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

Christina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Well, I guess I should begin by saying I am not educated in the arts other than a pottery wheel class I took many years ago. I am 100% self taught other than skills and advice I had been given by other artists. I am actually formally educated in graphic design and web design technology. I began my journey into ceramics over 10 years ago and the last five years have slowly progressed into learning a new skill with my wood-burning art. My mom, who had always been a steadfast cheerleader and encourager for me, had always given me confidence and reposted every single social media post following my journey- bragging to her friends and anyone who would listen about my progress and my creativity. She was always very excited to see me learn a new skill or challenge myself to create something I had never tried before, knowing that she would be the first to see it … and that excitement really helped me to think out of the box and challenge myself every day. A little over a year and a half ago, my mom had suddenly gotten very sick. She had developed a tumor under her arm after having knee replacement surgery and never made a full recovery. We watched her struggle for an entire year before her body just couldn’t take it anymore. I watched her fight for her life, and that strength was not wasted on me. I yearned to hear that encouragement from her once more and wasn’t quite sure if I would ever find that inspiration again. However, after she had passed, I had the complete honor of making her urns for my family. This was a very big struggle for me, as I had always struggled with making jars with matching lids of any sort. It had always been my creative nemesis and my mom knew that and had always encouraged me to keep trying. So, needless to say, this was the biggest and most important project of my life thus far. I wanted to make her proud and I knew that I had to do my very best for her. I spent months practicing and learning different methods to find the perfect form not knowing if I would be able to pull it off or not. But I knew deep down, this special challenge was not something that was negotiable. I could hear her voice in my head “KEEP GOING” !! Through trial and error and many tears and hard work I was able to finally complete four of the hardest projects that had ever challenged me. They weren’t perfect, such is life, but I had completed the task and I knew deep down she would have been very proud to see that I accomplished the task and had tackled something that I had been struggling with for so many years. It was such a big relief for me to be able to create something in her honor. Without a doubt, these would be the most important creative projects I would ever create..

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a self-taught artist here in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. I specialize in ceramic art and a unique wood-burning process where I create one-of-a-kind items for my clients. Most recently I have begun taking on custom pet portraits on wood, using nothing more than burning processes and stains to create a one of a kind and unique piece that will hopefully stand the test of time and bring heartfelt joy to its recipient. I take on many custom orders, ceramic, and otherwise, with no challenge being too big to try. Every time I am fortunate enough to sell a piece or create a custom order for a client there is always a special story attached it seems.. This happens to be the most important part of my journey as the emotional connection is something that I treasure deeply. I never realized the power of creating something that connects so deeply with people. This connection has proved to be the most rewarding to myself on a very personal level. I am always beyond excited when I create a special piece and see the final results. I take much pride in putting in the extra effort and details in my work and I certainly hope that the love I put into every single piece is not lost on the recipient. As an artist, this has been the most important part of my journey so far.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The most important lesson I have learned is that there is no perfection in art. Art is truly in the eye of the beholder so to speak. What speaks louder than the art itself is the creativity and insight that go into creating a very personal piece. Perfection is not attainable And once you learn that your creativity is much more enlightened, the possibilities are endless. I spent many years, judging my work and trying to perfect everything I made. It always led me to be disappointed and in many ways it hampered my progress. The shift in my attitude and ideals of what art should be came into play by following many other artists that I deeply admired.. One very talented artist in particular gave me much insight on this state of mind. I had always admired what I saw as perfection in his art and craft and had always thought it was meticulously planned out very carefully to ensure the perfect result every time. One day, I was watching a live video on social media of his processes and creating his pieces. As I sat in awe watching how he created his work was very enlightening to me. His whimsical designs, seemingly haphazardly crafted, just seemed to lay on the forms perfectly and without much effort. This moment made me realize more than anything, that there is no perfection in art. You have to let your inspiration lead your direction and you have to trust the process. As an artist, this is one of the most challenging things to learn.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal as an artist is directly tied to my own self discovery and progression in life. I am constantly learning and pushing myself to try new things, and I feel like this has benefited me in many more ways than one. On a very personal level, these challenges have given me a sense of pride and confidence that I had never experienced before. Hard work, trials and errors, facing your fears with an open mind are all part of the progression that we can only hope to find in our lifetime. For me, it is the excitement that keeps me moving forward every day. The challenge. The blind faith. Sometimes that is where we learn our own level of abilities that perhaps we did not think we would ever attain. We have to keep moving forward with optimism to find the things that are most rewarding in life. Trust the process.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @stuckinthemudsc
• Facebook: Christina Bowman Roberts