The whimsical work of Mooneen Mourad will be featured throughout the month of October at ClaySpace in Lisle. Along with her functional, sculptural, and decorative ceramic items, her line of women plaques for the wall will also be on display. Mooneen’s background as a former therapist and personal trainer helps her to navigate the creation of her current collection.  She explains, “Sometimes, the stress of the ‘fire’ in the kiln causes little fissures or break lines in my pieces. These do not affect the strength and will not cause further damage. However, when I see that this has happened, I apply decorative items such as beads, flowers, and leaves with strong glue. I often like these “broken” pieces better than the original pieces. I continue to work with women who, because of life circumstances, feel damaged, broken, useless, and less then beautiful. I show them my ceramic work and offer a parallel to their situation. The breaks allow for the thoughtful application of new embellishments or “skills” that make the piece actually stronger than the original. As women the new skills and training that they learn now make them stronger and more beautiful. So a ‘Broken Woman?… I DON"T think so!!!’ became their mantra and the name of my body of work.”

For more about Mooneen, please see her website at www. mooneenmourad.com.