Noreen Joa

Noreen is a visual artist and experiential graphic designer from Queens, NY. Drawn to the subtle rhythms of everyday life, she transforms fleeting moments into ethereal realms where quiet wonder, stillness, and mysticism converge. Through her ceramic and jewelry art practice, sol flo, she creates & collaborates with people and spaces to craft experiences that honor the liminal moments —suspended between life and the unseen—and open a portal to intimate communion with the present.

Q: To begin, could you briefly introduce yourself and your practice?

N: I’m Noreen—I’m a visual artist and experiential designer from Queens, NY. In my art practice, sol flo, I explore how small, fleeting moments in everyday life can be translated into something more felt and immersive, like entering a kind of mystical space. I’m drawn to creating healing environments that shift one’s pace and awaken softness, both inwardly and with others.

It began as a personal exploration of creating a symbolic portal between the sun and the soul—sol for the sun, flo for the flow of being. Over time, it has grown into working with ceramics, wearable art, and other analog experiments, guided with flowing forms and ornamentation.

Q: This piece feels deeply connected to organic growth, almost like frozen branches or roots. What kinds of natural forms or environments were influencing you while creating it?

N: The ecosystems of nature are an innate inspiration to me, especially its quieter forms of growth.While making this piece, I was thinking a lot about ice formations and crystalline growth—winter landscapes where everything appears still on the surface. Branches, frost, and the way growth turns inward during colder seasons really stayed with me. I wanted to reflect on how movement and transformation are still happening beneath the surface, even in a cocooned or dormant state. Structurally, I began with the idea of branching networks, but it gradually started to feel like a portal—something you could move in and out of—where the branches themselves form a cocoon.

Q: When someone brings this piece into their home, how do you imagine it interacting with other elements of their daily space?

N: I imagine this piece inviting a sense of exploration in how one chooses to adorn it—as a sculptural element that holds ephemeral, found objects, light, traces of ritual—as if the branches themselves are gently cradling them and holding space for what’s placed within.

In my work, I intend to bring a calm, serene energy into a space, while opening up small moments for reflection on what it means to make a home for the things we choose to hold. With this piece, it becomes a point of pause within the home—a place where softness, and the act of gathering and noticing, can be held and quietly offered back to you.

Q: The twisted, looping structure looks both intentional and spontaneous. Could you share a bit about how the form came together—was it planned or something that evolved as you worked on it?

N: The form came together very intuitively. I started with a loose structure in mind—building upward from branching networks—but as I worked, the loops and twists began to evolve on their own, guided by the resilience and limits of the clay itself. The surface became a response to internal landscapes we carry—emotional ecosystems shaped by sensitivity, tears, and renewal. As the piece developed, it shifted into something more fluid and cocoon-like. I wanted it to feel frozen yet alive, holding that tension between dormancy and becoming. The cocoon really emerged through the process rather than from a fixed plan.

Q: Seeing the piece photographed in snow and natural light gives it a quiet, almost mystical atmosphere. Was invoking a certain mood part of your vision for this work?

N: Definitely. I wanted the piece to carry a quiet, mystical energy—like a moment paused between movement and stillness. Seeing it in snow and natural light brings that subtleness to life, letting it feel both delicate and alive, and inviting the viewer into a space of reflection and wonder.

Q: As you continue exploring these organic, flowing ceramic forms, what are you excited to experiment with next steps?

N: I’m excited to keep exploring the balance between fragility and strength. I want to play with scale, ceramic materiality, and how these flowing forms interact with light and space. I’m also interested in letting structured ideas reveal themselves through the process, as they did while exploring the forms for this piece. I’d love to continue making my work interactive—inviting people to engage or add ephemeral natural elements, allowing the piece to shift in mood with its environment.