Biography
I’m an Iranian-American potter, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Introduced to ceramics as a kid, in a small after-school art class with my younger brother, I started making sculptures and pinch pots for my family members each week. I returned to clay periodically over the years, layered between explorations in other mediums (painting, charcoal, jewelry-making, crochet, bookbinding, woodworking). As an adult, while working on my BA at the University of Washington Bothell, I took a longer-term ceramics class with a friend at a studio in Seattle.
Immediately hooked, and conveniently unemployed, I spent all my time at the wheel trying to improve. I began working as a studio tech to afford the cost of my membership, and eventually began teaching as well.
I first exhibited my own work and delivered an artist’s talk at the Clay Corner Gallery in the summer of 2024, following the completion of their residency program. Since then, I’ve been learning from Damian Grava at the Westwood Art Studio, focused on developing my current body of high-temp, reduction-fired work, and teaching classes at several studios around Seattle.
Artist’s Statement
Fascinated by the material qualities of clay and earth, I make functional ceramic pieces that preserve the soft energy of fresh clay within the final form. Each wavering surface is altered and folded directly on the pottery wheel, leaving space for variation from one piece to another. Just as much as I value the loose expressiveness of these forms, I also care about the structure of function and utility that make a piece truly enjoyable to use. Throwing pots that are balanced in this way allow me to relax into the creative act without sacrificing the desire for purpose in my art.
