I work really hard. Yes, I'm doing what i love and it seems like a very sexy life but the really fun part is less than half my time. I spend a lot of time cleaning up (I should do this more); buying and preparing materials (imagine moving 1000 pounds of clay); posting on social media (every single day); talking to potential customers (art is very personal and people that buy my art want to know me); repairing breaks; reading thru potential opportunities to show my work; firing my kilns; moving work around as it goes thru each process; creating titles, names and descriptions for each piece; managing my website (big yuck); collecting donated packing materials (I recycle); making to do lists; taking photos and measurements of completed work; promoting myself (luckily I love talking to people); and, the most difficult of all, deciding when to take a break.
And now, thanks to covid, I ship my work! I used to think a lot of prep went into doing an art festival. I would gather anyone who is willing to work for a free goblet and haul all my work to some random location and set it up under a tent. That's nothing compared to packaging and shipping each and every piece that is sold online. Shipping ceramics is not easy. I will never complain about another show again!! I really miss meeting people and having them touch and hold my work and talking to them about my process.
Let's talk about the beauty of my job. My favorite part of my job is making large sculptures. Getting my hands on the clay and watching my ideas come to fruition. I make the smaller stuff to play the bills because those are the things most people can afford. I also like the planning part of my business. I spend hours looking at photos, thinking about concepts, sketching ideas, and thinking about art and artists. Out of nowhere, inspiration can come from my bowl of eggplant curry. I also LOVE the people! Collectors, friends, fellow artists, family. Everyone has been so supportive of my journey. I'm not getting rich with cash in my pocket but I'm rich in so many other ways.