We recently connected with Bethany Etgen and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bethany, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

At age 50, I find my creative projects aren’t seen by me as “more” or “less” meaningful, but rather, all are meaningful in different ways. Some projects are meaningful to me personally, nobody else cares/knows/shapes these pursuits, only me, alone. Other projects I work on are for someone else – a gift, a need, a request.

It is certainly true that as time goes on, I have become more judicious about what I choose to work on – saying yes to things that light me up, and no to requests I receive that I know won’t. This isn’t always easy, but so worth it in the end.

The creative/making process, for me, requires all types of energies – emotional, and physical, they absorb time and attention. Putting these energies into things that I don’t care deeply about – well, it’s just really draining, honestly. In those projects, I tend to drag my heels, procrastinate, feel stressed about my lack of dedication to them, and often regret taking them on. They take away my time from other things I care about. As I age, I find I have more clarity about what I want to pursue.

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

I’ve always enjoyed being a maker, a crafter, and keeping my hands busy. Ceramics, specifically, have always called out to me. It is hard to explain in words exactly why. I just know I love it. It is a miracle to me to take something natural – clay – from the earth, add my making hands and a little bit of fire to create something I dreamt up in my mind and put it out in the world. It’s a physical representation of my imagination. Most people assume I want to make a business of it, but I don’t, not really. It’s all just for me, something I need to do.

If I could live my life over, I would have studied ceramics in college – when I had the perfect opportunity to do so, handed to me, right there in front of me. I often think now about going back to school, for an MFA, perhaps. In the meantime, I continue to take classes here and there at various local art centers and university continuing education programs when I can. It keeps me learning and growing.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

If you are someone who creates something with your hands, in any medium, you know you do it because of some inner desire, deep inside, that says: I want to make “this”. I need to make “this”. And so, you go about figuring out how to make it. You think hard about it, and often. You feel excited about it, passionate. And in that making, there is growth, learning, anticipation, hard work, and joy. There are successes and also failures. You learn a lot about the medium, and also, about yourself.

On any given day, when you look at a finished project, pulled from your dreams, that your very own hands made, your heart experiences a zing of delight, 100% fulfillment. That’s all you need to be happy. You are content, satisfied, and self-actualized whether others admire it, or not.

If you do end up sharing it with someone else, and they aren’t that jazzed about it, it doesn’t really matter all that much. If they do happen to appreciate it, well, that’s just an unexpected, glittering, decadent cherry on top.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I was in college I minored in art history, and I am glad for that. It was enjoyable for me to learn about artistic concepts, and the vast array of artistic endeavors that have been there, all along, in humankind. I continue to enjoy travel, experiencing different cultures, and of course, making a point to wander through art museums in any given locale.

Lately, I’m finding I really enjoy reading biographies/autobiographies of renowned artists. There are often many things I think and feel when it comes to my own creativity, that I find hard to explain. I come across sentiments from other artists and makers that put these emotions into words perfectly. This makes me feel less alone in my creative pursuits. I wish I had been reading more of these types of books, before now.

Over the past few years, my husband and I have been drawn to northern New Mexico. To my delight, I’ve been learning more about Georgia O’Keeffe, her life, and her love for that area. Some of her statements about creative pursuits have resonated with me deeply. She says: “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” and also: “I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free”.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @919Porcelain