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

Jamie , appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

If I were able to go back in time, I would start my creative career exactly how it has been laid out for me. I began teaching 22 years ago, so that allowed me to be creative every day. I applied for an Elementary Art position, but I ended up taking a 5th grade classroom position instead. While I was initially disappointed, it allowed me to build my strength as a classroom teacher with 30 kids a day before I transitioned to over 300 students per day. I loved the feeling of clay; the wet squish in my hands, the dust it left on my clothes, the excitement when something turned out to be the shape I was shooting for. It fills my heart to see students create and become passionate about art. I encouraged my students to find art around them and try as many mediums as they could get their hands into. Shortly after the transition to teaching art, I realized I needed to “walk the walk” and create in my own world. I started taking beginning pottery classes, and I fell in love. I’ve somehow managed to surround myself with strong women artists that lifted me up, and a group of my classmates asked if I wanted to go in with them for an art show. I reluctantly said yes, and that was it for me. I truly enjoy the making process, but I love to share in conversation and life with customers, friends, and family. I love making and talking pottery. I don’t know that I would have been able to appreciate the exchange of energy that this entails if I were in my 20’s. Starting sooner would have given me a sharper learning curve than I have had by becoming a professional in my field of education first. Although my timing is different than many, I feel there is space enough for all makers, of all ages, in any medium. You just have to find the medium(s) that lights your soul.

Jamie , 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 got into the pottery industry by remembering my inner child. When I was a child, I loved to play in the dirt, draw, feel the textures of nature, and appreciate the outdoors. I work with children daily as an educator, and their sense of confidence in making is inspiring. They feel entitled to make and share their art with the world, and they SHOULD. Everyone should! To be honest, I was going through some personal revelations, some much needed talk therapy, and a large dose of grace for the little girl inside me when I got back into pottery. I wanted to honor the child in me as much as I try to honor my own children and my students. Soon, that led me to starting my website, selling wholesale with businesses around Michigan, selling online, setting up a social media platform, sharing and selling work in galleries, and taking risks with my work. I have clients approach me all the time about commissioned pieces. Most of their ideas I have not ever created. Some artists shy away from this, but I take on work that is just out of my reach as an artist. I want to stretch and learn. This sets me apart because I trust myself to problem solve. That’s what art is all about; beautiful problem solving. There isn’t a particular piece that I feel most proud of. Pottery is all about letting go of expectations or anticipated results. This can be very difficult to lean into. It can go wrong at pretty much any step of the process. I want potential clients to know that I am a dedicated and loving human being. I’m not a machine, so it won’t look exactly like it was made in a factory. That is the beauty of it all. It makes me happy to make them happy, and so I strive for work that I can feel proud of and they can feel satisfaction from at the end of the process. JLH Ceramics is made by one woman, one wife, one mother, one teacher, one maker. I am all of those things. I do not have a large facility, a team of 20, or even a store front. It is me trying to sort through this life with joy and happiness while sharing my nature inspired wares with others around me.

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

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being a role model for my children and my students. They have watched me pivot in my career in education, start a creative endeavor that initially served only me, and turn that joy into a profitable business. I have two sons, and I want to raise them to see women as their equals, as business owners, and as entrepreneurs. I want them to know that we all deserve a spot at the table, and their generation can be the one to help break that glass ceiling. We need all walks of life, all races, all sexes, religions, and beliefs to be in on the conversation. When they bring, and share, this sense of appreciation for art and all humans into their adulthood, I will feel like I have fulfilled my purpose as a maker, mother, and as an artist.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was raised in a home with domestic abuse, child abuse, and eventual divorce. There wasn’t a sense of safety in my home as a child. That is hard for some to imagine, but I truly didn’t feel safe in my own home. Art saved me. I didn’t feel like I was “good” at a lot of things, but I felt good when I was creating art. I still do. It was a timeless space for me as a child. I forgot all that was happening around me, and I felt my heart rate settle. As a child, when I was making anything; a pinch pot, a drawing, carvings in the snow, I felt at peace. I went into my head and worked out my anxieties. Or I just leaned into the positive feelings and calm that I felt when I used my hands. It is still how I feel as a 44 year old maker. I am resilient because I take chances. I am resilient because I am a maker. I am resilient because I have created my own sense of safety in my home and in my world around me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jlhceramics.com
• Instagram: @jlhceramics
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jlhceramics
• Other: www.forte.coffee