We recently connected with Alicia Ferreira and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alicia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Yes I have been able to earn a living through creative work, but mostly through teaching art for the last 21 years and selling my own creations along the way. I always like to say as an art teacher that I’m mostly a creative guide who helps individuals express their ideas visually! For the first 16 years I taught Art to grades K-12 in a small private school. This was a great opportunity for me because I was able to develop an art program, learn the skills of becoming a teacher, get my CA credential, and continue to pursue some of my own creative interest along the way. I will say that teaching art really takes so much creativity and 20 years ago there was by no means the resources we have today through the internet, so many projects were trial and error. I was lucky enough at this school to have a kiln, potters wheels, and ceramics as part of our program. This was by far my favorite medium to teach because ceramics was my favorite medium since I was a kid! I was able to teach tons of ceramics and I loved that, but it was also what made me want to quit being a teacher. Ceramics has a lot of prep and clean up. With all the other classes I was teaching I quickly became burned out. In 2019 I put in my resignation in the fall and was done teaching full time in 2020. I didn’t really want to go back into teaching at all and took a little break from all things art, except I might have gone to a ceramic studio that summer to throw some pots. I then contemplated getting a kiln and potters wheel at home, but decided I didn’t want to deal with all the issues surrounding a home ceramic studio. In 2021 a friend of mine called me and said she was starting a homeschool program and asked me to teach ceramics. I turned her down. As it turned out that fall my husband and I pulled my daughter from public school and started to homeschool. I signed her up for some classes through this homeschool program and one of the classes was a ceramic class and by November I was asking myself what was my daughter making in ceramics because nothing had come home. I called up my friend and said I’ll teach ceramics and in 2 months I was on the schedule for the spring semester. I had a portable potters wheel, a kiln and off I went to be a mobile ceramics teacher. If you asked me 5 years prior if I would be a mobile ceramics teacher I would have told you NO WAY! Since 2022 I have started my own business teaching ceramics to homeschool programs, after school programs, young and old. Up until this year 2025 I had a 220 sq ft studio garage and my kiln was in my mother in law’s garage 5 miles away. I have finally moved into an industrial space that has enough space for everything. My kiln, potters wheels, work tables, and everything I need to run a ceramics studio and teaching space. Originally I just needed a space to work and was not that interested in having lots of people come into my studio, but with in 2 months I had classes start up on Fridays, birthday parties scheduled and adult classes requested. I don’t think I could have sped up this process to get where I am now. Everything is always about timing. I knew I would never be able to grow and teach more people if I didn’t find a space to do it, because my garage was way too limiting. I also had been homeschooling my daughter and had to be careful of my time. She is going back to traditional school now so this gives me the opportunity to work more and open my studio up more full time. All things in the perfect time and every step I took since 2004 was leading me to this point in my life. I knew I always wanted to work for myself but I didn’t really know how or what. My experience as a teacher and my love of ceramics grew into what I am doing today. I never would have thought 20 years ago I would have a ceramic studio. It’s the journey that gets you to where you are going. I’m excited for the journey ahead, and to start working on my own ceramic art work. Teaching takes up so much time but now that my daughter is returning to traditional school I’ll have more time to work on my own pieces.
Alicia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Well I started my clay journey way back when I was a kid, I have a slab tile on my wall in my studio that has some plants pressed into it and I had signed my name on the tile. No date but I can tell by the writing I was probably younger than 10. I have always been a maker, I love making stuff. I would go into my Dad’s garage and look for things to build with. My Dad is a maker, he built the house my parents still live in. He built my sister and I a two story play house all from scrap materials from the dump. He was the original reduce, reuse, recycle guy. I guess all this creativity had to come from him. I know I did all kinds of art and craft classes when I was a kid, but it was in high school that I really fell in love with art and especially ceramics. I had a great teacher and she was so encouraging and open to anything I wanted to explore. My school didn’t have potters wheels so my Mom and Dad let me take an adult potters wheel class at another public high school and I was able to try out the potters wheel, I loved it! When I went to college I took a few courses in ceramics and it was part of my major but I didn’t emphasize in it and I should have. I still got an Art degree at SDSU and went on to teach Art for the last 20 years. Since 2022 I have been teaching Ceramics exclusively. I teach hand building, potters wheel and glazing techniques for those who want to learn and for many kids who would not get the opportunity through school because they are homeschooled or too young. Teaching what I love allows me to connect with my students and develop a relationship. It has always been really important to me to know each person I am teaching, so I ask a lot of questions and like to chat with people so I can get to know them. I have always believed that being a great teacher is knowing your students and developing a relationship. This allows me to be a more effective teacher, so I can see what my students need and provide them with the resource, encouragement, and support so they can learn. My new studio space “ The Clay Lab” was designed to be a place of exploration and a place to experiment. In a LAB you are able to experiment, record, and try new things. Nothing is off limits at The Clay lab, if you want to try it, I will try to make that happen. Also many ceramic studios do not cater to the younger audience. I’m a credentialed art teacher and I want kids to come in and try the potters wheel, it’s the number one thing kids want to do. So I make that accessible to almost any age. I’m here to guide, to encourage, to introduce, to practice clay with whoever wants to come in and explore.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is that there is no expiration date. I can keep making, exploring, creating, teaching, and sharing with others until I die. I can also keep learning and growing my craft. I look at things I made 5 years ago and see so much growth. When you keep practicing and exploring your ideas you see your work evolve. I’m looking forward to seeing what more comes from me in the next 20 years. The last 20 years have been filled with the priorities of motherhood, teaching, being a wife, friend, sister, daughter. It’s hard to be creative and make beautiful things when you’re busy with life. I’m looking forward to slowing down in different parts of my life so I can focus on all the crazy ideas in my brain that need to be expressed visually. It’s truly one of the most rewarding things when you look at something you have made and it is how you envisioned it. When other people appreciate and love what you have created it is icing on the cake!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My goal or mission in my creative journey is to continue to do what I was created to do. Which is to share my love of clay, my love for creating, and my love of art with those who want to learn and explore ceramics. I want to continue to create a fun, inspiring, exciting place where people can come and be creative. I want to use The Clay Lab to continue to grow myself as an artists. If I’m suppose to create more spaces like The Clay lab I want to do that. If I have the opportunity to collaborate with other creatives and artist to create programs and art for others to enjoy I want to explore that as well. For the last 20 years I have been in a bubble and since I have started my own business I feel like so many more opportunities are coming my way. I love meeting new people and coming along side them to encourage their creative journey! It really is the best job!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theclaylabsd.com
- Instagram: @theclaylabsd
- Linkedin: Alicia Ferreira
