My blog is titled The Life of a Potter, but I don’t write often enough for you to really get a taste of what I do, my creative process, the challenges I face, the fears I have, or the accolades I’ve received.
I’ve thought about this for a few weeks now and have decided that I’m interested in sharing as much of my day as I can so that through this blog you can get a realistic idea of what it’s like to be a potter.
I can not yet say that I can live off my income from making art, but this is way beyond being a hobby. When I am asked what I do for a living I say that I’m an artist.
I am exceedingly thankful that I have a partner who has a good job. It’s a rare gift to be able to make art and not have to spend most of my day working for someone else. I’m lucky. I know.
I think that art is important. In fact, both JF and I think art is important. I think that often we tell ourselves that we don’t have time to make art, but art is a process that takes time and sadly, in our instant world “taking time” often seems out of the question. Yet there are some processes that can not be rushed and it takes time whether you wish it to or not.
The process of making pottery is fascinating to me, and I hope it is to you too. It’s a lengthy process and it’s my goal to share the process with you. Not only am I an artist and a potter, I also run a business, create things from scratch, run a household, pursue hobbies, have a social life, and manage to stay happy and healthy too.
If you’ve read past blogs you already know a bit about me:
I end up doing a lot of things myself because I can and because I think that developing new skills is important. For example I’ve constructed my own display boxes that double as packing crates and I make my own signs. Here’s a blog about making my newest signs:
https://blog.lmserafin.com/?s=how+I+made+my+own+sign
As you can see, I’m the type of gal who would rather have fabric to make my own clothes than buy off the rack, yarn to knit my own sweaters and a cow to milk so I can make my own yogurt, butter and cheese. I do most of my cooking from scratch including a rather recent foray into making my own Greek yogurt. I would grow a vegetable garden in the summer if the yard got enough sunlight. But my garden is part shade so I grow hostas, some irises, lilies that always stretch south east as the sun climbs in the sky then passes behind the hills. I also can grow some herbs like lavender, oregano, lemon balm and bee balm.
My life is full and I made it that way because I like the experience of doing things for myself. Sometimes I end up saving a buck or saving time. Mostly I learn something new. I guess I’m a little old fashioned. (I still have a fondness for dial phones, VCR’s and tape decks.) Sometimes doing things the way I do them is out of necessity and sometimes it’s just my preference.
Right now I’m taking some time off from work to rest and recharge from a very busy 2014. It was a year full of very intense work and travel. When I come back to the pottery workshop in January I will start posting a little something and I hope to do that almost every day.
Thanks so much for dropping by my blog and buying my art. I appreciate the support. I could not have done it without so many pottery lovers out there! Thank goodness you appreciate clay.
All the Very Best of the Holiday Season. May 2015 being you much joy.
Lisa-Marie