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#273 Exploring Passion and Creativity with Kathi Hager
47 Plays2 years ago
Meet Kathi Hager, a passionate potter whose artistry in ceramics is fueled by a yearning for self-expression, tranquility, and an enduring quest for novelty. This episode is a testament to her fascinating journey; one that is deeply rooted in her love for nature and music, which ultimately gives her pottery a unique flare. Her dedication to mindful living is transparent in her creative process - every piece she crafts is an embodiment of her values and a testament to her distinct style.
Kathi's exploration of pottery is not just about molding clay, it’s about discovering her unique voice in artistry. She shares the significance of feeling connected to your creations and investing time in passions that bring joy. Her insights inspire a redefinition of artistic boundaries and emphasize the importance of diversity in art. Tune in for this exploratory conversation with Kathi, who encourages us all to follow our passion, and spend time on the things that make us feel good. Get ready to reshape your understanding of pottery and creativity. you can learn more about Kathi by checking out her instagram @deeprootsandbubbles
Top 3 Value Bombs:
1. Embracing Mindful Living: Kathi emphasizes the importance of living mindfully and how this has influenced her pottery. She believes that pottery is interconnected with mindful living, as the act of creating pottery allows her to work in harmony with herself and the material, thereby embodying mindfulness.
2. Discovering Your Unique Voice: Kathi highlights the importance of finding one's unique voice in their craft. She advises artists to follow their passion and invest time in what brings them joy, and encourages them to always feel and connect with the pieces they create.
3. The Importance of Variety: Kathi's pottery is characterized by its diversity. She always looks for new challenges and opportunities to learn, reflecting her insatiable curiosity and love for creativity. This approach keeps her work fresh and unique, demonstrating that diversity in art can be a powerful source of inspiration and growth.
Resources:
Get your 53 themes by clicking this link shapingyourpottery.com/53themes
Take this Free Quiz to see how close you are to finding your pottery voice click here to take the quiz shapingyourpottery.com/quiz
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 template go grab it here www.shapingyourpottery.com/questions
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Transcript
The Essence of Fulfillment
00:00:00
Speaker
Everything that is really important in your life that fulfills you and gives you deep emotions, I think, is right. That's the biggest thing.
Introducing Kati Hager and Her Pottery Journey
00:00:13
Speaker
What is up, Shaping Nation? This is Nick Torres here, and on this episode of Shaping and Pottery, I got to end with Kati Hager. Kati makes some really incredible pottery that has such variety to it. In this episode, you will learn why Kati has so much variety to her pots.
00:00:27
Speaker
You also learn about slowing down, learning to slow down. And finally, you also learn about letting out your creativity so that your pottery can start truly start taking form. And there's so much more in this episode. I hope you guys enjoy it. I'll see you guys in Kati. Welcome to Shaping Your Pottery and share with me what is something people might not know about you.
Balancing Life as a Mother and an Artist
00:00:49
Speaker
Well, I'm a mother of two children and from 3 p.m. I think every day is my action time. And even if I spend the time in the morning, absolutely peace. But I love these moments just as much as I love this in the morning. It's a healthy contrast, I think. I love it. So tell me the story how you got started in ceramics.
00:01:18
Speaker
I love this question because it's opened up all that I live today. I always been looking for something that would capture my creativity and give me the opportunity to challenge myself. And I also wanted to find something that would motivate me to get up in the morning.
00:01:40
Speaker
in my old age and an activity, I think that motivates me again and again, but completely independent of my friends and family. You know what I mean, I think. And in addition, I needed something that would slow me a little bit down.
Creative Inspirations and Overcoming Obstacles
00:02:00
Speaker
I have much energy in my life and I need something to slow me down. What do we combine all that and so much more? I think when I wake up at night, for example, I think about how to make my next piece. So each step and yeah, look forward for the next day. Absolutely love it. So what would you say has been your biggest obstacle along your pottery journey?
00:02:28
Speaker
I didn't really think I have one. I just started without thinking about it. Never thought about the fact that something could go wrong. Only the time I had to make free. But I took the time. I always think that if you really want something, it's possible. I absolutely agree. I love that. So let's talk about your pottery. In one sentence, can you tell me what you make?
00:02:58
Speaker
I think it's all a reflection of my inner peace. That was a perfect one sentence. So tell me the story how you started making the pottery that you make today.
00:03:10
Speaker
That's easy. I always wanted to show that, um, anyone who has a piece of clay or something at home, um, can create something with their own hands. So combined handwork and the use of everyday objects, nobody needs a full box of tools. I think everything we want to create, we can do with a few things. And some, sometimes we just need to look around us.
00:03:41
Speaker
I love that so much. Shaping Nation, if you could look around yourself and look around other areas, you could take inspiration from anywhere and you could apply that to your own pottery. I love that. Well, what you always see in my videos, the most things I use are from all things from my home, from my kitchen, from my room in there.
00:04:07
Speaker
I love that so much.
Nature and Mindfulness in Pottery
00:04:09
Speaker
So you are inspired by nature and music. How does it impact the way you make your pottery? When I set up my workstation.
