Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
#256 Pottery, Business, and Motherhood w/ Sarah Beth
43 Plays2 years ago
In this engaging podcast episode, we dive into the colorful world of pottery with our special guest, Sarah Beth an accomplished pottery artist. Sarah shares her artistic journey, from her early inspirations to the evolution of her style. We discuss the balance of motherhood and running a successful art business, and explore her love for nature, which heavily influences her designs. We also delve into the challenges of becoming a full-time pottery artist and the importance of consistency, strategic pricing, and budgeting. Sarah offers insights into her creative process and invaluable advice for anyone pursuing their passion. The episode concludes with Sarah's thoughts on positivity, passion, and the importance of sharing your work with the world. Learn more about Sarah by checking out her instagram @sarahbethpottery
Top 3 Value Bombs:
1. Balancing Passion and Business: The podcast sheds light on Sarah's journey of balancing her passion for pottery with her business acumen. She discusses how consistency in creating and sharing work can drive a successful art business. Sarah also advises on establishing a price range, setting a monthly income goal, and breaking it down into the number of pottery pieces to be sold. This advice provides valuable insights for artists seeking to make a living from their passion.
2. Discovering Your Unique Artistic Voice: Sarah's experiences underline the importance of finding your own unique voice in your art. She encourages artists to try different techniques and styles, which could lead to discovering what resonates most with them. This personal connection with their craft can help artists stand out and be more authentic in their work.
3. Positivity and Persistence: The episode emphasizes the power of positivity and persistence in achieving success. Sarah advises listeners to stay motivated, consistently create and share their work, and embrace their passion. Her insights highlight the significance of staying positive, remaining dedicated to one's craft, and continually striving to improve and evolve.
and so much more
Take this Free Quiz to see how close you are to finding your pottery voice click here to take the quiz shapingyourpottery.com/quiz
Recommended
Transcript
Nick's Creative Process
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, everything in my arsenal just kind of evolves. Like if I have an idea or I see something that I get inspiration from, wherever that may be, I just kind of roll with it.
Meet Sarah Beth Elkins
00:00:12
Speaker
What is up, Shaping Nation? This is Nick Torres here. And on this episode of Shaping Your Pottery, I got to interview Sarah Beth Elkins. Sarah makes some really incredible flower-themed pottery, and she uses a variety of different techniques to make this flower-themed pottery.
00:00:25
Speaker
In this episode, you will learn how Sarah just rolls with her inspiration and applies that to every single one of her pottery. You'll also learn about why Sarah loves flowers so much. And finally, you'll also learn about how consistency is the most important thing, whether you're trying to sell your pottery or find a new technique with the pottery, consistency is the best thing you can do. I hope you guys enjoy this episode and I'll see you guys in there.
00:00:51
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. Sarah, welcome to Shaping Your Pottery and share with me what is something people might not know about you. Well, let's see. I make a really wide variety of work.
Sarah's Artistic Journey
00:01:15
Speaker
And traditionally I like to think that, you know, it's cool that I don't make one thing and stick to it and do that all the time, but it really does bug me that I can't like stay in a lane, if that makes sense. So while I love what I do and I love that I get to explore all kinds of different, you know, styles, it really does bug me that I can't just pick one thing. Love it. So tell me a story, how you got started in ceramics.
00:01:44
Speaker
Well ceramics in particular, I did a little bit of it in grade school. You know, there'd be like a section on it in an art class, but really get into it, into it until college. And it was part of my degree, my studio art degree. And I mean, I took one class and just never looked back. It was my work study. I was in there just as often as I could be. And then that's where it started was college.
00:02:12
Speaker
So something I found interesting is your journey as an artist started when you were a child by watching your father paint. What impact did your father have on you pursuing pottery further? Well, pottery, I wouldn't say anything because he's not he doesn't do any type of clay. But as far as being a working artist, I mean, 100%, he
00:02:34
Speaker
His creativity is he's one of those guys that like can do anything. Oh, I want to try stained glass. Oh, I want to try this new medium. He just, I mean, he does everything he does it well. So he always was very encouraging as far as, Oh, you want to be an
Pottery Style & Creativity
00:02:51
Speaker
artist? Great. Like a lot of parents, I'm sure would discourage that. Like, well, what are you going to do for a job? But him seeing how passionate he is and was all of that, even when we were kids.
