As Seen In: Country Living: The Country's 100 Most Creative People
I've been sitting on some news that I'm so excited to finally share! I've been named as one of The Country's 100 Most Creative People, by Country Living magazine! The issue is packed with creatives in a wide array of categories and if you're looking to start your new year with a dose of motivation be sure to grab a copy while it's available on newsstands nationwide! Country Living has also created an inspirational slideshow highlighting the talent that you can find right here! Below are images and text from Country Living featuring my work, and my portrait is from Sara Coffin Photo (who if you're in the NC area is an amazing photographer/human being that you should consider hiring for your photo needs.)
Receiving this recognition has prompted me to think about creativity and what I consider to be my creative practice. In the last few years I've learned that creative work is the work I most enjoy. Designing new products in the studio for my handmade shop and for commercial manufacturing like my partnership with Anthropologie, creating collaborative content with sponsors for the blog and social media, and working with other companies like Candlefish and Starworks Glass to develop my own products in new media are the highlights of my job right now. I'm looking forward to my gradual step away from daily clay production work (we'll be looking for studio help soon, so if this interests you and you're local to Greensboro, NC be sure to keep a close eye for that announcement) which will allow me to accept even more creative opportunities.
In the meantime I'm finding immense satisfaction carving out time each week to express creative ideas. I don't have a set goal during those creative times, which I think may be part of the magic. I simply grab my paints and a quiet spot, or clear away my production work on my worktable and grab a handful of clay thinking only about expressing creativity. These times aren't about logistics like how we'll eventually reproduce the piece on large scale, or even if anyone else will like what I make, and it's definitely not about future profit margins or kiln loss rates. These times are only about my creativity.
A big thank you to Country Living for naming me as one of The Country's 100 Most Creative People! What a wonderful way to begin 2018!