We were lucky to catch up with Brenten Petersen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brenten thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have early memories of making things with my hands.

While other elementary aged kids were swinging and running I was often found in a small corner of the playground carving objects out of clods of dirt.

This desire to make things with my hands has stuck with me for my whole life.

I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Secondary Education from Utah State University in Logan Utah in 2008.

I then spent 15 years teaching middle school and elementary age kids art.
At the end of the 2024 school year I decided to try my hand at being a full time artist.

I am now a full time potter/sculptor but I didn’t arrive where I am without work and struggle.

When I did my student teaching to become an art teacher I was placed in a high school ceramics class.

I had only ever taken one pottery class.
I was asked by my mentor teacher to give a demonstration on the pottery wheel.
I was to show the students how to make a cylinder.
As I sat down at the wheel, I knew I would not do well.
I successfully made a very poor cylinder and heard multiple students chuckle around me.

Its moments like these when a person has a choice.
Do I let the chuckles cause me to give up or do I put in the work to get better.

I made the decision to make 25 cylinders every night before I went home.
I did this until I was better than the students at it. I gained a passion for making pottery.

A few years later I took a pottery workshop from a master potter; Joe Bennion, from Spring City Utah.
His class taught me a lot and I took his lessons to heart.

I practiced at home as often as I could and saw my own progress in the pottery I produced.
About 2 years later I visited Joe’s shop and showed him a picture of one of my pieces.
I asked him how it looked.
He replied, “it looks okay.”
I asked how I could improve, he said, “make a thousand more.”

I anticipated this response from him. I wasn’t shocked, I wasn’t discouraged, I was strangely motivated!
I worked even harder and have learned to accept that there is always room for improvement.

To those who doubt themselves, you should know you are not alone. We all feel self-doubt. To those who keep working at their skills, talents, relationships, and general personal development, you will learn confidence in and through experience.
To me there is nothing more satisfying than rejecting the illusion of arriving at some point where my work will be perfect.
I have grown in my art ability because I never gave it up.
Years ago I made a teapot. It may have looked fine but it had a flaw in function. The spout was so low that it could hold only an inch or two of liquid. I keep this pot on a shelf as a reminder of where I once was. People may look at what I am doing now and criticize, but I already know that by keeping at it I will be better at what I do the next time I run into the same critic.

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

I consider creativity to be my most useful skill.
I am the type of person who intuitively creates.
My ideas come mostly from my subconscious mind.

I have a mind that is really good at visualizing what I want to make before I make it.
The final product may not be quite what I envisioned but I enjoy the process of my ideas coming into conflict with reality and the limitations of the materials I use.

Writing is similar for me.
I often sit down and write intuitively.
These creative outlets are therapeutic for me.
I love seeing the final results of art that started as a strange vision that came to my mind.
I love reading the words I write that come from a similar place.

I love making art that connects to my past.
I also enjoy making art that makes money. Not everything I make has deep meaning or significance for me from an artistic point of view. If a customer wants to buy my work then clearly I am connecting with them no matter the product.

When I started selling pottery and sculptures full time, I found that I loved seeing other people enjoy what I was making. I get great satisfaction in seeing my work in photos, social media posts, and being put to use.

Too many place cherished art objects on shelves away from hands because they consider them special.
This act, though done to protect, robs others from making a connection.

My grandmother had many such things behind protective glass in cabinets. These things fascinated me as a child, yet because I never got to touch them or use them, as I aged I lost that fascination.
This made me realize something important about functional art.

In order for an object to become special, it must be used, well cared for, and cherished through shared experience.
A cup, plate, bowl, teapot, bread baker, or functional sculpture will gain value as hands of all sizes grasp, pass, and use these items as tools.
Beautiful art objects gain value through shared memories of their use.

This is something I hope my customers realize as they purchase my work.
Sure it should be carefully protected, but not at the cost of being hidden away from others.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I wrote a poem last year that clearly presents what drives me.

The poem is called, The Shield, and is written below.

I once lived in an internal world of doubt and fear.
I worried that others would not see my value.
I wondered what they thought of me.
I doubted my value.

I remember the day I acquired my shield.
This happened when I looked within and saw my true value.
When I looked inside I saw potential.

Comfort came from self approval.
Comfort came from moral principles.
Principles that will ensure that my value increases over time.

I discovered the most cherished moral secret for increasing internal value.

Growth.

No matter where I begin on any of life’s paths, I will no longer be afraid.
Fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of self, have no power in my existence.
Failure is but a part of growth and fear can get no hold in my heart.

My growth comes through experience and the courage to accept imperfection.
By setting a path that has no final destination, a path whose sole purpose is to refine, I discovered a shield against those who would tear me down.

Others can look on me, look on my works, and see hints of my life’s path.
They may see nothing of value, they may see only imperfection, but it will be impossible for them not to notice my glowing shield.

They will find that their attacks are recoiled again and again.
That their efforts to harm are ineffective.
I will face them with a knowing smirk.

Personal attacks cannot permanently harm me, I have accepted that I am an incomplete vessel whose existence is to improve.
I will always be in an imperfect state, there is no shame in this, only motivation to be better than I was the day before.

My shield is self improvement and it is a mighty protection.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I am often baffled by how often my career and business of making and selling art are referred to as hobbies.

“Oh, that’s a cool hobby!” Is a statement I have heard more than once.
My response to this statement is of course that it is not my hobby, it is my living!

I don’t find these statements offensive when I hear them, and I know many who pursue art only as a hobby.

I think it becomes clear that artists and how much they affect the world can become obscured and downplayed by society.

I don’t think most appreciate how much beauty would be missing from the world if artists were not so involved in visual creation, imitation, and design.

Human made parts of the world would be bleak without art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bnppottery.com
• Instagram: bnp_pottery
• Facebook: bnppottery
• Other: TIkTok @bnppottery