HUMBOLDT PARK — Chicago painter and art teacher Eliza Karazah says she isn’t an overthinker.

In 2020, Karazah began adorning vases with Arabic calligraphy and sharing them online, which gained a lot of traction on social media. Within a few years, she had collaborated with brands like Vela Scarves and West Elm and was featured in Vogue Arabia.

An event at Mehal Studio’s workshop space, 4100 W. Grand Ave. Credit: Provided

“It was totally a fluke, and then it took off,” Karazah said.

Karazah took another leap of faith when she decided to start a design studio called Mehal House with her husband, Balpreet Singh, last year — and another in October, when they opened a community workshop space in Humboldt Park.

“We’re going to jump into stuff that we can jump into, and it’ll fall into place if it’s supposed to,” Karazah said. “We were on a walk and we found this studio space for rent, and we decided to just have a studio.”

The Mehal House studio opened at 4100 W. Grand Ave. on Oct. 25.

Since then, classes have been selling out quickly, often within a day of going live after Karazah posts on the studio’s Instagram. Classes have included charcoal drawing, foil embossing, portrait-making and sketch workshops.

“I was surprised that these are selling so fast,” Karazah said. “I hate to be like, ‘Oh, it’s an experience,’ but it really is. We make it so special … and we want to just keep making and keep on hosting more and more classes, because we really love having people over.”

The Mehal House studio, 4100 W. Grand Ave., is decked out in Eliza Karazah and Balpreet Singh’s artwork. Credit: Provided

Each class has about 16-18 students, and Karazah and Singh try to make the industrial loft feel like home. Amid exposed brick and pipes, Karazah and Singh have laid out bright, patterned rugs, low tabletops draped in white cloth and lit candles and lamps throughout the space, which is filled with their own art.

They serve chai and samosas during each class, Karazah said.

Tickets are $40 per class. Find the schedule here. Mehal House is also hosting an open house and sale 4-6 p.m. Sunday. Learn more and RSVP for free here.

“I feel like it’s a really affordable price, because I don’t to be a luxury or high-end place,” she said. “We’re just Chicagoans with other Chicagoans. We want to make a nice, cozy spot for people to create.”

Mehal Studio, 4100 W. Grand Ave., serves chai and samosas during art workshops. Credit: Provided

Through Mehal House, Karazah, who’s Levantine and Irish, and Singh, who’s Punjabi, also bridge their cultures. The design studio leans into soulful home decor pieces like block-printed quilts, vases and rugs with Arabic and Gurmukhi calligraphy, and traditional Indian thikri mirrors.

“Our cultures are different, but there’s overlap,” Karazah said. “The stuff that we make, it’s connecting that. That’s our family.”

Balpreet Singh is one half of Mehal House, which he started with his wife, Chicago artist Eliza Karazah. Credit: Provided

Growing up, Karazah’s mom pushed her to become an artist after seeing how easily she took to it. Karazah hopes she can similarly encourage her students to create more art, not chase perfection, she said.

Karazah doesn’t have the attention span to be a perfectionist, and she believes in quantity over quality when it comes to making art, especially in the initial stages, she said.

“I just want more artists in Chicago to come forward,” Karazah said. “I feel like there’s so many people in the city that are just so busy and they’re working so hard, and then there’s not enough time for us to sit and create and make something interesting. I just want all the people that come to my class to just enjoy themselves.

“It’s such a nice space, it’s beautiful truly. Whenever I go in there, I’m so proud of it,” she said. “We made this little corner in Chicago, and we’re making it a little house for all the artists.”

Shop Mehal House and find its event calendar here. Find Karazah on Instagram here.

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