A ceramic artist, founder and CEO of Ceramic Cube Studio, he began his journey learning pottery in 2017 and established his own pottery business in 2019. Hamid graduated as a mechanical engineer but discovered his passion for pottery after participating in a training course on social entrepreneurship development with the Qatar Center for Development. He spoke to Arabic daily Arraya.
Hamid regularly participates in community events, including the “Empowering Capability” event organised by the Qatar Career Development Center and Qatar Foundation, where he gave a talk about his journey and the challenges of establishing his business, along with live demonstrations and practical training for participants with disabilities.
one of Al-Qahtani’s ceramic works
Of course, since the founding of Ceramic Cube Studio, our goal has been, and continues to be, to raise awareness of the craft of ceramics and what distinguishes it as a craft that can be learned by all groups. In this event, we were very happy to offer a workshop on the basics of hand-shaping. Participants crafted a piece of clay under the supervision of instructors.
I have only a small number of completed works. Many, no more than fifty, are still in progress, awaiting the final stage: glazing or painting.
To be honest, I didn’t find a direct influence in the beginning, but over time I realized that the influence I wanted to showcase was the heritage and antiquity of this craft, combined with the elegance and beauty of modern techniques.
My first collection, “Fusion,” aimed to appropriately demonstrate this, as the pieces combined the roughness and simplicity of a piece of pottery with the beauty and splendour of contemporary glazing colours.
Regarding the question of whether an artist is the product of academic study or a creative state, I believe that the creative state, if the appropriate conditions are met, overcomes any academic study in art.
Al-Qahtani added: “I’m very happy with the ceramics movement. It’s thriving and has a stronger presence than before, and I strongly believe that Qatari ceramics will make its mark in the world of visual arts.
A different ceramic work by Al-Qahtani
Recently, my work has focused on the undulating terrain of our environment, such as sand dunes and sea waves.
We are currently working on organising the second ceramics festival in collaboration with the Hena Salma Farm, it will take place next winter. My ambition is to create and shape ceramic artworks over a meter high, and also to organise a special exhibition one day. I aspire to restore the ceramic craft to a natural and familiar aspect, just like the craft of painting.
As a final message, I would like to ask everyone reading this article to try to find the nearest place where they can experience working with clay and ceramics. I’m confident this will be a wonderful experience for them. I also encourage them to support anyone who has the love and passion to practice this craft. Encouragement and support play a major role in success.