00:03:02
Speaker
really, really encouraged me to, to give it a go. And then I, you know, I saw I had some talent. So just his, his passion for it, really. So what is something you learned from your father that helped you with your own pottery? I have to say, he just always enjoyed it. He never, I mean, to this day, he's, he never complains. It's always
00:03:27
Speaker
like an exciting thing, an outlet. We have a family tech, group techs, of course. And my mom, my mom is very creative. She's not an artist, but my two sisters are also creative and very artistic painting, drawing, all that. And we, you know, we will send pictures back and forth and it's always just such an uplifting thing. Look what I'm working on. Or, oh, I tried this new thing.
00:03:52
Speaker
So it was just always such such a joy to talk about and do art in our family. So being later in life after I quit teaching that I could do it full time and then every day was kind of filled with all of that joy. That's I definitely say I credit him for that. I love that. The group chats for my siblings are definitely different compared to yours. Yeah, way, way, way different. Just tell me that. So
Creativity vs. Business
00:04:19
Speaker
Let's talk about your pottery. In one sentence, can you tell me what you make? Oh, that's a difficult one for me. I make mostly functional, brightly colored pots. So anything that has a function 99% of the time and just very whimsy, very colorful. So tell me the story how you started making the pottery that you make today.
00:04:45
Speaker
Well, everything in my arsenal just kind of evolves. Like if I have an idea or I see something that I get inspiration from, wherever that may be, I just kind of roll with it. I've been lucky enough to be able to explore all these different ideas and, you know, just kind of on a whim, try something new, and then still be able to, you know, make it part of my business side of it, the not so fun side.
00:05:13
Speaker
Yeah, it's just an ever evolving thing. I start with an idea and I just roll with it and then kind of a whole collection will come out of that idea. So how do you balance between coming up with new idea, but also being able to have the business side of it? You know,
00:05:31
Speaker
That's, it's a bit of a challenge. I think mostly I have social media to thank for that, as a lot of artists do these days, because it allows you to show like a lot of artists, not just ceramic artists, but have a very streamlined, this is what I do every other, you know, every few months I have a drop.
00:05:52
Speaker
And this is what's going to be available. You know what to expect, but that's, you know, that's also what their feed looks like. And mine is the complete opposite. It's like, Hey, look what I'm trying today. And the next week it's like something completely different, but you know, your followers and your customers essentially are along for that ride. So I think it served me well.
00:06:13
Speaker
in that aspect because they've accepted me as the all over the place artist that I am is how it feels. I love that. Shaping Nation, you don't have to be stuck doing the same thing over and over again, especially if you market yourself well. You can do whatever you want as long as you market yourself well. I love that so much. So you are inspired by nature. How does this impact the way you make your pottery?
00:06:41
Speaker
Well, I wouldn't say that it's nature in the way of like,
00:06:46
Speaker
Earth, wind and fire, you know, the more wood fired pottery, that type of stuff. My nature inspiration more so comes from like botanicals and like living plants, things like that. I've just always, you know, girly girl been obsessed with flowers and I'm always trying to like find my iterations of it, new ways to illustrate it on a pot. You know, I'll go from sculpting it, like, okay, I want to do a sunflower.
00:07:15
Speaker
I'll sculpt the whole thing, paint it, put it on there, to carving it, to just painting it. Anything and everything, any way I can get nature, plants, whatever onto my pots, I try.
Balancing Pottery & Motherhood
00:07:30
Speaker
So very recently, you had your daughter and you also have a very young boy. How do you balance between making pottery and also being a mom? Oh, man. I don't know that I do a very good job, but I do try.
00:07:44
Speaker
where we are currently. My son is two and some change, early two, and my daughter is about to be five months, so they're very close together.
00:07:54
Speaker
But my son now goes to like a Montessori school during the day and my daughter is here. So that's Monday through Friday. And then my daughter stays with me. I'm very lucky that she's a super chill baby and she sleeps a lot even still. She is behind me. I have this, my husband calls it the clay pen.
00:08:17
Speaker
like a little playpen for her out here and she's got all kinds of toys and bouncers and whatnot. But I do my best to
00:08:27
Speaker
integrate them into what I do because I don't want them to be like, Oh, what's that secret space out there? My mom's always, you know, wasting time being out there. I love for them to be in here. They just kind of have to be contained. You know what I mean? It's not a super large space and everything is breakable, but yeah, she's with me all day long, 24 seven. And my husband works a lot. So I have even less, less time to like fully devote out here, but
00:08:56
Speaker
I do the best I can. I just kind of work in between naps, if you will. I love that. So can you explain to me how you make your amazing designs onto your pottery? Sure. Again, it just kind of starts with an idea like, oh, I really want to try this new way to put flowers on mugs or whatever.
