We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ciara O’Keeffe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ciara, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

Being a creative and receiving a weekly wage doesn’t normally go hand in hand. I’ve gone without a wage for so many weeks. Its soul destroying, especially when you have a family to support and a roof to keep over your head. At one stage, I couldn’t afford to buy a bag of clay. I got really depressed and I felt like a failure.

An old friend rang one day and asked how things were going. I told her that things were tough financially and it looked like I’d have to go back to a job I hated. She asked me how much a bag of clay was. I told her it was €35. The next day there was an envelope in my letter box with €300 in it and a message to say “Go make some Magic”. That gesture saved my life.
I get very emotional when I think of my friend. She didn’t have lots of money, she was just getting by herself. This act of kindness saved me in so many ways, I will be eternally grateful. I did manage to pay the money back but I’ll never be able to repay her kindness.
There are good people out there, and we need to keep reminding ourselves of that.

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.

My name is Ciara O’Keeffe and I’m a ceramic artist and designer from a small town, called “Athy” on the east coast of Ireland, about 40km south of Dublin. I have a small cabin in my backyard that I use as my workshop and its from there, I create all my artworks.

Growing up I was always the “one” that didn’t know what to do when I grew up,
However, it was staring me straight in the face. I spent all my time sketching, drawing, sewing, making hats, cushions painting murals, but I had zero confidence and there were no jobs for Artists!!!.
Athy, in the early 1990’s wasn’t a creative hub, with a population of about 3000 people, I was encouraged to go away to college and study Marketing and German. Get a sensible job. However, I was 17, and never been away from home before, I found a freedom that I never experienced before.
I HATED my college course, it was much more fun to party and hang out with the local Art students. They were a breath of fresh air. I loved their style, their work ethic, and the conversations they had. Needless to say I failed miserably in my first year and had to go home and face the music from my parents.
My parents said I’d blown my chance at college and had to get a job. I was 18. I was devastated.
I wanted to go to art college. I wanted to study fashion and be around people that I connected with and understood. So I had a plan. I asked my parents, if I got a job for a year but also worked on an art portfolio could I apply to Art college? They reluctantly agreed thinking I wouldn’t do it. I’m so convinced if you want something bad enough you will work to get it. I worked and worked and the next year I was accepted into all the Art colleges I applied too.

Working with clay became my first and forever love.
I had never touched clay before art college and now there isn’t a day in my life I go without touching clay.
My younger self was intent on making my living from clay alone, but reality hit and I found myself working in the Irish educational system for 20 years, and that sucked the very soul out of me.

In 2016 I founded the “Sackville Street art project”. Its something that I am extremely proud of and has influenced my work to this day. It’s a very long story, but a song called “Grace” and a quote by the Philosopher Paul Ricouer who said “To be forgotten is to die twice” moved me to create an exhibition that went global. The essence of the exhibition was to remember the civilians that were killed in a war in Ireland in 1916.
In 1916, 262 civilians lost their lives and in 2016, 262 people from around the world, created a model “House” out of whatever medium they chose to remember each of the fallen in 1916. It became a runaway success in so many ways. It created conversations around war and peace, and asked questions about the validity of winning through violence.

2018 I had enough of the rat race and decided that before I die I am going to start my own business and that’s what I did.

In my opinion my present work is my best work.
I don’t think I’ve ever been as content to make work and be happy with the result. I’m confident in my ability and my voice. It has taken me a few years longer than expected. For too many years I was afraid to be heard, and I remained under the radar.
My current body of work is borne out of my experience watching my 14 year old daughter getting sick, having no control over her fate and my fear of losing her.
The two best things in my life are my children. I adore them. I hoped like most parents, that I’d given them enough tools to navigate this world. However the world can be a very cruel place and out of nowhere bullies appear. They are insidious and extremely toxic and come with no danger warning. They use words that tear into the heart of the undeserving. Hearts and souls are decimated and lives are lost.
William Butler Yeats wrote a book “A terrible beauty is born”, it reminds me of my current body of work. Out of my fear, and me begging the Gods to spare my daughter, a terrible beauty was borne. Something terrible happens in order for something beautiful to be born. She survived and a beautiful life was spared
My current work is a way for me to process what was happening around me. It is full of emotion, full of fear, full of love and full of gratitude. I wont allow my art to be infected by hate. There is no place in my heart for hate. I want my work to be full of colour, Birds flying high and free, powerful women imagery, full of resilience, a don’t you dare give up attitude. Each of my pieces are ceramic tiles framed behind glass. I use each tile as a canvas and transfer my illustrations onto the ceramic using decals. Each framed work of art that I create is created with the knowledge that art is a powerful media to get messages across. My simple message is, “Kindness”, if we are kind to each other the world will be a safer place to be.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Recently I was asked to facilitate a workshop with a group of non creatives. On the day there were 16 very scared adult faces looking at me. I could feel their anxiety. But a smile always cuts the ice.
I can honestly say the more creatives share their talent and give workshops to those that wouldn’t normally be exposed to the creative world, the better.

People have conditioned themselves into thinking they cant draw a straight line, or they don’t have a creative bone in their body. I say the same about Math, but I’ll always give it a go.
However being a creative, It’s not about the end product, it’s the journey through the process. I cant say the same about Math.

I lOVE giving workshops to non creatives, because it allows people to enjoy something that they associate having done as a child. It gives them permission to enjoy this side of themselves. The more creatives share their expertise and knowledge, the more non creatives might find something that they enjoy, and give their head some peace. The worked produced in that workshop was stunning, the clients even surprised themselves, but in that lies the magic.

However the down side there is a misconception among non-creatives that being creative is like having a hobby and it must be great fun. When I tell people I work with clay, I’m immediately asked, is that like the “Ghost” movie? I wish it was like the ghost movie, I think we can all agree Patrick Swayze was very handsome…..LOL….

I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked, “When am I getting a real job? And “You must have a great time playing with clay all day!” I don’t think people mean any harm, but I think they just don’t understand.

There will always be a divide with some sectors of the non creative and creative worlds, that’s life and that’s what makes the world go round.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

In 2020 I applied to Trinity College Dublin, for a course in Cultural and Creative Entrepreneurship. I hadn’t been in education for many years, but I felt I needed to upskill. I didn’t want the business world to pass me by.
My mind was blown that year. I was in a classroom with cohort A, 25 creatives from every walk of creative life.
It was so exciting to be emersed with a group of people who, had their own stories and creative journeys to share.
I thought I was going to learn all I needed to know from lecturers and online zoom classes(Covid Hit), I will admit the lecturers were great and the classes were informative and entertaining, but the greatest knowledge of all came from my classmates. People that were living the experience of being a creative entrepreneur.
The group of artists, poets, comediennes, film makers, printers, fashion designers, photographers, writers and everything in between, is where I learned the most.
The moral of this story is knowledge and resources come from the most unexpected places, always open your mind and ask questions.
Most people in the creative field are willing to help each other out. Ask questions, introduce yourself, show up, Collaborate with other creatives. And most importantly NEVER work for FREE. Would an accountant or a teacher work for free……..??? Know your worth!

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits
All images are my own