We recently connected with Tatjana Kunst and have shared our conversation below.

Tatjana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was probably about 16 when i really decided to pursue art as career and not just a passionate hobby. I worked for my parents on the weekends at there salon and realized very quickly that anything outside of the creative field would make me miserable.

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?

I started my journey with clay at the age of 6 at my grandmothers 70th birthday party. My “Beppe” had her party at a local pottery studio in the north of the Netherlands where she lived. I made a little mini bowl and i still have it today. I didn’t work with clay until 10 years later when I took an elective in my high school. They only offered it every few years so I was the MOST excited that it worked with my required class schedule. I was always an artistic kid but from the moment I put my hands in clay I KNEW this was my medium. After high school I went to the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and majored in, you guessed it, Ceramics and graduated in 2015. After graduating I moved back home with my parents worked for them at their spa and salon while teaching at a community studio and making some pieces here and there.

In January 2018 I had an accident that put my life on hold for a while, I was hit by a car that sped through a red light as i was crossing the street in Manhattan. This accident shattered my lower left leg and left collarbone. I was in bed for about 4 months, the recovery was slow. This accident changed my perspective on life and i decided to attend cosmetology school as hair was something i always loved and i saw it as a new medium to learn. I was feeling ok and had accepted walking with a cane and the pain was just part of life. In August 2018 About 2 months into school I found out that my bones had never properly healed in my leg and they needed to redo my surgery and take a bone graft. I spent my 25th birthday recovering and I was unable to create or go back to school until September 2019.

In the late fall of 2019 my Beppe gifted me money for my birthday which combined with some savings allowed me to finally purchase my own wheel and so I started to throw myself into my clay practice while finishing cosmo school. When covid and lockdown happened I was so grateful to have everything i needed in my home and be able to continue making. I truly dont know if my sanity would have remained intact without my clay practice in 2020.

Throughout covid and 2021 i feel that i was able to really delve into my practice and find my aesthetic with my work. I now work 3 days in a salon specializing in textured creative cuts and color, the rest of my days are dedicated to my creative practice. Ive since branched into other mediums including collage, fiber, and gardening design though ceramics will always be my primary medium.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2022 i developed tendinitis in both my thumbs from the repetitive movements of throwing on the wheel and carving clay. i had to take a 6th month break and really figure out a game plan with my work. because of this i started doing more hair and branching into collage and prints. My busiest season is the fall when people are gifting so over the past two years Ive decreased my monthly website restocks and veered more towards in person sales at my local farmers markets from late summer through December. I want to be able to create for the rest of my life so though it’s frustrating to have to limit how much i make my hands and health have to be happy for the long term.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Hearing feedback and having people come back to my shop expressing how much they love their mug or planter and how it brings them joy in their everyday life is such a magical feeling. In my hair practice making people feel beautiful or teaching them to love and thrive with their natural hair has been incredibly rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: mermudstudio.com
• Instagram: @mermudstudio @tkunsthair