We were lucky to catch up with Madeline Sandler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Madeline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

Without a doubt, the arts should play a huge role in education from start to finish. Growing up in public schools, I felt that art was something we did in kindergarten and first grade and then as we got older, far more emphasis is put on our grades and performance in math, science and language arts. I personally did not revisit art as an elective until I was a junior in highschool. At that point in my life, I was quite disconnected from my creativity. I saw my art elective as an easy class that I didn’t have to care too much about and certainly did not see it as a key to my future. I can confidently say most of my peers felt the same. We were told to put most of our time into other classes, focus on AP classes and extracurriculars. The overall message is that the arts aren’t something that is going to contribute to a career so why prioritize it? It simply checks a box. My internal narrative was that one is far more valuable in society if you have a ‘good’ job and a high education. I wonder what my high school self would think of me now as a full time artist! I think that encouraging artistic expression in schools and always having art classes as a requirement from K-12 would be a hugely positive thing for kids. School can be stressful, overwhelming, socially challenging and many kids feel pressure at home and at school to perform a certain way. Creative expression has amazing benefits for mental health and reduces stress and anxiety. Often we are inside 90% of the day, staring at screens, existing in a social media vortex. The skill of working with our hands, creating something, building, exploring, learning, getting messy and making for the sake of making is something that I fear our society and our youth is growing distant from. I think if we can encourage the arts in schools and teach kids that they can build a career as an artist whether it is as an entrepreneur, a digital creator, an instructor or teacher of art, that we will empower kids to feel confident in their creative side and believe that having an artistic career is just as valuable as being a doctor or a lawyer.

Madeline, 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?

My name is Madeline and I have been playing with clay for about 6.5 years now. I first discovered ceramics when I was in college at UC Santa Cruz. After exploring the craft for about a year, I moved back home to North County San Diego in 2019. I was lucky enough to live very close to a community ceramics studio called Fire and Mud Studios. I soon joined as a member so I could continue practicing and learning. I was still relatively new but ceramics ignited something in me that I had never felt before. I was overwhelmed by curiosity and ideas and I simply couldn’t stay away. After about 6 months, I was offered a small teaching job to cover a beginning class. I immediately had imposter syndrome. I did not feel qualified to teach others yet but I trusted the studio owner who saw potential in me. After that class, everything changed for me. I felt so empowered teaching others. It put into perspective for me how far I had come and how I was developing a special relationship with the craft. From that point on, I continued teaching small classes here and there and starting selling my pieces on Instagram. At this point I was still working other jobs trying to find a career in my field which is Environmental Studies. Pottery was a burning fire of passion that I tried to ignore as I told myself that I need to find a ‘real’ job and that art is just a hobby. When the pandemic bulldozed our lives in 2020, I was forced to look at my life and choices and overall purpose. I had to admit to myself that I was way more excited about ceramics then any of the jobs I was applying for. That’s when I decided to get a wheel at my house and try to do ceramics full time. In June 2020 I applied for a business license and started my business Earthen Hands Ceramics. I had a beautiful website made and was gifted a kiln by a dear friend. Many things truthfully fell into my lap and were small reminders from the universe that I am on the right path. Since then I have been learning and growing figuring out balance as a full time artist and the sole person running things! I make a range of functional ceramic items including mugs, cups, vases, plates, bowls and more. I offer custom orders and wholesale for shops. I also teach classes at Fire and Mud Studios which fuels my love of teaching and sharing the craft. I am very proud of how far I have come as a self taught artist and entrepreneur with no business experience. I am so grateful I took the leap of faith and trusted myself and had the privilege to build something from the ground up.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It feels that every successful business these days has a huge social media presence. It is clear that the path to a successful brand is to be visible on social media and constantly push content. There is so much competition and pressure to stay visible and at the start of my business I really adapted that business model. I am a one woman show, I do all the making, cleaning, website logistics, shipping and social media. It became clear early on for me that I would not be capable of putting 100% into every single step. At this time, I am not ready to bring on an employee although that is hopefully in the near future! I had to release the pressure of being on social media 24/7 pushing content even when I did not feel it represented me. It checked the box and I quickly learned that just didn’t align with my values. Now, I post when I can and try to maintain some consistency but post things I feel really excited about sharing. That works best for me although I know others might have different opinions.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I find a lot of success in meeting new people and customers at markets and craft fairs. I think in our social media era it can be hard to genuinely interact with people and really help your customers get to know you and your brand. For ceramics specifically, I find it to be such a tactile experience; holding a mug in your hands, feeling the texture of the glaze, the weight of the item. Often times it is hard to really get a feel for an item simply seeing a photo of it on a website. I have met really kind and incredible people at local markets who have gone on to continue ordering pieces from me. I personally think people have a lot more positive association with a brand / artist / maker when we actually get to have a conversation, they can ask questions, look around and get a comprehensive vibe of the brand by being in my booth. That said, markets can be a lot of work! They can be hit or miss with how busy they are; you are surrendering to the weather and hoping that your goods will be received well. I think it is worth the investment to try different markets and put yourself out there because you never know who will walk into your booth!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.earthenhandsceramics.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthen.hands.ceramics/

Image Credits
Emily Zygmunt, Milla Rebello, BudKups