Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Thivierge

Hi Brooke, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

I knew I was an artist at a very young age. I always had a sketchbook on hand. I guess the moment I noticed I was excelling in the arts when my fellow peers were paying me 25 cents for a drawing in the 3rd grade. My high school even created a new art class for me because I finished all of the other classes and needed to fit another class in, I wasn’t going to waste my time in a subject that didn’t matter to me. My senior year of high school a recruiter from New Hampshire Institute of Art came to by. It was only a few months before graduating and past the admissions deadline. They were so gracious to accept me and with a presidential scholarship!

While attending the institute of art, I learned about perfecting my technique and finding my artistic voice. My focus was fine art painting. My senior year I needed to fill an elective, so I chose ceramic wheel throwing. Before this class my only experience with 3D art was sculpture using plastic, wood, wire, clay, and plaster. My favorite sculpture medium was clay. The first week of wheel throwing was the hardest artistic experience I’ve ever had. I felt like I mastered all of the other mediums. Clay has a mind of its own. Honestly, after week 3 of the course, I wanted to give up. But I never gave up. I told myself I need to master wheel throwing as I did all the other mediums. Soon my last semester of school came around. I was absolutely obsessed with wheel throwing with all the possibilities of functional art. I was artistically desperate to continue working with clay. I asked the ceramics department chair to let me in the second wheel throwing course, even though it was only open to ceramic majors. She told me she wished I was a ceramics major all along and let me in the class.

After graduating I was in an art slump. Moving back home, finding a job, all of the “grown-up” crap caught up with me. My parents noticed I was struggling mentally and bought me my first pottery wheel. Having a family who supported me gave me the boost I needed. I was creating art whenever I could get my hands dirty. I was firing my ceramics at the local elementary school, borrowing their kiln time. Later, I moved in with my boyfriend, now husband. I created work in our tiny living room. I only had a 4×4 feet space. Eventually, we moved into a bigger apartment, and I was able to expand my studio. I bought my own kiln and sold work online. I saved enough money to quit my part-time grocery store job as a safety net to go full-time with my ceramics. Through all my failures and successes, I grew my small business up to what it is today. Combing my love and knowledge of painting into my passion for functional pottery.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

There have been a few bumps in the road. When I borrowed kiln time at the elementary school, I struggled with transporting bone-dry ceramic work without breaking it. Then there was poor communication between me and the art teacher at the school. There were times when my work was still in the kiln when it was being fired again with students work. Young student work is predictable to explode in the kiln because of how thick they create their work. If it isn’t completely dried out, the moisture within the clay boils at the high temperature in the kiln, resulting in exploding. This exploding can break other work around it. Even worse for glazed work. Once I purchased my own kiln, sharing was a thing of the past.

Another bump in the road was other people not taking me seriously as a self-employed artist. There were many off-putting jokes about “well you are always home you must have the time, must be nice”. Not until I was showing my numbers, people started to take me seriously.

The one thing I struggle the most with lately is learning what sells. I am inspired by so many different things, but not everything I like is desired by my customers. Work is building up on the shelf but I’m not stopping. Artists also have to take the economy into consideration. The main theme in every one of my collections these days is the ability to sell. How popular is the imagery I want to use? How easily can I advertise my work to the right crowd.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I create handmade functional pottery inspired by the flora and fauna around the world. The finished product is a colorful, textured, whimsical nature pottery for everyday use. Throughout my 5 years of being a full-time artist, I am most proud of my ambition. I am always looking for ways to improve my work and business. Whether it’s expanding my technique through using molds or improving my packaging and merchandise for creating an experience for my customers. I always want to be on this path of artistic growth which I believe is what sets me apart from others. My persistence to keep pushing myself to create even when times are tough. So many people give up early on their dreams. I want to see what else I can do!

How do you think about happiness?

I know it sounds cliche but the most important thing as a full-time artist is to sell your work. Being able to support your dreams is the best feeling. When others show you the same amount of love for your work that you have for it yourself, is so humbling. I wouldn’t be where I am without the support I’ve been shown.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.batsceramics.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/batsceramics
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/brookebatsceramics