Being a private person is bad for business

I've never been good at social media. I’ve never really felt the compulsion to tell people what I’m up to. As a result I’ve never gotten into a rhythm of posting. When I do something fun or cool my first thought is never “hey I should post this!”. That’s not a great mindset to be in when you want to try and share your art with people. So if it seems like I’m a ghost on all and any platform that’s why. I always vow to do better and it never seems to work. They all have new years resolution energy. I start out strong and then it dies off and next thing you know it’s been months and I haven’t posted a thing.

Oddly enough I’ve actually been doing really well with my private new years resolutions… anyways, all this to say we’re giving posting more often another go.

Have you ever listened to the podcast Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam? She’s an author of several books about time management and productivity and her podcast is one of the few that I keep up with on the regular. One of the things she says is that anything you do three times a week is a habit. Let’s try and build a habit then? I think I’ll start small and just stick to Instagram. Here only if I have a lot to say. I have a TikTok too but that kind of content always seems to take way longer for me. Wish me luck!

Let The Nerd Flag Fly

It's official! I'm going to the Mesa County Libraries Comic Con in September! I don't usually make the kind of work that fits the setting of a Comic Con though so it's time to get to work. I've already started a few items that I think fit the theme and I'm excited to play with it more. ShyBones and I will be sharing a table so that'll be fun (also it takes a little bit of the weight off). Keep an eye out for some sneak peaks at what I'll be bringing with me on Instagram and TikTok.

Also I just got some news business cards in and I'm probably more excited about that than people should be about business cards.

Working out of a Community Studio

But also I like to work on stuff in my garage.

Cups and pickling jar weight waiting to go into a bisque.

The cat’s await the heat of the glaze firing.

Wednesdays are my longest days. Even if I don’t work my day job I have my Ceramics Class from 6:30-9:30, and as someone who has never been in the party scene, 9:30 p.m. is late. Almost every Wednesday for the last couple years I pack my car up with my tools, clay, and whatever I’ve been working on and I drive the 3.5 miles to the Art Center. Then I take it all out and into the studio to work on it for a few hours.

I take a class in at the Art Center so I have somewhere to fire my work mainly but I also really enjoy the community aspect of it. However transporting things to and from can be a bit of a hassle. The last couple weeks especially. The alleyway that leads to the parking lot closest to the ceramics studio is being paved. (Thank goodness the potholes were awful.) Which means I have to park in the front and haul all my stuff to the back of the building.

This Wednesday, despite needing to haul stuff farther to get it to class, was really productive! The week before I had thrown some cups and I had finished decorating those so I brought those in. I glazed a bowl that had been bisque fired some time that week as well as my tiny cats and bunnies. I then threw two jars and 3 cups! I know that doesn’t sound like a ton but my average for a class is usually working on the same thing the whole 3 hours so it felt like a lot. I then I regretted that when I had to put it all on a cart to take to the front and then into my car to drive it all the 3.5miles home. I leave them on the bat so there’s no way they’ll fall over but it’s still scary because they can still slide around if I’m not careful.

I think I’ll have a little fun with these and start doing some nerdy designs. I don’t know if I’ll get to be a vendor at The Mesa County Library Comic Con but I’m sure the nerdy stuff would sell other places as well. I’ve been reading the Jurassic Park books for summer reading so watch for things related to that.

Freshly thrown work headed home in my car.

Made my self nervous with these cups in the passenger seat.

Everything safely stored in my garage after their perilous ride home unsecured in the car.

Maybe I’ll Start A Blog?

AKA: Let me take you along on my journey to try and continue to be an artist.

If you’re on mobile scroll to the bottom for some pictures.

I’m starting this blog to try and get myself going. (And to complain a little if I’m honest)

I graduated in May of 2021 and I told myself I just needed to get into a rhythm outside of my working hours and the making would happen. I love pottery so surely I won’t let that fall to the wayside. I’ll tell you what. That hasn’t been true for me. Between being tired after being at work, housework, and trying to maintain a decent enough social life, it’s hard to make the time to work on my ceramics.

I do still love it, I pay to take a class so I have somewhere to fire my work, but I feel like I push it to the side because it’s something I want and not necessarily something I need to do. You know what I mean? It was easier to justify the time when it was an assignment I needed for a class. Easier to work into my schedule when I had no choice but to be in a class twice a week for 3 hours at a time. Easier when the motivation was deadlines and not failing a class. These days the deadline is some day that I come up with and no one else will care if I miss it.

I want this to be something more than a hobby. There aren’t really just ceramic artist jobs floating around so it’s something I have to make for myself and that’s hard. How does one make a business model out of I really want to make art and show it to people. I’ve been a very private person for my whole life and promoting myself in any way feels wrong. Also there’s that whole thing of feeling like the things I do don’t really deserve to be on the internet forever.

Regardless we’re pushing through. We’re trying this. I even have work in a show this next month. The Mesa County Library is hosting a CMU alumni show and I’ve put a couple teacups in there. If I’m lucky September will bring being a vendor at the Libraries Comic Con. My friend Hannah ( Shybones_ on Instagram. She’s cool check out her stuff) has graciously let me tag along to some art markets with her and I think I might try going to one by myself sometime soon here.

Anyhow. Maybe talking about all of this will keep me motivated. If you’ve made it this far thanks for reading my ranting/complaints. I’ll try to post about more fun things later

-Kellianne

A cup I’ve been working on recently

Some little animals I’m making for a friend