Our story

What stands today as Atelier Forma started as an after-hours Montreal pottery project and sanctuary-making space in a Saint Henri single-car garage. In 2022, In collaboration, Bojana and her partner Nico have decided to merge their passions for ceramics and craftsmanship and establish a creative hub in the city with two locations that support local artists and makers. You can read more about the whole evolution of the project here.

Bojana Kolarevic

Montreal based artist, Bojana has been honing her skills in ceramics since 2012. She is the founder of Atelier Forma,  the space which focuses on bringing together Montreal’s artist community. Originally an Interior Designer, Bojana has merged her passion for ceramics with her design practice. Her preferred medium is black stoneware, often left unglazed to reveal the raw qualities of clay.

Nicolas Mory

Nico is a Computer Scientist with a strong background in ecological modeling and a special focus on Green Infrastructure, Agroecology and Human-to-Other-Than-Human interactions. He has been working as a consultant in various environmental fields for over a decade and joined Atelier Forma as a partner in 2022. Since then, he has created and implemented multiple human-scale and computer-level systems which have helped streamline our services to our greater audience.

He also periodically organizes foraging workshops, wilderness immersions and natural sound bathing sessions in the scope of culturing bridges between Human and More-Than-Human Life while providing opportunities for Deep Listening/Relaxation in an often disconnected and hectic World.

Nomi Juhasz

Nomi is a queer ceramicist and textile artist. Having worked with clay since childhood, they have found it is an excellent medium with which to express and embody emotion. Nomi primarily works on the wheel, but is also very comfortable with a variety of different techniques. They especially like throwing lidded vessels and large pots. Nomi is currently studying glaze chemistry, and how to make their own glazes. Nomi used they/them, and iel pronouns. Check out their work at www.nomijuhasz.com

Tara Dougans 

Tara Dougans is Tiohtià:ke / Montreal-based artist whose sculpture and field facilitation work considers silent-level sensing through touch. Drawing from a both visual and contemplative arts background, supported by a strong somatic focus, they are interested in clay's capacity to create non-linear pathways into subtle body awareness; as well as improvisatory, playful and emergent processes. IG: @avelila

Brenda Toscano

Brenda came to Montreal from Mexico, to get her PhD in neuroscience. She stumbled into the world of ceramics during a quest to add a little more "life" to her work/life balance. After her first introductory workshop she was hooked. Ceramics became a space to unplug and play with a physical hands-on medium, while retaining that familiar technical aspect to the process that links it to science. What she loves the most is infinite creativity you can infuse to the forms created with just a humble piece of clay. What started as a mental escape has become a growing passion.

Naomi Charron

Naomi  first laid her hands on clay in 2004 and has been in love with it ever since. She completed her formal ceramics training in 2012 and now sells her creations around the world. Her work can be found on Etsy, Chic Basta, Port-au-Persil in Charlevoix and at select fairs and expos. She brings her considerable passion to teaching, sharing her unique problem-solving skills and creating a supportive environment often filled with laughter. Her teaching style helps people find their joy in clay and discover the enrichment that it offers. Her studio can be found at Espace Bouette in Mile End. Visit her Etsy page for more of her work.

Yasmine Lajeunesse 

Yasmine completed a bachelor's degree in visual and media arts at UQAM, during which she developed an installation, sculptural (metal, wood, paper), photographic, and videographic practice. However, it was only after this that she discovered her interest in functional ceramics, becoming a student and then a member at Atelier Forma, where she has been teaching for over a year. She particularly loves wavy shapes and pieces that honour the natural qualities and colors of clay. She documents her creations on Instagram: @pente_fatale

Houwaida Barouni

Houwaida Barouni is a product designer specializing in ceramics, with a university background in design research and multiple trainings in artistic ceramics. For seven years, she has been shaping clay with a mastery that transcends form, function, and aesthetics. Her expertise harmoniously blends innovation and craftsmanship, embodying an artistic sensibility that reflects a rich cultural fusion. Her original creations, both poetic and functional, enrich living spaces with elegance and refinement. By fusing traditional techniques with contemporary approaches, Houwaida creates unique pieces that tell stories and add a distinctive and timeless touch to any interior. IG: @houwaida.barouni

Rebecca Sasseville 

Rebecca has an educational background in visual arts and digital arts through which she specializes in shaping, molding and 3D modeling for design objects
and fashion. For many years she helps leading geriatric inclusive art workshops
at the Jewish general hospital. Her research focuses on creative methods
informed by ethics of hospitality, community values and inclusivity, with high
interest for autobiographical perspectives in objects.

Noémie Lauzon

Noémie holds a bachelor’s degree in visual and media arts and is currently studying at the graduate level in art therapy. The observation of the human body—its shapes, colors, alterations, and issues—is the main inspiration for her artistic practice. Greatly influenced by surrealist art, her approach utilizes knitting, collage, painting, and video as multiple mediums to explore the complexity of corporeality through accumulation.

Pauline Costamagno

Pauline discovered ceramics in Paris, where she learnt with Marie Mo and the Clay studio. Her studies in philosophy, and more specifically on Spinoza and the body’s power of action, naturally led her to explore this art. After several years of teaching philosophy, she settled in Montreal to fully dedicate herself to clay work. Driven by a desire to share knowledge, she enthusiastically guides people in the exploration of their own relationship with clay.