We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cheyenne Saieed a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cheyenne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Happiness has always been the biggest motivator in my life. Growing up, I had always struggled with feeling happy. As a youth, I was a bit awkward and got made fun of a lot, whether it be for my body, the way I talked, or the things I enjoyed. The negativity around me made me want to find a place where I felt safe, secure, and like I had something in my life that was meaningful enough to me that no matter what anyone said or did, I would be able to find solace in something. One of the happiest places for me was my papa and grandma’s house. If they were too busy to interact with me, or if I just needed some quiet time, I would sit down and watch cartoons. It was typically classic cartoons with eccentric animations and storylines. I would get so absorbed in these animated characters, feeling connections to them, wanting to see what happens next in their life. And the bright color pallets, the whimsy, all of it was so inspiring to me. I wanted to bring color into the world, too, so I could create happiness. So I started painting.
Time went by, and I dabbled in all kinds of art. But when I got to college, I discovered that creating three dimensional surfaces to paint on was a lot more fun than the confines of a canvas.
While I was in college, I worked a few different jobs. A party store, a personal gardener, food delivery, etc. Gardening is fun and is still a passion of mine, but I never really felt like I was happy doing mundane things that don’t really contribute to the world in the way that felt like it came from my soul. Sure, people are happy enough when you show them beautiful roses or get them checked out in a timely manner, but real happiness, in my opinion, comes from creating something that someone can keep forever. It is kind of like preserving a memory. When I paint cute critters on my mugs, or sculpt a necklace of someone’s beloved cat, I feel like I am creating physical memories, similar to how those cartoons I loved so much made me feel happy. I could feel the joy, sadness, excitement, or anger of the animator that made the animation, because art carries the feeling of the artist. I want to bring happiness to others.
With that said, I’m definitely happier as an artist. I don’t think I would feel the same level of satisfaction and meaning in my life if I worked a “regular” job. Being an artist is often more difficult than the jobs I had worked in the past, because you become responsible for every aspect, rather than having a whole team to rely on. I’m fortunate that my girlfriend loves pottery too, so she helps me every step of the way. So I suppose I do have this little team of two. We find happiness in each other and the art we make together, so I definitely would not want it any other way.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The arts have always been part of my life. My grandmother on my dad’s side was a phenomenal painter and teacher. My sister has always been a wonderful artist, having her paintings in galleries, and now she is a baker that creates beautiful and delicious creations. The friends I made in school also happened to very interested in drawing, even though it was usually just drawing characters from their favorite cartoons and anime. So of course, I wanted to draw too. I loved painting and drawing, but when I discovered pottery in my late teens, I knew that was the art form that I was going to fall in love with. I decided to go all in and got a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in ceramics from East Carolina University. My professors and peers helped me learn all the things I needed to know how to do, from creating clays and glazes, to how to build and fire a kiln. Most of my colleagues and professors tend to be more conservative in their art forms, with wheel-thrown, perfectly symmetrical pieces with beautiful glazes. As nice as that looks, it wasn’t really what I wanted, I wanted whimsy. I wanted color. I wanted to tell a narrative with the art that I made, and I think that is what sets me apart from a lot of the other ceramicists I have met in my life.
Now, I create a wide range of ceramics. Mugs, plates, necklaces, pins, magnets, paint brush rests, spoon holders, etc, and all are created with highly detailed, hand painted designs, often inspired by a blend of cute art styles, the natural world, and the cottagecore aesthetic. Every time I go to a market or a gallery, I am proud to know that my pottery looks so much different than the pottery around me. I fill a niche for people that want more eccentricity in their lives, while also maintaining professional quality.
Every piece made in my studio is completely unique. Nothing will ever look exactly like something else, and that is so meaningful to me. It means that the art people purchase is truly one of a kind, existing in the world as its own entity, bringing a slice of the happiness and joy I feel from creating into someone else’s life.
I think what I am most proud of, is how Cheyenne S Ceramics started in the first place. My girlfriend and I were exhausted with feeling like our lives didn’t have enough meaning, and that we just wanted to bring meaning to our own lives. We learned that meaning came from bringing joy to other’s lives more than anything. So, our love and common goal brought about the start of a wonderful experience, and I am so happy to share that experience with everyone that supports us.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the most difficult thing for non-creatives to understand about my journey as a creative (and in turn, other people’s creative journeys), is the amount of effort it really takes to be an artist. Every job takes effort, don’t get me wrong, but creative jobs are often treated as “easy jobs” by people that haven’t experienced being an artist or content creator. Being a creative is so much more than sitting in a studio and happily making things with no care in the world, in fact, it isn’t that at all. It’s being a designer, a creator, a social media influencer, a marketing manager, an accountant, a secretary, and more, all rolled into one job. When I make something, let’s say, a necklace, I individually handcraft that necklace from porcelain clay. Then, I cut a piece of high fire wire to act as a a hoop to string the necklace later. After the pendant dries, I sand it smooth, then carefully hand paint it with underglazes. After that, it gets bisque fired. After the bisque, it is given a beautiful clear glaze, fired again, then strung onto a necklace. But that isn’t all — there’s photographing the necklace, making a listing for it, advertising it, packaging, and shipping it. Being a creative is a multi-faceted process that is more than sitting down and making art. There’s a lot of nuances between the lines, like knowing what kind of art you need to create in order to turn a profit for the month, or keeping up with the inventory you have for sale in different local stores.
We take creative work for granted a lot. We look at advertisements without thinking of the people that designed the ad. We watch TV without thinking about the incredible makeup artists that turned a human into a convincing werewolf. We play video games without considering the intense amount of 3D modeling and coding that went into making sure everything works. When we take a step back and think about the reality of the process, it becomes a lot more evident that our society truly runs on creative energy. I think if more people took a moment to consider this, less people would think of the arts as unnecessary and an “easy way out” of working a regular job.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have so many stories of people coming to me to purchase a wedding present, Christmas gifts, pet memorial pieces, anniversary presents, etc. It is so meaningful to me when someone sees me again and tells me how much their wife loved her new earrings, or how much someone’s mom cried when she saw the cat spoon rest that had her late Mittens on it. One of my favorite stories is that someone ordered four custom cat charms from me, so she could hook them on an anklet so her cats could walk down the aisle with her when she got married. More recently, a young customer placed an order online for a Christmas present for her mom. Moments like those is what is most rewarding about being an artist. To know that my art was part of such a meaningful memory for someone, there’s nothing that can beat that feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: cheyennesceramics.etsy.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cheyennesceramics
• Other: tiktok.com/@cheyennesceramics

Image Credits
Cheyenne Saieed and Scarlet Corey