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Tamara “Solem” Alissa

@___solem

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🏺Syrian x Filipina ceramic artist🏺
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Partnerships: @bynkmedia

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Artist Spotlight: Based in Toronto, Tamara “Solem” AI-Issa is a Syrian-Filipina sculptural artist who uses old ceramic traditions of SWANA and South Asia to revisit timelines and shape vessels that echo the rituals, architecture, and histories that impacted her.

Originally studying physiology, Solem found herself turning to the wheel unpremeditatedly. What began as apprenticeship in a small studio evolved into something more permanent: a practice rooted in intuition, demand, and rhythm.

For Tamara, growth is communal. Through her travels for collaborations with fellow artists and teaching, her reservoir of creativity is pooled and refilled. “Through learning about others, I learn about myself, which shapes my worldview and supports my growth as a creative,” she shares.

Interview & Curation by @milkagencynyc by @___solem

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8 months ago

For Toronto-based Syrian-Filipino artist Tamara “Solem” Al-Issa (@___solem), pottery is a dialogue between clay and memory. Her signature vessels are defined by sculptural precision and a "Deep Blue" cobalt glaze. Raised in Jeddah among #JoanMiró sculptures, she developed an “almost quiet appreciation for strangeness” that now informs her organic silhouettes. As she says of her medium, “Clay also has memory. It remembers how you move it. Every step of the way is a dance.”

Read more at the link in our bio. The April 2026 issue is now available on shop.vogue.ph and on newsstands.

Photographed by @vanessa_cassar, written by @ticiaalmazan, Vogue Philippines, April 2026. by @___solem

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5 months ago

What a dream to be featured in @dazedmiddleeast as a part of #dazed100 alongside so many of my heroes. Thank you @mayaabuali for the thoughtful interview. Reading through the Dazed 100 has been a well needed reminder of the bright minds that I share this community and platform with, especially through these bleak times.
Full article on @dazedmiddleeast website 🧿 by @___solem

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2 years ago

Happy Ugg season and thank you for giving my piece, “To Carry the Sun”, so much love at last week’s @uggcanada preview night. So honoured to be featured among 12 talented artists to celebrate the (hopefully smooth) transition into the colder n cozier months.
This piece started as a rumination of the shift to turning inward as fall approaches. Using the sole of my Ugg boots, I imprinted the surface with the Sun Tread pattern and carved out windows to house a single candle on the inside, to carry a little bit of the sun’s warmth until she emerges in spring again ⛅️ by @___solem

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38 minutes ago

See you this weekend LA🏺
Booth D29 taken in Los Angeles Convention Center by @___solem

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3 days ago

Thank you @monostravel for the sweetest trip, and for introducing me to compression cubes… IYKYK 🧳✈️ by @___solem

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11 days ago

What’s cookin ⏲️💬 by @___solem

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13 days ago

@lelabofragrances 🥂 taken in Toronto, Ontario by @___solem

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19 days ago

Scenes from the studio wearing
@indigoluna.store moving between half-finished thoughts and several kilos of clay.
Recently l’ve been learning to lean into uncertainty more... I’m happiest when I don’t completely know what I’m doing yet and some of my favourite work has come from an idea going completely wrong, and having to figure out what it wants to become instead.
Clay forces that anyway. There are so many variables you can’t control, and I’ve learned to trust the moment something feels slightly strange or intimidating. That’s usually where the best pieces come from🦋

📸 @marloyarlo by @___solem

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25 days ago

On this episode of Scale or Fail, Tamara (@___solem) gets into one of the biggest trade-offs of choosing to build your own path: stability for freedom.

As an artist, there’s no guaranteed paycheque, no set schedule and no one telling you what needs to get done. You’re the artist, manager, PR person and the one responsible for keeping yourself moving.

There’s a lesson in that for anyone building something of their own.

We talk a lot about the freedom that comes with working for yourself, but less about what’s required to sustain it. Structure still has to exist. The difference is that now, you have to create it yourself.

Freedom isn’t the absence of structure. It’s getting to decide what that structure looks like. 🖐️

#pierfivecommunity #entrepreneurship #creativecommunity #supportsmallbusiness #localbusiness by @___solem

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a month ago

Something is afoot 🌬️ by @___solem

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a month ago

I freaking love making things 🤲 by @___solem

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2 months ago