Najla Alradwan
Creating tiles is an opportunity to inspire, soothe and excite viewers by combining elements of design, color, texture, and shape in a powerful and stimulating form of expression.
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.
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.