personally....

the long and the short of it is that I love to make things. I don't need to finish a thing, just the process of seeing my hands make a thing that I envision is enough to keep me going. having a clay practice is grounding, a way of practicing mindfulness, how I get "in the zone", teaches me how to deal with immense failure, and gives me something to look forward to. making is a thing I love, and as such, it is not the way I make a living. it is simply too precious to me, too necessary, too personal, for me to subject it to the woes of capitalism. I've tried it! I have! and it took trying and failing to realize that being a production potter is not for me. 

to offer full transparency, I have a day job (I make coffee!), that sustains me and provides me with health insurance. having a job allows me to make what I want, what I love, and additionally, sell things only when I really want to sell things. making is very personal to me! and I love to see things in peoples lives! but I want the people who buy things from me to understand that I am a single person. I am not a corporation, I do not have employees, I don't have a brand manager, or an assistant who responds to my emails, it is only me - and I wouldn't want it any other way - but because of this, commissions are very limited, and while shipping is available, I much prefer you touch and feel the work in person. 

one of the reasons I was drawn to clay, was the communal nature of it. I felt that I truly belonged in the ceramics department at SAIC - not merely included. I've long thought about ways to continue this sense of community, and have been really scared of the possibility of nothing working out. I feel ready to fail, and hope at least a couple people are around to watch - or cheer me on!