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#100- 10 things I learned since starting this podcast that can help you discover your voice!
23 Plays3 years ago
What is up Shaping Nation on this episode of Shaping Your Pottery we are celebrating episode #100. It is thanks to you guys that I can continue this podcast. Thank you so much Shaping Nation!
The 10 things that you will be learning are:
- stay consistent
- Make time to experiment
- Make what you think is fun
- the questions you ask will determine what your pottery will look like
- Documenting ideas
- daring to be different
- Mixing and matching techniques
- slow down
- build relationships with other potters
- get uncomfortable
The Questions we ask will determine how our pottery will look like that's why I created a Free 15 questions to help you discover your voice booklet go grab it here www.shapingyourpottery.com/questions
Follow me on Instagram @nictorres_pottery
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Transcript
Introduction to 100th Episode
00:00:01
Speaker
If you love pottery and want to take your skills to the next level, you're in the right place. Find your own pottery style right here on Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. Let's get started. What is up, Shaping Nation? And welcome to Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. In this episode, we are celebrating episode number 100. It's thanks to you guys that I have been able to pursue this podcast further. And without you guys listening and
00:00:29
Speaker
give me support that I wouldn't have been able to take this podcast as far as I have gone and continue to build it upon I am growing.
Importance of Consistency
00:00:37
Speaker
In this episode, I'm going to be talking about 10 things that I have learned from starting this podcast and that can help you discover your own voice as well. Tip number one, the first thing that I learned is that you have to stay consistent.
00:00:51
Speaker
You see, if I wasn't consistent with this podcast and I wouldn't have been able to get to episode 100. And it's the same thing with you guys with trying to find your own unique voice. If you aren't consistent with trying to experiment and trying to actually find your voice, then how are you going to find your voice if you're not staying consistent?
00:01:09
Speaker
You have to start staying consistent in order to really find your voice, find your unique voice so that you can actually stand out from
Experimentation in Pottery
00:01:17
Speaker
the crowd. So the second thing that I learned from starting this podcast is everybody has to make time to experiment. Experimenting is one of those things that is the do or die for really finding your voice.
00:01:31
Speaker
If you aren't experimenting, then you aren't trying to actively find your voice. And when you're not actively trying to find your voice, it's going to be really, really hard for it to actually come. It may come in a while, but the more you actually try to make time to experiment and just kind of have fun with the pottery.
00:01:52
Speaker
then you are going to go a lot further with finding your voice. So you have to make time to experiment. Whether that's one day a week or you're just setting aside 10 minutes per day and just trying to experiment with your pottery. Whatever it is, just try to make time to experiment and have fun with the clay.
Creating for Enjoyment, Not Just Sales
00:02:08
Speaker
Now, the third thing that I learned is that you have to make things that you think are fun, that things that you like to enjoy, because this is a long journey that we're on. And if you can't make things that you enjoy with your pottery, then what is the point? What is the point of making pottery? Don't focus on trying to sell your pottery and just making pottery just to sell.
00:02:33
Speaker
If you try to actually have fun and make things that you actually like to make, your voice will show up in its own way because you are making things that you actually like to make. And that is where you're going to be able to to push your pottery further because you are having fun and you're experimenting and you're staying consistent.
The Role of Questions in Developing Style
00:02:53
Speaker
So the fourth tip that I learned during this podcast is the questions you ask will determine what your pottery will look like. You see, when I was maybe about 17, 18, I read one of Tim Ferriss's books or listened to one of his YouTube videos, something like that. But in there, he said the quality
00:03:14
Speaker
of your questions determine the quality of your life. And I understood that at the time, and I really did understand that because it's so true. The questions we asked are going to determine our quality of life. But since starting this podcast, I didn't realize asking the right questions will determine what your party would look like and it will actually help you find your voice. If you're asking very bad questions like, I don't know, how can I make
00:03:42
Speaker
Pottery today. How can I make pottery today? That's not a very good question because you're not really learning anything. You're not really trying to come up with a good answer. But what if instead he said, what can I take that I like for my life and add it into my own pottery? What do you think that will start doing to your pottery? You'll start thinking of new ways that you can come up with ways to put into your pottery. Maybe like baseball, maybe like sports, maybe like
00:04:10
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like Star Wars and you put it into your pottery. Imagine what that did to your pottery. Just by asking those simple questions
00:04:17
Speaker
and what that would do to your pottery.
