Lately things in the studio have slowed to a pace that is almost nonexistent. This year began with a steady toil up until late April, when I launched a new collection and opened up the studio to the public for my annual Spring sale. This took place a couple of weekends earlier than usual because in May there were plans for travel - a trip to the beach for my 50th birthday and then later in that month my husband and I returned to his hometown in Arkansas to take part in a memorial for his late father.

So now I am home and feeling very out of sync with my studio practice. This is partly to blame on taking a month long break but it also has everything to do with what is on the horizon. I have mentioned recently that a new business venture has been brewing, one that my husband and I are creating together here in Athens. I will save all the details for when the lease is signed and it’s official but the truth of the matter is - that is where my head is at these days. It is all very exciting and nerve wracking but most of all it feels refreshing and having this opportunity has made me realize how ready I am for change.

Everywhere I look and listen, it seems like folks are expressing how burned out they are. We are in collective burn out. From work and hobbies as side hustles, from social media and social obligations, from smart phones and technology in general, from the news feed and the circus that is American politics. It feels like we all need a group rest and reset. I know I do. My biggest lesson learned from my pottery business and it’s growth over the past 10 years is that I relied (like so many others) too much on social media (read: Instagram). As the app morphed over that time period and the algorithm took me and my business on a wild ride, I tried to hold on tight and keep things working as they used to. In the end all that gripping just left me frustrated, confused, dejected and exhausted. I also wanted to be on the app less and less which of course had a direct negative effect on my income. I have reached a point with my pottery practice where I want to continue to create art and make ceramic vessels - but in truly small batches, in my own time - not dictated by the holidays or seasons. If I am being honest, I have to admit I do not want that outward pressure to be creative. That feels suffocating and is damaging my creative spark.

Here are some quotes from some recent essays I came across that I feel really sum this all up for me:

“The desire to be liked is one of the biggest shadow aspects many of us must face when accessing our relationship to social media. We avoid this shadow in many different ways. And yet, we all feel the pangs in our chest when our posts continue to not be seen or the reflexive judgment of someone we envy doing something we tell ourselves we could do better or the loneliness we experience when we are preforming our lives instead of actually living them.” -Ashley Niece

“I am in the spiral where I’d like to make more money but also rest or take a sabbatical, and I know that my ability to earn is directly related to my ability to rest. Not just rest but to turn off the phone, to communicate with less people, and have less screen time. To read, to write, to really be without the phone. To turn the phone off. How many times can I type - phone off. Phone off. No phone. The phone is off. When was the last time you turned your phone off?” -Cody Cooke Parrott

“I’ve completely stopped posturing or worrying about growth or followers or engagement. Of course, these things are important for work purposes, but I have completely detached this from my self-worth. It feels amazing. But, there are times when it hits me like a wave: I am sad, too. I grieve the loss of something I loved so much for so long, not unlike to saying goodbye to the brand I built. ” -Jaime Derringer

“Here then lies the irony: online spaces promise connection, but we often find deeper, fuller connection by stepping away from those spaces. More and more, I’m choosing that option—the one back to what’s real and right here. Not in our devices. Not on our screens. And not in the frenetic, frantic energy that makes us lose touch with our hearts and humanity. Put simply, it feels better in this place. Noticing that, I want more of it. I want less scrolling, consumption, performance, addiction.” -Dana Leigh Lyons

So this is me saying out loud (mostly to be accountable to myself)… my studio practice is changing, slowing down and becoming something different than it ever has been before. I will not be taking time out of that precious window of creating to photo document every move or shoot videos that will get strung into Reels with catchy soundtracks nor will I be striving towards self-imposed deadlines doing designated calendar collection releases. What I do plan on doing is making some new work for the new business (which will be an in-person shop of some sort). I will also likely continue to take on personal orders and commissions if they fit time-wise into my new schedule.

There is a mountain of work that needs to be done to get this new venture up and running and I am so very excited and inspired by even the thought of it. Though it has ultimately been for the best, this past year has felt challenging and had me questioning what I really want and need in life. As I continue to answer those questions, I look forward to creating a space that will provide a place to interact with and be of service my local community. In this moment of looking ahead I am also looking back at all the many (seemingly) random life choices and career changes that got me here and through all of those successes and failures I managed to move on and grow and come to this place where I am now. Letting the past versions of myself inspire me in this moment feels right. I encourage you to let yourself be your own muse too.