Solem Ceramics
Clay and Community with Ceramicist Tamara Al-Issa
Our In Good Company series brings together good people, good food, and (of course) a welcoming space.
In this edition, we dive deep with Tamara Al-Issa, the Syrian-Filipina founder of Toronto’s Solem Ceramics. In her airy home studio one recent evening, she held a crowd of art enthusiasts rapt as she answered questions from Lio Projects’ Rachel Elliott. As bona fide fans (we have several pieces in our Toronto showroom), we couldn’t resist asking a few more.
What attracts you to clay as a medium?
Clay is an intuitive medium. Its characteristics change based on its environment, and every batch is different. This means that as a ceramicist, you have toestablish a tactile language in order to work with it. Your hands become your eyes, and the rest of your body becomes your mind. I appreciate that clay has gifted me this unique type of awareness.
What is a typical day like in the studio for you?
My days in the studio are usually quite loose. Since a major part of hand-building is waiting around for clay to dry, I often build several things at once and bounce between them.
"I've been lucky to have gracious mentors who were patient and kind throughout my beginner experience. They really encouraged even most far-out ideas."
What do you value about being part of an artistic community?
I value the selfless exchange of knowledge and techniques, especially since I have no formal education in art. I learned through my peers and my mentors. My ceramicist community has always been unbelievably helpful in sorting out solutions to complicated problems. We share recipes and formulas, tricks, hacks, tools, and encouragement.
Do you ever connect with the people who collect your work?
I usually maintain personal relationships with those who collect my work. I always request that my collectors send photographs of how my pieces fit into their spaces.
Sometimes people use the vases for their functional purposes by putting flowers in them or holding water; others display them on their highest shelf never to be touched or moved. I love all of it!
