We were lucky to catch up with Skye Bohmer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Skye thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

As I finished college I began working at a “paint your own pottery” shop. Right after I graduated, by the age of 23, I became the manager. Looking back now I can see how young and unprepared I was for the huge responsibilities I was taking on, but I learned a lot.

It was a real labor of love. blood, sweat and tears, quite literally. I did everything from cleaning bathrooms, loading kilns, painting custom pieces, repairs on old sculptures, teaching all ages… but the most important thing I learned was about people.

The people you choose to work with are the people who can make or break you. I was really fortunate to find and hire some incredible people. I feel very strongly about art as a community. You inspire each other, you learn, you grow; you change each other and by that you change your art. It’s beautiful.

College taught me that lesson as a student, but being responsible for a staff is quite different. You have to be firm but understanding. If you take care of people they will take care of you right back. I’m so lucky and thankful to have had these experiences, even the bad ones, because it is all a part of just being human – and that’s art, baby!

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?

My grandfather was an art teacher for 34 years, and the generations before and after him all had their own special areas of interest. Embroidery, quilting, hand painted holiday cards, Pysanky eggs, were just of the few things I was fortunate enough to encounter growing up. I couldn’t imagine a life without some kind of craft going at all times. Family was my first art community.

As a child I would spend hours sewing costumes for dolls and making “props” out of baking clay. I taught myself to knit when I was 15, creating some truly horrendous things along the way. I wish I still had them.

In college I was sort of a drift as far as majors go, leaning heavily toward Art History. My dear friend and roommate, Sam, let me snoop on her sculpture 1 projects. I’d always try to get my hands on them. Finally she told me: “just take the class, you’ll love the professor.” She was so right. I was a sculpture major by the end of the next semester.

14 years later I find myself in a much different place than I expected to. I work a full time job that doesn’t have much room for creativity, but we find a way, we artsy types. Having people who want to lift each other up and share things is how I was brought, along with my friends Janine and Brittany, into the incredible Lunar Faire community. Making something from the heart with your community in mind is a very powerful way of creating. There is really no better feeling than seeing someone pick up the thing you made and be EXCITED about it. Sharing a piece of yourself and finding the reciprocating piece in a stranger is an incredible way to find kindness and connection.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Community, caring, kindness.

Even if you can’t afford to purchase a piece from an artist you like you can help them by supporting them on social media, it helps spread awareness of their work to people who may not have seen it otherwise. Introduce your people to each other, you never know what kind of amazing things will happen from those connections. Celebrate the accomplishments of the people you care about, be there to help them when they call on you.

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

I struggle to find the energy a lot of the time, especially when I have an idea for something I’ve never tried before. I don’t often have space for my own mistakes, and very much have impostor syndrome.

Trying to “unlearn” the need for perfection and to instead allow my own style and voice to come through is something I think I will always feel anxious about. Working full time can be really draining, but I am trying to be better about taking the time to just make things for myself, even if it is a quick crappy doodle at a coffee shop. We all need to recharge to be able to keep moving forward. It’s easier to hear my own voice when I give it the opportunity with no expectations.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: renegades_handmade