We were lucky to catch up with Elijah Cavinder recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elijah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I actually all ways dreamed of retiring into a creative field when I was done with my working life. I went to art collage and quickly learned that I did not fit well into a structured class environment. I honestly wasn’t a good student in Highschool either. I dropped out my junior year and got a GED the same week. Then attended the local community collage while figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had always been a natural artist, I gained the skill from my dad and his love of creating with his hands. After leaving the art collage I decided to go back to the community collage and get an associates degree in network technology. This began a long list of tech jobs spanning just under two decades. It burned me out to the point that I was ready to runaway and join the circus. It was at this time that I very serendipitously came across the paint your pottery business model. After some research into the business I realized that we have the population density and a real need for a creative space for our local family’s to come and have a creative experience. I quite my stressful software job, and started putting the studio together. This was mid 2015, Kiln It opened it doors to the public Feb 1st 2016, and I’ve never looked back.

Elijah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been an artist for as long as I could hold a pencil. My parents separated when I was only about 7, and my mom with no working experience wasn’t able to give me a comfortable or even safe life for a long time. It was my art that allowed me to have a type of escape during the rough times, and it was always a driving force for my person growth. I believe without art I would have fallen into some other behaviors that would have not been a good path for me. So it was inevitable that I would have ended up in some sort of creative career path. When Kiln It first opened we were a small 1500 square foot studio and we offered only pottery painting, canvas painting, and mosaics. The first year open we were so busy that we started needing waitlist for walk ins. Lucky for us the unit next door to us in the the strip mall was vacant so we renegotiated our lease and expanded into the next unit in 2017. We knocked down the wall separating the unites and became a 3000 square foot art studio. Eventually we added clay, hand building then eventually wheels for throwing pottery to our space. We also started offering services like kiln rentals, life casting, and bottle slumping to our available options.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

As a potter and sculptor I am in a unique position where I can sell my unfinished art as part of the paint your own pottery selections. Typically a potter has to have a decent amount of finished and glazed items to sell at a market or online. My products allow me to be “done” about half way through the pottery process and allow walk in customers the opportunity to glaze a my pieces that are custom and handmade. There is an unexpected amount of satisfaction when someone chooses my pieces to paint and take home. By this point I have hundreds, if not thousands of my custom hand made art in peoples homes.

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

I would imagine they average none creative would have a hard time with the ad-hoc nature of my business. There is an enormous amount of variety in what I do. Most people tend to thrive on a structured and regimented type of work day. I get burnt out on repetition, and much prefer having a large variety of options available. I think even non-creatives can feel the satisfaction of a job well done, or someone appreciating their work, weather its a nice handmade vase or a snappy spreadsheet the feeling a recognition is the same. For me, I have always used art for relaxation, It was the fact that I stopped making art that tipped me off that the software job I was working wasn’t a good path for me. It was probably a better fit for someone who like a structured noncreative environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: kilnitnm
• Facebook: kilnitnm