Studio Notes · Oct 2026
Dear friends,
Thank you to everyone who came to the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours on October 10–11, and a special welcome to those of you who signed up for these letters that weekend. I know how precious an inbox is these days, and I cherish every connection, old and new.
Many of you paged through the Anatolian motif book, looked through my sketchbooks, and peeked at the kiln, then found those same patterns again on the walls. And yes, of course, the sales are lovely too! Thank you to everyone who brought a piece home.
Threads from the Past
One never knows who will walk through the doors in an open studio. What I’ll remember most from this weekend are a few encounters that had less to do with the work on the walls, and more to do with the people who helped me cross significant thresholds in building this practice.
I first touched clay in Istanbul in 2014, throwing vessels on the wheel almost too large for my arms, with a teacher, Bengü, who changed the course of my life. This weekend, completely by coincidence, her niece walked through my studio door in Philadelphia. Twelve years and an ocean later, the thread looped back around.
Another former teacher, Janice, who first showed me how to make tiles here in Philadelphia, came by too, without being aware of our connection or what her presence in the studio would mean to me. I got to show her where those first attempts at carving into flat surfaces had led.
And of course my daughter, Dilara, proudly pointed herself out to her friends on my pin-up wall, among all the other women, real and imagined, who continue to support me along the way
My teachers, new friends, family, and all of you: it was a weekend full of heART.
Looking Ahead
The new wall of oil pastel studies is where my focus is now. These small squares are pointing toward larger-scale drawings this winter, and I’ll share them here as they grow. I’m also quietly dreaming of something new for 2027. More when it’s ready.
If you saw something at the open studio that you keep thinking about, the studio is open by appointment. Just reply to this email. I also take commissions and offer payment plans for larger works.
Thank you to CFEVA for organizing the tour year after year, bringing in new audiences and sustaining existing ones.
And a huge thank you to my dear Riley for sharing the space and the weekend. There were moments leading up to the event when we both felt a little loopy, taking us back to the late nights of art and architecture school.
Here’s to being completely wiped out from doing the work we love.
Hoşçakalın 🧿,
Seher
Until next month, hoşçakalın!