We recently connected with Rebecca Sipper and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rebecca, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I learned to throw ceramics at Lillstreet Gallery in Chicago, Illinois. I signed up for beginner classes and spent a few years learning all the steps needed to create a quality piece of utilitarian pottery.
Pottery takes time, speed is your worst enemy. Drying takes time. Firing takes days.
Patience is key when working with clay. Mistake happen when you hurry. But the Allie’s for the creative part of the brain to work while you are making the vessel.
Taking time to practice every day can be an obstacle. Creating time every day will speed up the learning curve.
Rebecca, 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?
I have been drawing and creating my whole life. Ceramics were something unavailable to me during schooling years, so it drew me in as an adult.
After starting to burn my drawings to silk screens it seemed natural to print them in May three dimensional work.
Creating animals on paper and wood boards and transferring them to ceramics is how I created and grew my art.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Supporting an artist can be achieved in so many ways. Go to their shows. Tell friends about upcoming shows.
Online you can follow artists you enjoy. Purchase work of course. And share their work via social media.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Meeting people who find something moving in your work is rewarding in so many levels.
Talking to people who resonate with a specific animal is a great starting point. Connecting over amazing animal stories always leads to connections you might never have had the opportunity to create.
Image Credits
Rebecca Sipper