Loay Kasseb, a son of the town of Rashaya al-Wadi, possesses a very rare talent for carving and painting on eggs, transforming empty shells into masterpieces bearing beautiful images of fine art, each with a title inspired by his feelings toward it.
Loay's work is not easy; each carving can take more than 20 hours, using very simple and traditional tools. As for precision, it is the most important rule he follows. A painter deals with paper and a sculptor with solid rock, but he deals with a highly sensitive material that is liable to break at any moment. Despite this, his fingers were able to tame it and turn its fragility into suppleness, naming one of them "Swaying".
Loay made his first attempts at the age of 13. At that time, those around him did not pay much attention to what he was doing, but he persisted in his talent until he collected quite a number of carvings and developed many of them. Soon, his family took notice of their son's talent, and his first exhibition was held under the patronage of the "Fine Art Atelier Association for Culture and Arts" in Rashaya al-Wadi, headed by the artist Shawqi Dallal.
Loay's works are varied, such as prayer beads made of olive pits, bone carvings, and others on "gourds".
