Third Craft Pottery

A couple weeks ago, my good friend, Heather, spent some time with me in the studio 🤍

Heather is actually one of the very first people I met when I moved to Boston over 20 years ago, and we’ve been close friends ever since. She’s always had such a natural talent behind the camera, and it’s been amazing to watch her continue to thrive. She captured some really special moments in the studio.

I’m so happy she’s back in Boston—it means more time to create together and just hang out!

📸

The kite holds a significant place in my childhood memories of growing up in occupied Palestine during the First Intifada. My uncles taught my siblings and me how to build and fly them, offering moments of joy amid curfews, school closures, and the persistent uncertainty of military incursions. In such conditions, the simple act of flying a kite became a quiet expression of resilience.

Decades later, the kite continues to serve as a symbol of hope for Palestinian children. In 2011, children in Gaza collectively flew over 12,000 kites, setting a Guinness World Record and affirming a shared spirit of perseverance in the face of ongoing hardship.

In this piece, a hand reaches toward a kite string, yet does not fully grasp it. This gesture reflects a sense of longing—an incomplete connection that speaks to the enduring aspiration for freedom and self-determination.

This work is further inspired by the poem If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer:

If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself—
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I musAANMhope

On view at the Arab American National Museum through May 31.

Things I’m working on lately:

1- these bowls were actually thrown last year and I glazed them early this year. I haven’t had time to make much functional work this year due to my focus being on my exhibition piece.

2- these arms were slip casted using an aligne mold. I learned lots from it but ultimately some of the shape and texture/details were lost because the material was nonporous and wasn’t drying, so I am currently doing surgery on them. The one on the left is almost there. The one on the right needs a little help 😂. One (or maybe both?) of these will be used for the exhibition.

3- Moka pretending to be human. Sharing because she’s cute and the algo needs it.

The kite is out of the kiln!!

I ran over to the studio last night with my heart pounding and thinking of all the things that could’ve gone wrong. “Was it too risky to glaze the sides all the way down?” “Will the glazes run over each other?” “Will it crack?”.

I’m relieved that it came out just as I had imagined. For those who may not know, I started on this project before Christmas and seeing it come together is a relief. Next step is to figure out the assembly and finishing up the rest of the components.

Coming to ? Then I’ll see you there! Make sure to attend our reception. If you can’t be there that week, the exhibit will be up through May 31st!

Palestine: Grief and Connection Through Clay
Arab American National Museum
Dearborn,MI
March 25-May 31 (reception March 26)

Participating Artists:

madera.ceramics majdaceramics srouji.ceramics