My name is Tamara Solem Alissa. I am a sculptor/ceramicist from Toronto, Ontario. I was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and moved to Toronto about 15 years ago. I studied Kinesiology and Human Anatomy in university, and have been practicing pottery for 8 years. Having had no formal training in art, I never would have expected that pottery would become a career path for me, but I'm thrilled to have been doing ceramics for the past 4 years. 

I am—

Grounded, curious and impulsive. 

To me, a home is not complete without—

Colour, music and good company. 

I recharge by—

Sitting in the sun or dancing. As physically demanding as it is, sculpting can be a very stagnant practice so engaging my senses whether it's sitting outside my studio and feeling the sun on my skin or dancing and singing at home, can be very rejuvenating. 

The scent of oud always reminds me of—

Home, the Middle East. 

I light candles to—

Bring new energy into the space. Since I live in my studio, my surroundings are always changing depending on the project I'm working on. I place a lot of importance on resetting my space and creating a serene atmosphere to feel a sense of balance, and choosing a scent is a key part of completing that.

My feel good fragrance is—

ESEN - I usually like warmer, woody scents like LOHN's SAND  candle, but recently have been enjoying fresh scents that remind me of being in a garden, so ESEN has been burning most days. A way to curb the seasonal depression, perhaps. :)  

I'm currently obsessing over—

Making lamps, an unexpected addition to my new sculptural collection. Light has always been a medium I've been fascinated by.