Tools for Discovering Your Voice
00:04:19
Speaker
So, lucky for you guys, I put together a free 15 question workbook. This booklet, I should say, not workbook, this booklet, you will learn 15 questions that can help you start discovering your own unique voice. Go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash questions in order to get this free booklet. So the fifth tip that
Documenting and Evolving Creativity
00:04:43
Speaker
can really help you guys out is documenting ideas you see documenting ideas is one of those things some of us do but also some of us don't do for a long time i had it in my head that i didn't need to draw out things before i started making my pottery
00:05:03
Speaker
And I had that in my head, but I learned through this podcast that if I can get it onto paper first and I can kind of get my ideas out and I can get it to look more real when I actually start applying it to my pottery. So you have to start documenting your ideas, taking notes, writing down whatever, writing down things that you have done before with your pottery so that it makes everything a lot smoother.
00:05:27
Speaker
You come up with new ideas, and even if your skill set or you don't have the resources yet, later down the line, you will have those ideas to meet your skills and your resources. So you have to start documenting ideas.
Embracing Uniqueness
00:05:40
Speaker
Now, the sixth thing that
00:05:42
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I think will help you is daring to be different. You have to dare to be different with your pottery. You see, normal is boring, different is fun. If you could start thinking in ways of how to make your pottery different, then you're going to go a lot further with discovering your unique voice.
00:05:59
Speaker
So you have to start thinking in terms of how can I make my pottery different so it looks different compared to everybody else's and it just kind of stands out. So dare to be different. Boring is normal. Different is
Mixing Techniques
00:06:10
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cool. The seventh technique is mixing and matching techniques. The way I like to think about this is you have one thing that you are kind of that you kind of really like to make a lot. Now, imagine if you started adding other techniques into this technique that you really like that your centerpiece. What do you think that will do to your pottery?
00:06:29
Speaker
Well, I think it's going to start helping you find your voice a lot better or it's going to grow your voice even further by mixing and matching techniques so that you are constantly evolving your pottery, constantly trying to make your pottery look better by simply mixing and matching techniques. If you can get good at mixing and matching techniques, then you're going to go a lot further with discovering your voice. Your voice is going to constantly be evolving and that is okay. That is a really good thing if your voice is constantly evolving.
Reflection and Understanding Style
00:06:59
Speaker
So the eighth thing that really I learned and can help you a lot is to just slow down. You see, we may not be able to find our voice today, tomorrow, the next day, but if you stay at it, stay consistent, make time to experiment, make what you think is fun, ask the right questions, document ideas, dare to be different and mix and matching techniques. You're going to find your voice eventually. It may not be today, tomorrow, next day, a year from now, but your voice will come out as long as you are
00:07:29
Speaker
putting in that time, and you're just kind of slowing down a little bit. You're not rushing the process. The more you've rushed the process, the more you're gonna not be able to find what you actually like to make, because you're just gonna be so focused on trying to actually find your voice that you're not gonna see things clearly. So you have to slow down, take a deep breath, and really slow down so that you are being in the now rather than in the future.
00:07:54
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So slow down.
Creative Connections
00:07:56
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The ninth thing that can help you discover your voice and that I've learned is that you have to build relationships either with other potters, other artists, or just other people. You see the relationships that we have can directly influence on what we are going to
00:08:12
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put on to our pottery because if you have other people that you're making pottery with or art with in general they're going to start giving you ideas and you're going to give them ideas and it's going to go back and forth back and forth back and forth and you see when that happens is you start getting new ideas and you start incorporating into your pottery and your pottery evolves simply by being around other people that are
00:08:33
Speaker
potters or artists. So try to find somebody that you can make pottery with. Maybe it's your brother, your sister, your mom, your dad, whatever it is, or your friend, or just somebody completely new that you've never met before. Try to get into that world of being around other people.
00:08:49
Speaker
You don't have to go and get a residency. You can just ask people questions if you have questions and just build those relationships with other artists and other potters because that's where your ideas are going to really start to shine. And finally,
Growth Through Challenges
00:09:06
Speaker
The last thing that I learned from starting this podcast is that you have to get uncomfortable with your work. The more uncomfortable you are with your work, the more you are going to be able to start experimenting more and you're going to start having more fun because you are evolving your work.
00:09:22
Speaker
by getting uncomfortable. While it may be some grueling work that that uncomfortableness and it may be hard because it's uncomfortable. But if you get into that uncomfortable state, you're going to grow so much as a potter with discovering your voice and even maybe even start selling your potter as well just by getting uncomfortable with your your work or documenting your work, whatever it is. If you can get uncomfortable, then you're going to go a lot further.
Listener Engagement and Q&A
00:09:50
Speaker
Thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery. If you have questions about developing your voice or just pottery questions in general, send them to me my way. Go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash contact to send me your questions.