We were lucky to catch up with Margie Sarrao recently and have shared our conversation below.
Margie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I’ve known since I was a child in elementary school that I wanted to pursue art. I have always been drawn to bright colors and had a knack for putting outfits together and decorating. I used to draw all the time as a kid and art was always my favorite subject. The teacher I remember most is my high school art teacher, and she even recently purchased a vase from me.
Like many kids who want to pursue art, at least in my generation, I was discouraged from doing so. My parents wanted me to pursue a field that I could support myself with. But I was also my own worst enemy. I struggled with self esteem when I was young, and I feel that that is something you need if you want to pursue an art career. I did take an art class my freshman year of college, but I never enrolled in another because the class assignments were “too vague” and I felt I needed more direction. Looking back, I realize that what I really needed was more confidence to make my own artistic choices given the (often vague) parameters. Back then, I also felt that the other students in my class were better artists than me, and while it was probably true that I didn’t have as much experience with art as some of them, I didn’t allow myself to experiment or gain that experience.
Fast forward to 2014. My oldest son was just starting high school and my youngest was starting middle school. Nobody needed me to come in and volunteer in the classroom anymore, plan holiday parties for their classes, or plan PTA fundraisers. I needed something to fill my time, so I took a pottery class at the local art center. After that there was no turning back.
I was hooked. Boy was I hooked! I could take a shapeless lump of clay and make it into anything I wanted! How amazing was that?!? I mean, seriously? I have dabbled at various times in my life with oil painting, watercolor, jewelry making, sewing, quilting, knitting, crafting, etc. Although I had pursued each of those arts for some amount of time, I eventually moved on to something else.
But pottery was different. After that initial pottery class at the art center, I found a pottery instructor at the local university annex who allowed some students to repeatedly audit her intermediate pottery class. We were not taking the class for a grade and didn’t need to attend class. We could, however, take advantage of open studio hours and make whatever we wanted. I did attend her class though, because the instructor would give demonstrations and provide instruction on the pottery wheel during that time. I realized that she was a master potter who had raised her children and supported her family solely by making pottery and I wanted to soak up as much of her knowledge as I could. She was an amazing resource. I also watched a lot (hundreds? thousands?) of pottery videos online. I took a Raku class to learn about that technique (and realized it was not for me). And I started signing up for week-long pottery workshops taught by different master potters around the country.
As my pottery improved, and started piling up at home, I opened an Etsy shop online and was juried into the gift shop at the same local art center where I took my first pottery class. I also entered my work in juried art shows at that art center. It buoyed my spirit (and self confidence) when people purchased my work. I began to think that just maybe I could make this into a career. After all, Grandma Moses started her painting career at 78, and I was a bit younger than that!
When my pottery instructor at the local university annex decided to retire, I knew times were a-changing, so I decided to convert my craft room, which I hardly ever used anymore, into a pottery studio. I bought a wheel and a kiln. I had a sink installed. I set up some old tables I had and covered them in canvas. My son found some tall shelving units along the side of the road. It wasn’t pretty, but it was functional.
And I started making things in my home studio. I learned how to use Twitter (and later Instagram) to promote myself. I started selling in local craft fairs and art markets. My Etsy business even got a boost one year when Etsy featured my llama air plant holders on their social media pages. That was exciting! I still struggle with self confidence and often suffer from imposter syndrome, but I am never happier than when I’m in my pottery studio making things.
I want to make things that I enjoy making regardless of if I think anyone will purchase it or not. I mostly make whimsical, but functional, pottery. Lately I have branched a bit out into the art-for-art’s-sake world of pottery and am toying with the idea of making wall art, sculpture, hanging art, etc. We’ll see where that takes me.
I still get that same rush that I got during my very first pottery class every time I sit down with a brick of clay and think about all the things in the universe that it could become! I get excited when I come up with an idea and start working it out in my sketchbook. Opening the kiln and seeing all the pretty colors of my finished pieces brings me joy beyond measure. It may sound ridiculous, but it’s true! I never want to do anything else.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started selling my pottery because it started piling up at home. Really! What was I going to do with it all? I set up a storefront on Etsy. I got my pottery juried into a brick-and-mortar gallery art shop. I entered it into art exhibits. I started selling at craft fairs and art markets. At first I didn’t know if people were going to buy it, but they did. And that, along with the fun of it all, made me want to make even more pottery!
I believe art should be accessible to everyone and that everyone should own at least one piece of art. I also only want to create pottery that I enjoy making, which means it needs to be fun, colorful and bring me joy. With this in mind, I make mostly whimsical, but functional pottery that “regular” people will want to have and use in their homes. I want to make things that bring people as much joy when they see or use it as it brought me making it. I feel that everything is better if it is colorful, fun, and makes you smile.
Like other ceramic artists, I put my whole self into my work. As such, my pottery reflects my belief that art should be accessible and make people smile. It reflects my sense of whimsy and fun. No matter who you are, there is always room for at least one piece of colorful and whimsical pottery in your life and I want to provide that.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
This is a question that I can relate to, and to which I struggle to form a coherent answer. I am married to a physicist. He is a brilliant man, but he really does not understand or appreciate art. He would be happy living in a beige house with beige furnishings! He has always been supportive, but doesn’t get excited when I show him something I’ve made. He doesn’t understand why I want to have art in our home and in our lives; why it is important.
Art is important because it is an expression of someone’s self – of who they are as a whole. It is the sum of their life experiences since conception. As humans, we all feel the same emotions and experience the same ups and downs – the same joys and tragedies. The events surrounding and details of those ups and downs may differ, but no one – not even the rich and famous – is immune. Art is a way to understand that someone else has felt what you feel or experienced what you are experiencing. It is a reminder that the human condition, and spirit, is universal and that you are not alone. Art can comfort you during the downs and buoy you during the ups.
The art you choose to have in your life is also a reflection of who you are; of the sum of your life experiences since your conception. As such, art can help others better understand who you are. It can foster connection between people. Connection is something that as humans, we all need.
Lastly, art is pretty. It livens up your living space, cheers your office, and makes public spaces more enjoyable. Put simply, art makes people happy and that is extremely important.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
For me, the thing I had to unlearn was making pottery for other people instead of for myself. I realized this a number of years ago when Etsy featured my llama air plant holders on several of their social media pages. Suddenly, I had A LOT of customers wanting to purchase my llamas, so I took down a bunch of preorders. And then the tedium and stress set in. I was making the same item over and over – sculpting the same llama body parts and painting the same patterns on them. It got horribly boring. And tedious. And the joy I got from working with clay completely vanished. All of this made me feel stressed. It was quite a while before I was able to joyfully make another llama air plant holder.
This experience made me realize that I never want to feel stress and boredom when making pottery. I always want to feel excitement and joy. To accomplish this, I decided to make what I want, when I want to. If I stop feeling joy, I take a break from pottery and try something new for a bit. I always come back to pottery though and I always find joy again!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ZenCatPottery.etsy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zencatpottery2/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZenCatPottery/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margie-sarrao-85638592/
- Twitter: https://x.com/ZenCatPottery
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/sarrao/_saved/
Image Credits
John Sarrao
Joseph Sarrao
Adrienne Eliades