Meet the Maker: Najla Alradwan
Growing up in the Middle East and additionally traveling extensively in Europe, Najla Alradwan was afforded the opportunity to be exposed to a vast array of historic artistic styles from an early age. As a teenager her interest in learning and working with different forms of Islamic geometric designs was awakened. After spending many years of her adult life as a lawyer in Kuwait and the U.S., Najla longed for artistic expression. She obtained her associates degree from Corcoran College of Art and Design in the fields of ceramics, sculpture and graphic design. This is where she discovered her passion: tile making. She continued to research Islamic art and history for inspiration and developed NAR Creation, her home-based studio specializing in Islamic handmade tiles.
Here’s Najla talking about her art, process and experience…
Tell me a little bit about yourself? (Where are you from, what do you do?)
Growing up in the Middle East, Islamic design and tiles were all around me. Additionally, traveling extensively in the Middle East and Europe afforded me the opportunity to enjoy the complex and amazing art in many places we visited. It always amazed me how artists hundreds of years ago, using simple tools, were able to create such complex geometric designs.
Since I was a teenager, I have been interested in learning and working with different forms of Islamic geometric designs, such as, painting, glass etching and stain glass. After years of working as a lawyer in Kuwait and the United States, I soon discovered that I longed for a missing element in my life: an opportunity for expression through art. I subsequently enrolled in an associate degree at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. from 2000-2003, where I studied ceramic and sculpture and computer graphic design. Classes at the Corcoran allowed me to experiment with ceramic wheel throwing, hand building and in 2001 - tile making - my true passion. For some reason, I simply could not stop creating tiles! Incidentally, my love of geometric design and mosaic tiles did not go unnoticed at the Corcoran; in 2003, the Corcoran bestowed me with the first ever award and title of "Tile Queen."
I continue to research and study Islamic art and history for inspiration. My studio and home are in Columbia, Maryland where I live with my husband and daughter. I find having a home studio provides both solace and sanctuary for creating beautiful tiles.
NAR Creation is a home-based company specializing primarily in Islamic handmade tiles.
I approach Islamic design by researching historical designs from the holy book of Koran covers and painted tiles and reproducing them in a new 3 dimensional way, by carving the designs instead of the traditional method of painting.
How and when did you learn of CAC's MakerSpace and Open Studio?
In September 2022, I saw an instagram post about the Art in the Park event and went to check it out. found the CAC and then another instagram post about Maker Meet and went to find the Maker space. I didn't know what a maker space is and was happily surprised with the facility.
How do you utilize it? What do you create?
I use the laser cutter a lot to create stamps for my tiles, and am looking forward to learning more about 3D printing to make cookie cutters for my tile work too.
Do you have a small business that you sell what you make, or are you a tinkerer?
I have a custom tile making business and I also make one of a kind porcelain creations that I sell on my etsy shop.
Can you write a sentence or two about how the MakerSpace/Open Studio have helped you? What you like about it? Is the staff helpful? Do you see yourself continuing to create here?
I love the collaboration atmosphere in the MakerSpace. When I think out loud about how I want to create something, I find others in the space very helpful in giving me many ways to execute the idea, something I don't get working alone in my studio. The staff are always very helpful with ideas and working on the tools available around the space. if I lived closer I would be there even more often than I go now.
For more information on Najla and her artwork, check her out on etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/NARCreations or on her website.narcreations.com
Hal Gomer Gallery Hours:
Monday-Thursday 10:00am-6:00pm
Saturday 10am-1pm