungn, a form of masonry heater used in Scandinavia and parts of Germany. My examination at the vocational school was a fresco which I designed and executed in the entrance hall of the school. I have a basic art education – my majors being painting and sculpture. I have always liked craftwork of different kinds. I painted, drew and copied pictures by hand – played with clay from the age of 3 onwards. I have tried my hand on all manner of crafts: spinning thread, weaving, making clothes, blacksmithing, fashioning log cabins, and agriculture – planting and growing my own food. I was once interested in political activism but that died out – I think I was too much of an anarchist even for the anarchists. I love clothes, design, graphic novels, comics, music, good poetry, and good stories. My favourite authors are Neil Gaiman, Ursula K Leguin, Douglas Adams, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Keith Dowman, and Dung-sé Thrin-lé Norbu Rinpoche. I love jazz, rock, gypsy music, klesmer, folk music, tango, and kawaili. I love singers like Tom Waits and Johnny Cash.