Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Moz Rude. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Moz , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I first started attending undergrad in 2016, I was a Psych major. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to help people struggling with their mental health, because I was struggling with mine for what felt like my entire life. It did not take long before I dropped out thanks to a traumatizing event. I was in a deep dark place, and everything felt hopeless. The only meaning I could find in life was to be there for people who needed someone. To play a role in other peoples lives that I so desperately needed in my own life.

I did not want to try school again. I was scared. My parents strongly pushed me to go back to school, even though I wasn’t ready. It felt like I didn’t really have a choice, so when I bit the bullet to try again and enrolled somewhere else I decided to major in art. I took art classes in middle and high school and enjoyed them, but I never considered myself an artist let alone ever becoming one. It just never crossed my mind, not even when I moved my curser over the “Fine Arts” tab on my new undergrad application and clicked submit. It was a complete spur of the moment, and felt like a satisfying dig to my parents because I felt unheard. Little did I know that these few seconds of spite and unapologetic self indulgence was going to dramatically change the trajectory of my life and relationship with myself. And thank the universe I did.

Attempt at college number two began in 2017. This is where I fell in love with art and art history. But my mental health was struggling bad. I lasted almost two years at school number two before I ended up dropping out. Thanks to some more traumatic events and a lack of mental healthcare I desperately needed. I took a long break from school and moved to a different city trying to start over. I eventually enrolled in school number three at the very beginning of 2020, right before the pandemic. I did not declare art as my area of study. In an act of fear for my financial future, a lack of any kind of support and no idea what I was going to do with my life, I declared business management. Perhaps one of my greatest betrayals to myself. It was short lived as the pandemic hit and the partner I was living with at the time cheated on me, two great reasons to drop out and run back home to my parents place. So thats what I did.

I took yet another break from school. I felt hopeless about myself and my future again. When will this cycle ever end?! I kept thinking to myself. I just need a break. With so much time on my hands during lockdown, I picked up making art again. And being back home near the twin cities, I was closer to my friends. So I started feeling connected and supported again. And with that, I decided to enroll in school number four in the fall of 2020. Good grief. Yes Moz, good grief.

I enrolled at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls campus and declared my BFA in ceramics. Why ceramics? Who the hell knows! It was just what I was feeling at the time of filling out my application I guess. Given my history of not well thought out plans, it tracks. But this time, it was so different. I started working with a new therapist around the same time of starting up school again. I began healing, learning and growing so much in every area of my life. My friends became my chosen family, I was falling in love with art again, I felt supported by my professors and I finally came out as queer and nonbinary. I was so excited for myself for the first time in my life. I started having dreams that I was eager to follow. And then I got kicked out and was homeless for two months. But I just got my life together?! I JUST started figuring out who I am, what I want, and working towards that?! I JUST became hopeful. I was so angry. I felt like no matter what I did, my wings were just constantly clipped.

This time, I refused to betray myself again. I know myself now. I know what I want, I want to become an artist. I don’t care if I make no money and I don’t care if I’m labeled conventionally “unsuccessful”. This is worth it to me. This is my life, my voice, my purpose. So I persisted, and I worked hard on my classes but even harder in the studio. I started to find my style and leaned into it fully trusting myself. I took risks with my work and to many, with my life being an art major. It’s not risky to me. Yes, there is so much grief from and in my path. But to me, it’s good grief. My grief has become the source of my inspiration. The obstacles in my path were my path. I have overcome, and on the other side is good grief.

I graduated with my BFA in the spring of 2023. Before I graduated, I got hired by both Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN and the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI teaching ceramic classes which I continue to do to this day. Shortly after graduating, I was commissioned by the city of River Falls WI to paint a mural titled “Roadside Flowers” on their busiest intersection funded by a Community Challenge grant from AARP. I got an artist loft in the twin cities and continue to make and show work. I participated in ten exhibitions in 2024 across five states along with being published in Minnesota Monthly’s gift guide catalogue and having one of my mugs aired on Fox 9 Good Day.

I am looking forward to creating more work and hopefully exhibiting in some new places this year. I hope my story inspires you to fight for flight when your wings get clipped. Believe that you can change your life and the world with your voice and your art. The world is a more beautiful place when we persist in the face of adversity.

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?

Hey, my name is Moz! I am a queer nonbinary artist making pots and paintings in Saint Paul, MN. My porcelain pottery is all hand painted with slip (pigmented, liquid clay) and then finished with a clear glaze coat fired to cone 10 (that’s hot!). I have a lot of grief in my life, along with a lot of joy. I’m interested in the divinity of the human experience and the occult. Things like tarot, alchemical and illuminated manuscripts, spirituality and mysticism are the bulk of my source material/ inspiration. I think of my pots (and paintings) as an act of resilience and resistance against adversity (and injustice) in the form of self expression utilizing the visual language and symbolism from occult media in the middle ages. I hope my work imbues a sense of scintillating magic, along with enough mystery to make room for the beholder’s own projections. I feel as though I am vulnerably revealing yet still concealing the depths of my soul and experiences in my work.

I graduated with my BFA in ceramics from the University of Wisconsin- River Falls campus in the Spring of 2023. Since moving to Saint Paul I make my work from my home studio. I mostly sell work at in person shows/art events and through various galleries. Every once in a while I open up my web shop, which I hope to have more regular shop updates this year. I also teach ceramics at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN and the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI. Which is tons of fun! I absolutely love teaching the joy of clay.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to use my voice in many different ways. Some days, when my soul feels like sludge and reality feels squishy, I know that paint is going to capture how I’m feeling a little more accurately than how clay will. Other days, I know clay is going to be the medium that captures the screenshot of how my soul is feeling. I can even pick up a pen or a marker and capture something different in my voice that the medium picks up on. It’s fascinating and exciting to get to know yourself so deeply through a mirror that is opaque.

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

Yes! I wish I knew about Springboard for the Arts earlier. Last year, they received a grant that allowed Minnesotan artists to have a free consultation with one of their staff. I was able to have a zoom meeting and ask the big questions like “How do I get my work into museums?” and “How do I apply for grants?” and I was given helpful answers. They also have a job and opportunities board that can help you find calls for work and jobs that emphasize creative skills. I also learned with experience that getting involved in your local art community is really great! You make new friends and they are also resources that can offer critique or help you problem solve if you get stuck in your creative practice. Community is so important and us artists stick together! We are all on the same team, and there is joy and inspiration to be found in community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mozrude.com
• Instagram: @mozpotz
• Twitter: No Twitter / on BlueSky: @mozpotz