In a world of earth-toned pottery, her jubilant ceramic clowns spark delight
LOS ANGELES — Soraya Hannah Yousefi didn't kick off her career with an internship or an entry level position; she began with a box of air dry clay and an Instagram account.
It was May 2020 and her life was feeling upside down as she graduated from Cal State Northridge with a degree in communication studies. Yousefi was living with her parents in the San Fernando Valley, and like many 20-somethings, she was firing off job applications to no avail amid a global pandemic. Yet that strange, stagnant period propelled her into a career as a full-time artist.
"You know how people say, 'Oh, Michael Cera was just at the right place at the wrong time and now he's an A-list actor,'" said Yousefi, referring to a common internet joke about how Cera doesn't enjoy being an actor. "I'm like the Michael Cera of pottery, where I was just kind of in the right place at the right time."
These days, Yousefi, 28, is and . (Her username was inspired by her initials: S.H.Y.) She's gained a devout following by making colorful ceramics that look like clown faces — bowls, cups, ashtrays — that she sells both on her and at local retailers like bakery and the shop at (for which she's created several batches of ).
