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

Kara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

The short answer is: I didn’t.

Kara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As an undergrad, I meandered through a series of majors before falling softly into art. With the encouragement of my mother, some natural ability, and a little luck, I found myself immersed in the BFA ceramics program at Penn State. For the first time in my life, I felt the earth beneath my feet and the alchemy of an energy that had always worked against me, start to work for me.

Chosing art as an actual career was never at the forefront of my mind as planning for the future wasn’t yet within my scope of capabilities. All I knew was that when my hands were touching clay, I was free. So continued exploring until graduation when my dreamworld came to an abrupt halt. Realizing quickly that I didn’t have the self-discipline nor the financial cushion to be a full time artist, I made a sharp turn and forged a very different, albeit incredibly meaningful career as a Speech and Language Pathologist.

I spent the next 16 years working with clay a few hours a week in a community art center and giving lip-service to the dream that I’d someday do both part time, but unsure if I actually meant it. When the pandemic hit just weeks before my 40th birthday, I was laid off of most of my contract jobs and only working a few hours a week. At that point, due to a recent and challenging move, I hadn’t touched clay in well over a year and I wasn’t sure if I missed it or not. With all the spare time I had that summer, I decided to buy a kiln and throw together a small studio in our basement. My only intention was to make as I felt like it and stop when I didn’t.

When I began to create in my home studio for the first time, I fell in love with clay all over again but it still never crossed my mind to make the shift into the professional world until, I casually started listing things online and people started buying them. And ordering more. And they haven’t stopped. And I haven’t stopped. Each day I wake up, still in awe that I find myself at the helm of a 1 woman business that was never intended to be.

Clay provides an outlet for me to get out of my head and into my hands. I believe that the energy that is transferred from hand to object and object to home is profound, if you allow it to be so. My pieces are functional and meant for daily consumption. Clay offers me an opportunity to create a connection that is more intimate than many other mediums. The rim of a cup touches your lips as you sip your morning coffee and a serving dish cradles a meal that you lovingly cook for your family. The contents nourish your body and the vessel nourishes your soul.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

My mental health, for sure. Getting out of my head and into my hands has helped me to peddle out energy that takes the shape of me getting in my own way over and over again.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I learned more about product photography, branding, and marketing. I spent hours and days and weeks finding the places in my home and following the sunlight until I had a few places that were optimal for taking photos. As I took more photos, I began to discover my own aesthetic– something that very much unfolded and was not planned. I made a conscious decision to not target a certain demographic and to not treat my followers as consumers. I try not to post if I don’t have something authentic to say and I veer away from sales pitches as much as possible. Yes, I’m selling a product but it’s not all that I’m doing. I’m sharing my journey in this life through self expression be it words or pictures or objects. If no one was watching or buying, I’d still be creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.karakyleceramics.com
• Instagram: @karakyleceramics
• Facebook: @karakyleceramics

Image Credits
Some photos were taken by All.Things.Kind Photography, others were taken by Kara Kyle Ceramics