00:04:19
Speaker
music is directly switched on. It's always a very important thing for me. And I always listen to a playlist that plays extremely slow music and that brings me to an absolutely calm and gives me
00:04:38
Speaker
deep peace. And when my work starts, it is almost like a long process of mediation over the whole time. So I very, very personal in our journey, I think, falling and just drifting through time in the moment. This is also what I see in nature. All plants and animals live in the moment in harmony with themselves and with the things around them.
00:05:07
Speaker
I love that. Every single time I'm making pottery, I'm always listening to music. I love that so much. So something I love that you do is you practice mindful living. How has this helped you with the pottery that you make?
00:05:21
Speaker
For me, living mindfully and making pottery are absolutely interconnected. And when you perform such a historical rooted art and work with a material, it's usable in shape, in harmony with yourself, how can it not be mindful? Everything else, such a good nutrition, physical movement and mental health, I think comes naturally.
00:05:52
Speaker
Definitely agree. So something else that I love about your pottery is that you make a little bit of everything in pottery.
Variety and Evolution in Artistic Expression
00:06:02
Speaker
Can you tell me more about why you have so much variety with your pottery? I have a question for you. Have you ever been so hungry that you thought
00:06:12
Speaker
You could just eat anything right now. That's what I, it's how, yeah, this is how it's pottery for me. I'm always hungry for something new. I always want to learn something, create new forms, change myself. And most of all, I love to create complicated pieces in a simple way and share this knowledge.
00:06:36
Speaker
I love that. So it's funny that you mentioned that, have you ever been so hungry? Because literally right before this, I was so hungry and that's exactly how I felt. So I love that. Can you walk me through the process or your thought process, I guess, on how you create one of your sculptures?
00:06:55
Speaker
There's always a basic idea, I think, but never comes out exactly at the end. In the process of my pottery, new ideas arise incredibly often.
00:07:11
Speaker
And even if I want to make a simple cup, I always need some challenge in the shape or pattern. It's always the same. So to get back to question first, there is the idea and then my hands and they are guided by the keys of my creativity. I love that so much.
00:07:35
Speaker
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? I think I'm not a typical project, especially when it comes to finding my own voice. I don't want to commit myself to a certain direction, but maybe that's my voice too. I don't know.
00:08:00
Speaker
I love that shaping nation. You don't have to be bogged down by the same thing over and over again. If you want to have a lot of variety with your pottery, you can go do that. I love that. So you contribute your growth as an artist to following your passion.
The Role of Passion in Personal Growth
00:08:16
Speaker
Can you tell me more about this?
00:08:18
Speaker
everything that is really important in your life that fulfills you and gives you deep emotions, I think is right. That's the biggest thing I, yeah, there's nothing else to say about it. And of course, this will always promote your inner growth.
00:08:40
Speaker
So life always that, yeah, do what fulfills you and the rest will happen all by itself. Can you give me an example? It's okay if you don't have an example, but can you give me an example of like one of your passions and how that related back to your pottery?
00:08:58
Speaker
I think it's always this thing of my creativity. Since I was a little child, I always wanted to make things with my hands and create something and so on. And I think when you have this deep in your soul, there's no way to get it. You can't give it not this room.
00:09:23
Speaker
You know what I mean? I think you need this human in your life to let it out and yeah, let it come to life. I love that so much. So what does it mean to you to discover your own voice?
00:09:39
Speaker
As I said, I don't think I'm still flexible in my art. Maybe it's my voice, I don't think. We'll see what shows up the next year. I don't know.
00:09:56
Speaker
I think it's a little bit special when you have not this direction with this one sculpture, you made it in different shapes or something. In my life, pottery is a very big room with so much things and I'm not here at this one point.
00:10:21
Speaker
I love that shape in ancient pottery. There's so much things in pottery and you can choose every single one if you want to, to learn. You don't have to be stuck with one. I love that so much. So what advice would you give to someone that is trying to discover their own unique voice with their pottery?
00:10:37
Speaker
If you find something beautiful, if you feel that it appeals to you visually and haptically, then the right direction has been reached. I think it's one way. But you must be able to put everything you feel into your art.
00:10:57
Speaker
You made it with your sculptures. I love that so much. It's a little bit like a little kid that comes and made all these what's happened in you. And I loved it so much. And yeah, I think that is simply satisfy you. And only you have done that. You have everything you need to shape your voice.
00:11:20
Speaker
Definitely love it so much. So as we are coming to a close here, what is one thing you want to hammer home with my audience today?
Advice for Aspiring Potters
00:11:28
Speaker
I would recommend that everyone to always follow their own passion. Never try to immediate, say someone or be like someone else. Our lifetime is the most valuable thing we have. And we should always invest in something that makes us feel good. It is just like we are doing this interview together now.
00:11:53
Speaker
We both know that we are giving positive moments to others and it's good. I absolutely love that. Kati, Kati, it was great chatting with you today. Thank you. Nick, thank you so much and thank you for having me. Thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery.
00:12:13
Speaker
If you are struggling with finding your own theme for your pottery so that, you know, you are known for something, I put together 53 themes that you can use and you can take. All you have to do is go to shapingyourpottery.com or slash 53 themes. That's five, three themes to get these 53 themes.
00:12:36
Speaker
It's really important for you to find a theme for your pottery so that you're not going to get burnt out. You can have multiple styles with your pottery and you can be known for something. So again, go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash 53 themes. That's five, three themes to get these 53 themes. Thanks guys. I'll see you guys next time.