The Art of the Pivot
In 2019 I began working with clay. It was my release, my break from work and my creative outlet. I had always been drawn to ceramics. I love their tactical nature, the fact it's useable art and something so intimate... I mean you eat and drink off of them! In the beginning I was making pieces for me, and giving them to friends and family (there are some gems hidden in cupboards). It was never about making an income or creating a business. Then I began slowly sharing my work with world and just seeing where it would go. (Want to learn more? Head over to the journal about the origin story).
Ultimately I designed and created a business that allowed me to leave teaching, it was rooted in my ceramics but the pillars were about connecting people to place through my art. I wanted to give us a permission to slow down and care more deeply about the world around us. Now entering into my third year of being a full time artist I'm pivoting.
A pivot that I am grateful for, to create a more sustainable business to raise a family with but also one that can grow with me and doesn't have limits. While it might seem that I am leaving what makes me "me" (hand making ceramics), I'm actually leaning into my origins. Long before ceramics, I was an illustrator and painter. These were my means of learning science, experiencing a landscape and observing the world around me. And these exact things are what I am looking to lean back into.
As I pivot (or in this case go back to my roots) into painting and illustrating, I'm excited to be able to share my work with a wider audience. With ceramics I was limited by literally the time I could spend on the wheel, the nature of hand painting each item and the ups and downs of production pottery. With painting and illustrating, instead I can slow down and observe the species. Share my story and process more and provide means for this business to grow beyond one cup at a time. Not to mention that with a kiddo picking up and putting down a paintbrush is much easier then bucket of clay :).
This pivot is about creating a sustainable business that I hope will last the rest of my life. That will grow with me and my family. Provide opportunities for me to collaborate with other businesses and brands. To share my knowledge and passion about the world around me. And lean into value and need to slow down, and care more deeply about the world around me instead of being in production mode.
I hope that you stick around through this process. I know it will be a bit messy as I gain new footing but I promise my core and roots of the business have not changed. Over the next month I will be sharing and releasing my first collection of the year: Spring Equinox!