Ahmad “Tarraf”

Oil on canvas - 2011 - 41cm x 51cm - (NFS / artist’s collection)

I spent many hours during our first 2 years learning Moroccan Arabic from Ahmad while we drank tea by his shoe repair cart down the street from our Fes apartment. My 3-year-old Jonas liked to play with his hammer and ask him questions too. His kindness for my family, impish sense of humor and thoughtful wisdom not only fueled our affection for him but also our sense of being welcomed in this new land. I wanted to honor our friend in a portrait and he was willing. This man could have been a university professor, for his sharpness and intelligence, and often would pause to watch wealthier travelers go in and out of the hotel across the street from nice cars. I imagined him considering what his life could have been. Yet my overwhelming impression was that he was content with his vocation as a “tarraf,” repairing shoes for hundreds of people in the area who depend on his skills.