{"id":359084,"date":"2025-12-20T01:26:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T01:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/359084\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T01:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T01:26:08","slug":"humboldt-park-painter-wanted-chicagoans-to-make-more-art-so-she-started-her-own-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/359084\/","title":{"rendered":"Humboldt Park Painter Wanted Chicagoans To Make More Art \u2014 So She Started Her Own Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"

HUMBOLDT PARK \u2014 Chicago painter and art teacher Eliza Karazah says she isn\u2019t an overthinker.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> and West Elm<\/a> and was featured in Vogue Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"An event at Mehal Studio\u2019s workshop space, 4100 W. Grand Ave. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was totally a fluke, and then it took off,\u201d Karazah said.<\/p>\n

Karazah took another leap of faith when she decided to start a design studio called Mehal House with her husband, Balpreet Singh, last year \u2014 and another in October, when they opened a community workshop space in Humboldt Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to jump into stuff that we can jump into, and it\u2019ll fall into place if it\u2019s supposed to,\u201d Karazah said. \u201cWe were on a walk and we found this studio space for rent, and we decided to just have a studio.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mehal House studio opened at 4100 W. Grand Ave. on Oct. 25.<\/p>\n

Since then, classes have been selling out quickly, often within a day of going live after Karazah posts on the studio\u2019s Instagram<\/a>. Classes have included charcoal drawing, foil embossing, portrait-making and sketch workshops. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised that these are selling so fast,\u201d Karazah said. \u201cI hate to be like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s an experience,\u2019 but it really is. We make it so special \u2026 and we want to just keep making and keep on hosting more and more classes, because we really love having people over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Mehal House studio, 4100 W. Grand Ave., is decked out in Eliza Karazah and Balpreet Singh\u2019s artwork. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

They serve chai and samosas during each class, Karazah said.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s a really affordable price, because I don\u2019t to be a luxury or high-end place,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re just Chicagoans with other Chicagoans. We want to make a nice, cozy spot for people to create.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mehal Studio, 4100 W. Grand Ave., serves chai and samosas during art workshops. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n

Through Mehal House, Karazah, who\u2019s Levantine and Irish, and Singh, who\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cultures are different, but there\u2019s overlap,\u201d Karazah said. \u201cThe stuff that we make, it\u2019s connecting that. That\u2019s our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Balpreet Singh is one half of Mehal House, which he started with his wife, Chicago artist Eliza Karazah. Credit: Provided<\/p>\n

Growing up, Karazah\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Karazah doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want more artists in Chicago to come forward,\u201d Karazah said. \u201cI feel like there\u2019s so many people in the city that are just so busy and they\u2019re working so hard, and then there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a nice space, it\u2019s beautiful truly. Whenever I go in there, I\u2019m so proud of it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe made this little corner in Chicago, and we\u2019re making it a little house for all the artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shop Mehal House and find its event calendar here<\/a>. Find Karazah on Instagram here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p>\n

\t