00:09:20
Speaker
I just, I just take an idea and roll with it. I, I have a lot of different applications. So if I want something to be a little bit more 3d, then I try and core try to incorporate like a sculptural aspect. If I want it to stick out a little bit, I'll do that. And so I use the addition, but I also like to carve and I also like to paint. So honestly, each pot is like completely different. For example, here's one with 3d.
00:09:49
Speaker
So sunflowers 3D and here's one 2D. So those were made in the same breath. They just look very different, you know. So I use all of the techniques that I know and that I see other people do. I just like to give everything a try. So I don't really know how to answer that one with an exact science. So as you mentioned earlier, you do love making flowers. What is it about flowers that interests you?
00:10:18
Speaker
Oh, I guess because there's just so many of them and I really, I do like color. I like vibrancy. I like heavy, heavily pigmented things in general, but very bold color palette kind of person. And yeah, there's just a million varieties of even just one, one plant or one flower. And I find it challenging to
00:10:41
Speaker
I find it challenging to like attempt those, you know, and in different ways each time and just try to keep it fresh from say the last time I did a sunflower or whatever.
From Teaching to Pottery
00:10:52
Speaker
So let's talk about the business side of pottery. Can you tell me about the moment when you decided to go full time with your pottery?
00:11:00
Speaker
Well, I'd have to say that my husband gets all the credit for that. I was teaching high school art, comics included. And I was doing a lot of this on the side, like doing shows as much often as I could, you know, on the weekends and stuff. And I would sell stuff to friends and family. And it finally just got too much. I wasn't enjoying the teaching job anymore. Way too much politics.
00:11:27
Speaker
My husband was like, look, you're miserable. You have this other thing that not a lot of people are fortunate enough to have like this obvious escape route from a job you're miserable in. You need to quit your job. Like here, push, go quit your job. I kind of laughed at him in first, like I'm not quitting my job. Give me a break. We weren't married.
00:11:48
Speaker
And then I thought about it and I was like, you know what, that actually sounds pretty good to just be able to make pots all the time. And so I did it. I, you know, cancel, not canceled my contract, but didn't renew it. And we spent that last school year just kind of getting my, my house set up.
00:12:09
Speaker
to be full-time potter. So bought a kiln, bought a wheel. And by the time I quit teaching in that end of the year, I just like came home and got to work. It was great. I love that. So what would you say was your biggest obstacle when you went full-time? I'd definitely say the business side of it, you know, self-employment taxes and those payments and
00:12:33
Speaker
Uh, trying to decide like where you're going to make your money. I really originally thought I was going to just be a person that traveled around the state and went to shows and did shows, but I very quickly realized that's not for me. It took, it was way more work than it was worth for me to like pack up pots, unpack pots, travel around. And I'm not a very good, like in-person salesman.
00:12:59
Speaker
So I'd say that part of it just kind of get my, getting my footing, how I'm going to sell my work. So getting a website set up, it's all the clerical stuff was really the hardest part for me. What helped you the most with keeping to be able to do this full time?
Consistency & Success in Pottery
00:13:17
Speaker
consistency, I think that it would be very easy to fail if you just weren't putting out new work. And as annoying as it is for some personalities, mine included, you have to like be out there like, Hey, this is what I'm doing. This is the art that I'm making. I have to share it with the world.
00:13:37
Speaker
or then you're most likely gonna be stuck with all the things that you're creating if you're not willing to do that other full-time job that is sharing your work. So yeah, I'd say consistency with making and posting and having sales or stocks where you sell new work, that would be the biggest thing.
00:13:59
Speaker
Definitely great. Shaping Nation, whether you're trying to learn more about pottery or try to sell your pots, consistency is the best thing that you can do. I love that so much. So what are the steps someone should take in order to help them sell their own pottery? I would say get a really good idea.
