Dialects of Welcome exhausted both my stock of individual mugs and my will to post show-related items online. I’m grateful: being sold out is a good problem to have, and the shows (both in Indy and Wheaton) were lively celebrations of welcome and artistry. But it’s taken me half of November to recover.
The show featured Thai and Midwestern place settings, as well as various table-related items. Those are up for sale now. Also up are a handful of pieces that missed the show firings but were just in time for the second snowfall of the year.
This week I finally got back to the studio, and I’m excited to get to do new work alongside to show-related commissions. But I’m also a little apprehensive. The Christmas season is just around the corner, when the culture fixates on the buying and giving of gifts and the church insists on preparation and fasting. And I’m conflicted.
As an artist, I’m eager to get back to the play of form and function. As a businesswoman, I want to sell you well-made pottery during the season in which you’re more likely to buy it. And as a Christian, I need to interact with you in a way that fosters contentment and gratitude instead of greed. I also need to do my work without obsessing over my profits or status as an emerging artist—to be free, in studio and out, to live as an apprentice of Jesus.
I don’t know how these things hold together. The Church sets apart Advent as a time of waiting—like Lent, the gathering dark before the flash of glory. This year I’d like to live it that way. It’s a tall order to make and sell pottery from a contemplative place, without contributing to the amped-up consumerism of December. I’d love to hear your suggestions on how to do that well. I hope to walk this season in conversation, and keep you posted on the journey!
