We were lucky to catch up with Kota Bowen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kota thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve been fortunate to know that I wanted to be some sort of creative professional most of my life. When I was real little I wanted to be a paleontologist, but very quickly learned I liked drawing the dinosaurs and their habitats more than I liked the dinosaurs themselves. In middle and high school I was introduced to ceramics and immediately had a connection with it, I knew this was how I wanted to spend all my time. I’m not so sure there was ever another option for me, I love the process of making work so much that it became my whole life by sheer force of will. Making it a small career has been a gift.

Kota , 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?

When I started college I was introduced to traditional printmaking, relief carving and intaglio specifically. It felt like the perfect marriage of drawing and sculpture- tangible like ceramic sculpture but still required drawing and surfaces treatments. Loving the medium I then persued and received a BFA in Print and Narrative Forms while continuing to take ceramic classes through my time in school. I got a job as a ceramic assistant to a local artist and learned the ropes of wholesaling, marketing, and managing a studio. I starting off tabling at little markets around Milwaukee with my ceramic sculptures and prints and slowly started to grow an independent business of my own. I now have a wholesaling channel where I make small batch ceramic wares and illustrated prints and ship them all around. I make things like mugs, sculptural back scratchers, hand-painted cups and prints with original illustrations. I have also worked with clients to create custom styled mugs and dinnerware with highly illustrative surfaces and run a ceramic carving basics workshop.
My work tends to be whimsical and have a bit of humor while still being contemporary. When able to step away from production work I focus on making larger vases and plates with narrative carvings on them. I try to play off of the ceramic silhouettes and add color through contrasting underglaze and carving. I’ll find inspiration anywhere from classical hand painted pottery to anime- I like it all and enjoy playing with graphic and traditional techniques.
Being a working artist can be grueling… it means long hours, part time jobs to fill in the gaps, tons of emotional labor and a lot of time by yourself. But, for me, staying the course meant I could do what I love and what I’m obsessed about: making art.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

This isn’t a lesson I’m unlearning, but rather one I’m currently learning now. Its not not confused envy with inspiration. Social media is a tricky beast monster that wants to be fed all the time, and I have found myself in the past confusing my feelings of envy with inspiration. I see a creator doing something online and will be hard on myself for not doing something myself better, or faster. I’ve felt bad about myself through a false comparison and justify those feelings by telling myself i’m being inspired to work harder. I think it’s really easy, and understandable to be envious of someones perceived success and use it as a motivator, but the moment it becomes envy it will suck the creative love out of whatever you are doing. So follow people online and more importantly in real life that truly inspire you, not make you jealous.

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

The most rewarding part of what I do is the doing itself. I would consider myself a process artist and genuinely love the work of it. Running a workshop and creating a space where people can also play, get dirty and tell their own stories through carving has been a favorite experience. The act of making and being in a flow state with other people is a gift.

Contact Info:

• Website: kotaskystudio.com
• Instagram: kota.sky.studio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kota.sky.studio/