We were lucky to catch up with Kay Currie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I started in clay by signing up to take a class while I was pregnant. I had always wanted to do something in clay and this was my first opportunity. I took throwing lessons for many years and was asked to hand build pieces for the studio owner who had been commissioned to do them. This led me to teaching hand building classes at his studio for many years . I think due to the way I was raised, it never crossed my mind to do art of any kind for a living. However, my husband and I decided to build a studio for ourselves as we were getting older. We thought this would be a good way to occupy ourselves. Once the studio was up and going I had people asking about classes. So I started teaching classes and attending art shows. This is how it all started.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have a natural art talent that has helped me in my sculpting. This combined with my training at a working studio has helped me develop in my field and helped me be able to teach others about sculpting. Most artist in my field don’t sculpt animals. Most clay artist do functional pieces. For this reason I think I’m set apart from the rest. I enjoy teaching people how to sculpt in different ways in order to achieve what they want. Most people compliment my work by saying how expressive my animals look and how realistic they are.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I mostly wish that I had started on my own a lot sooner. I was raised thinking you had a have a real job, not an art job! If I had realized the potential in this area I could have had a more fulfilling career. So I think it’s important to follow your dreams and not get held back by everyone around you.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Getting the point across that buying local art and other things will help everyone in our community is of great importance. Most people today don’t seem to value local handmade art because cheap alternatives are easily found.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Kay Currie
• Other: Blue pony art on Facebook