The Green Lake Scene: Tamara Abouammo

"City and Soul" by Tamara Abouammo

By Nickole Munoz

Tamara is an Arab-American, self-taught, multi-media artist who has put deep thought into her journey as an artist while only being a freshman in high school. Residing in downtown Seattle, she enjoys taking advantage of Green Lake’s scenery, where she based her most recent project with The Colorization Collective (The CC). At the Green Lake scene, there has been a flash of personal touch to every piece: Tamara uses her camera lens to capture the world. This scene replicates one from years ago when Tamara would watch her brother take passport photos or her aunt make jewelry. As inspiration, she recalls an abundance of stories of her paternal grandma, a popular Egyptian singer whose essence influences Tamara’s multifaceted streams of creativity. Her grandma’s artistic ability translated into musicians and jewelry makers on her mother’s side of the family.  ​

To begin her most recent piece without knowing exactly where it goes is a unique experience for Tamara given that her mind tends to trap her into perfectionism. However, this is actually one of the very things Tamara has worked on since she joined The CC. She makes a great effort to take full advantage of brain-dump sessions in the mornings—not getting hung up on the details since these brain dumps are not submitted for the mentorship program. ​

Tamara visualizes herself working in the film industry in the future. She wants to make short films on being Arab American or being Muslim in America. Tamara’s goal would be to normalize the presence of diverse identities in film without falling into stereotypes. She says Seattle feels more progressive than other places and the art community was much more welcoming, allowing a better landscape of potential opportunities to be available and pursued. She perceives her art to be more than an outlet: a way of improving or building something. ​

During her time as a mentee with The CC, she learned a different approach to workshopping ideas by writing imperfect thoughts in the morning alongside all the other mentees. She tends to find it challenging to capture her exact thoughts and feelings in a rigid manner. Instead, brainstorming allows her to create what she feels best suits the waves that wash over her mind. Tamara  clearly exemplifies how her creativity has allowed her to not be trapped in a box—and how The CC has pushed her to take a more personal approach to her pieces. Thus, she has taken the initiative to make a collage that incorporates aspects of nature—connecting back to her love of Green Lake. 

Through a fog of challenge with expressing emotions, her camera and paintbrush have been the items that have helped her focus and have control over what she produces. We are excited to see what she does next!