00:14:20
Speaker
of like a price range. So look at, I mean, use the internet to your advantage. Go to shows, go to first Fridays in your local town, go to galleries, see, like put your work up in comparison to another person's work. I know that's like the last thing an artist should say, but as far as the business side of it, like, okay, my stuff kind of looks similar or this is the style of thing that I make. Like say you make abstracts
00:14:48
Speaker
extract sculpture. Go see what number people are putting on that and give yourself a range somewhere to fit in and maybe start on the lower end and grow from there as you get going. But I'd say do try to have some sort of budget in mind of what you need to make per month to keep it going and not have to go get a full-time job if you're trying to be full-time.
00:15:15
Speaker
and like divide out from there. So say you need to make $500 a month, which is crazy. No, we can live on that obviously, but go from there. Well, how many pots does that equal? If you're selling your pots for $10 a piece, then that's obvious how many you need to make per month to be full time and to make money at it, you
Finding Your Artistic Voice
00:15:35
Speaker
know. I love that. So let's talk about discovering your voice. Can you tell me about the moment when you knew you were heading in the right direction with your pottery?
00:15:44
Speaker
Oh, I don't know if there was a moment. I think, I think really it boils down to, are you selling your work or are you not is part one and part two, go hand in hand. Are you enjoying yourself? Because I think a lot of artists get convoluted with, well, I need to make what sells. But if you just focus on that and what other people want, then you're not really
00:16:11
Speaker
being all you can be in your side of it you know and when you're happy and you're thriving in your special space making it does typically tend to come out in your work so I'd say focus on what you want to make not what other people
00:16:27
Speaker
Because ask any artist every person, you know, whether they mean well or not is like, oh, you should make this oh you should make that and it's great sometimes they have it's a brilliant idea or it sparked something in your head. But try to focus more on what you like what you want to make what makes you happy and what's coming out of you.
00:16:48
Speaker
And also it's easier to not look like someone else's work or get accused of plagiarism if you're doing what's literally oozing out of you artistically. Definitely reshaping nation. The most important thing is to enjoy what you are making. If you aren't enjoying it, then there is no point. I love that so much. So you contribute your growth as an artist to being an educator. Can you tell me more about this?
00:17:12
Speaker
I think for as tumultuous as it was, my seven years teaching, it taught me how to manage my time and it taught me how to be as efficient as possible because in a classroom setting, especially with art, I don't know anything about the other subjects, but I mean, you're down to the minute. I remember my lunch was at 10, 24 a.m.
00:17:34
Speaker
And I'm like 10 24. Okay. That means I have five minutes. I have to be ready by 10 29. You know, it's just like, you have to be really good at time management to be a teacher. You just do. And it has really, really helped me be efficient and find ways to like cut down on time, doing frivolous things or not being, you know, not being as, I keep saying that word, but efficient as possible in your studio and not waste, waste a bunch
Embracing Techniques & Positivity
00:18:01
Speaker
of time. So time management for sure.
00:18:03
Speaker
Definitely agree. Time management is probably the hardest thing. So what advice would you give to someone trying to discover their own unique voice with their pottery? Let's see. I would say just try it all. That's what I did and it has served me well and I never picked the lane. I just kind of went with all of them.
00:18:27
Speaker
I think what can happen is just like trying sports and trying musical instruments when you're younger. If you try five different things and you realize, oh man, I'm really good at the violin, or I'm really good at hand building, not throwing, then you're going to be a hand builder. I would say give everything a shot and see what you resonate with the most, and then that will help set the groundwork for what you are going to do in your artistic life.
00:18:57
Speaker
So as we're coming to a close here today, what is one thing you want to hammer home with my audience today? Just keep making and keep sharing it with the world. There's no shortage of need for positivity and joy in today's society, if you will. The more art and the more happiness and the more people doing something that brings them pure happiness and they're following their passion, the better.
Follow Sarah Beth Pottery
00:19:27
Speaker
So just do what you love and get really good at it. Definitely agree. Some excellent party words of advice. Sarah, it was really great sharing with you today. Where can my artist go and learn more about you? Best way would be my Instagram, which is Sarah Beth Pottery. Sarah with an H and that'll be your ticket, man.
00:19:47
Speaker
Hey thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. If you want to discover how close you are to actually discovering your own unique voice with your pottery, I put together a free 4 question quiz. It's very short. It takes 30 seconds for you to take.
Conclusion & Call to Action
00:20:05
Speaker
If you want to know how close you are to finding your own unique voice, go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash quiz or you can simply go to shapingyourpottery.com and it will be right there at the top.
00:20:16
Speaker
I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and I'll see you guys next time.