Ride

really pushed me into doing something that was a little bit scary for sure. Like so many people, I had to get creative in how to make ends meet. Fortunately, our community is very supportive of the arts. And so, I was selling things locally and was also selling my work online. Everybody just really wanted to support everybody else during that time, as much as possible. Then, I started offering pottery workshops in people’s homes, and I did some classes outdoors. It felt so nice to be able to do that.

But, what happened when the unemployment checks stopped? Yeah, that was a big challenge. After a year or so, once unemployment stopped, it was like, “Okay, this is real now. I’m not getting any extra help or anything. I’m fully on my own.” So, now I’m kind of going into the second year of doing that, and what I’ve noticed is that I have to do a little bit of everything to make it work, which is great because I’m doing something different every day. I’m also offering private lessons in my studio. And, I’m making artwork to sell, which I do locally and on my website where people tend to buy a lot of mugs and cups and vases and earrings. That’s also where I do the nude selfie pieces, as well, which is still a big part of the mix.

What does the future hold? Well, I’ve learned that I love teaching, so I definitely want to continue doing that going forward. I can also see myself doing some art residencies. That’s where you go to a certain location, whether it be like a ranch or some other place that will house you along with a group of other artists, and you just go and do nothing but focus on making your own artwork for anywhere from three weeks to ten weeks at a time. I’ve always loved school, so maybe grad school to learn more about pottery and the art of ceramics. But, I think if I could do anything, it would be to open up a gallery and art studio. That’s always going to be on my mind. I would love to have a small gallery space with a pottery studio, or a studio in the back. I would teach there as well, and I would put on shows to share the work of other artists, too. So, yeah, that would be the dream. SLO LIFE