We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kim Hall. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kim below.

Kim, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

About eight years ago I left my full-time desk job because I was struggling with the manager I was under. I had been throwing pottery on the side for years and was dabbling in selling my work at art shows. When I decided to quit my job I didn’t want to burn bridges or throw anyone under a bus so I told the office I was going to give my art business a full-time go. After a few big mountain adventures I was ready to dig in and try to make a living selling my pottery. It took many years, a lot of art markets and a few random side hustles but through hard work and determination I was able to build a pottery business I am proud of. It’s just me and my studio pup Zander cranking out many mugs and other functional ceramic items in a small pottery studio in Millcreek, Utah.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Alpine Earthworks Pottery was born from my dreams of bringing the joy of the wild places of this world into the daily rituals of the people I love. I was raised exploring the lesser traveled areas of the intermountain west and that desire to move off the beaten path has continued to push me to explore in my craft. The images that are imprinted in my brain from adventures around the world have a need to come to life and ceramics is that outlet.

In college, I sustained an injury that left me unable to ski for the winter, one of my main activities. My best friend suggested we take a pottery class together at a local pottery studio to help with the many months of healing. It only took one class and I was hooked. Throwing pottery became the creative outlet I had been on the hunt for for years. The clay community became a second home and I dove into the art form head first.

It took many years of practice and patience before I decided to give a small local art market a try. I had been making items for friends and family but had never sold to strangers before. The small holiday art market was hosted in Alta, Utah, a small ski town. After the weekend I walked away amazed that folks I had never met before resonated with my work. It took a few more years of honing my craft before I decided to take on ceramics full-time.

As I have honed my ceramic style over the years I have become known for harnessing a representation of the places that take us away from the grind of our day to day lives. Each piece is wheel-thrown and than hand carved with details such as mountain or desert scapes and an abundance of wildflowers. After the first firing, called a bisque fire, the individual details are painted in with glaze to capture the essence of the carved picture. The process can be gruelingly slow but each piece is worth the time put into it.

Every mug, bowl, plate is created with patience and a fine attention to detail along with a good level of GRIT. The goal of each piece is to bring joy to someone’s life and remind us of those slow moments camping in the desert, frolicking through mountain wildflowers, taking in the sunset with dirt under your nails and a never ending smile on your face.

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

What I have seen time and time again, when artists take the step of doing their craft full time, non-creatives make an assumption that we are going on “early retirement.” There is a very large misunderstanding from non-creatives about the time, energy and intensity that is involved in running a full time art business. When I stepped away from my full time job I was lucky to take some time off but as soon as I made the decision to not apply for another proverbial desk job I realized that I was going to have to dig incredibly deep to make a career of ceramics.

Working as a full time artist there seems to be an assumption from others not in the field that we artists have copious amounts of free time to relax, play outside, etc. But in reality to make a living from your art is incredibly hard and time consuming. As a one woman business owner I am literally everything to my company: marketing, sales, production, shipping, custodial, HR, etc. There is no one else helping. This means that if I decide to take time off I am not going to make any money that week. Unlike a full time job for another company that offers paid time off, benefits, etc.

I find it very unfortunate that a lot non-creatives, but definitely not all, don’t take the time to see or understand how much effort it takes to make a living off your art. As an artist I am never quite sure how much money I will make each month, which can make paying bills incredibly stressful. It also took many years of honing my craft before I made it to anything even close to resembling financial stability. In my opinion, it takes a lot of personal fortitude to stay in a creative career.

Just like many things in life it is always worth digging a little deeper to understand someone else’s journey. It is amazing what you can learn and perhaps bond on when you take a minute to ask a few more questions. I would advice anyone who is shopping an artist’s booth to take a second to ask the artist about their craft, how long they’ve been creating, what inspires them, how long each piece takes to make… Really any question to learn a little more about how much effort that artist has put into their craft can open up an amazing conversation and give the non-creative a deeper understanding of what it means to run a small art business.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my opinion there is a type of art in our society that is undervalued. We see art in museums and galleries that can sell for tens of thousands to millions of dollars. But I have had experiences with people scoffing at a $50 mug that has taken four weeks to make and over 15 years of working in clay to come to fruition. That mug can be used every day and that hundred thousand dollar painting will hang on a wall and be looked at a few times a month, if lucky?

This is an unfortunate discrepancy that I see in our society. Folks like myself, making functional art, find it hard to be supported in our careers. We have to dig deep to explain why our pieces cost what they do and worry every time we price a piece at its actual value that it won’t ever be purchased because it’s seen as something less than fine art.

I am not quite sure how society will be able to make the shift to understanding and valuing craft and functional art at the same level that they value fine art. One small step each individual could make is to never scoff at a price an artist has listed their work at, whether you are at the farmers market or a high end art gallery. If it is outside your personal budget don’t ask the artist for a discount, thank them for their hard work and let them know it resonated with you but that you unfortunately can’t currently afford to purchase the piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alpineearthworks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alpineearthworkspottery/

Image Credits
Studio action photos – Maggie Yahvah Product photos – Daniel Noll