In a studio in the DC Maryland Virginia area, ceramic artist Alison Kysia is working with clay in a way that feels both grounded and personal. She makes pottery and abstract Islamic sculptures, and one of her recent works focuses on the 99 Names of God in Islam, a concept borrowed from Judaism where there are 72 names for God. Christians have about 30 names for God.
Kysia, who shares her work as @786arts, identifies openly as a Muslim woman artist. Her practice includes handmade pottery, sculptural pieces, and socially engaged art projects that connect people through making.
A recent piece, Al Musawwir III: The Artist, is named after one of the 99 Names of God, often translated as The Shaper. The work includes 99 individual ceramic tiles. Each tile is painted by hand with teal bursts that look like small worlds or organic forms spreading outward. Together they sit in a single black frame, measuring about 17.5 by 21.5 inches.
Her idea is simple and strong. Each pottery tile holds its own pattern, but the full set builds something larger. It is repetitive but not uniform. You can stand close and look at one tile, or step back and take in the whole.
Kysia shared that the reaction from buyers has been emotional. One collector told her that the idea of living with a piece connected to the 99 Names gave them chills and felt deeply moving. She also recently sold a sculpture for a four figure price, a personal milestone.
Her work also carries a message about identity. She speaks directly about the way Muslims are treated and represented, and sees her art as a way to show something else. Not an argument, just presence through material and form.
Clay does a lot of quiet work here. It comes from the earth, it holds marks, it records touch. In Kysia’s hands it becomes a way to think about faith without needing to explain it too much.
She then went on to do the same with crafting seed pods. “My latest ceramic series explores the 99 names of God in Islam through 99 unique sculptures inspired by seed pods. Never forget the seeds planted by our ancestors that we can use now as sustenance and inspiration in a noisy and unjust world.
“What seeds are you planting that can nourish future generations in their times of trial and injustice? There are so many wonderful possibilities of what that can look like.”
::786Art
