Meet Lisa And Jacob Holt-hodsdon And Hodsdon

We recently connected with Lisa And Jacob Holt-hodsdon And Hodsdon and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa and Jacob, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?

I think we have a similar early life experience in the sense that we both experienced situations that could be hard. Often without many of the comforts most kids around us had. Although some things were hard we both had individuals in our lives and families that were there when we needed them. We also both had family members that took chances and bet on them selves and each other. Unfortunately many people never get to witness examples like this .
We also share the the same risk of leaving home with just our vehicles at 18 the explore the country, which
Is how we eventually met in the southwest. Although this took some risk it was youthful risk and there wasn’t something waiting for us where we grew up.
In our twenties with our son in mind we got real jobs to offer stability. We didn’t give up the artistic side of our lives and still did some sales through shops locally but traveling and doing shows didn’t work with varsity sports or just our son wanting a normal life.
As our son turned 18 we decided to take the biggest risk, quitting our jobs and cashing in our retirement.
At that point we had to figure it out before people stopped loaning us money, it was hard at first but totally worth it. Often a great lesson in swallowing pride. It really shows how many great people are on your side, such a blessing.
One interesting thing is that you are always taking a risk it’s just who you are trusting you or someone else.
We choose to be responsible for our own risk.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

We make a sculptural version of Kokeshi.
Kokeshi are folk art dolls from Japan starting around 200 years ago. Traditional Kokeshi are typically a cylinder body with a spherical head. We choose to use burled and odd shaped pieces of wood. Giving more of a wabisabi feel, basically refining the wood without nullifying the natural aspects and beauty.
The ability to make art that makes so many people happy is the absolute best part of this Journey.
People often ask what our art means to us and the answer is relationships.
Starting with Lisa’s connection to Kokeshi from growing up. Lisa’s mother had a large collection that she brought over from Japan when she moved to the states. A beautiful memory of her mother.
My relationship with wood and the forest. Growing up in a second growth forest the trees were my best friends and often seemingly only friends. That relationship with the forest led to woodworking later in life and eventually Kokeshi. Then there’s our relationship with each other as husband and wife that happen to be business partners. When we finally present our finished work our collectors who many of which we have on going relationships with through shows and online. At this point they find their relationship with the Kokeshi. We have witnessed so many profound reactions to our work, it feels amazing to see tears come to a person’s eyes when seeing your creation nothing either of us had experienced before Kokeshi even though we have both made some sort of art most of our lives.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Aside from the necessary tools and skills to make whatever it is you make, in our case art.
I think a balance of believing in your work, ability to create it and be humble enough to learn from others. Sometimes thats a person with a skill sets you don’t have yet or haven’t developed fully. Sometimes that’s listening to the collector, sometimes it’s not taking advice. We find in most situations there is something to be learned from an interactions.
A piece of advice from a master Woodturner that was given to us many year ago the held true and changed our lives. “You can expect to get discovered in your studio” basically you have to get out there. The same person also told us that we needed to surround ourselves with the correct situation, organizations and people. Very good advice when we needed it.
About 5 years ago we received another piece of advice that was perfectly timed as these things often are. We were strading some of our Kokeshi with a potter we know. Besides being a really nice person he is the most successful artist we know personally. So this is someone I would listen to no matter what. He told us “chase money and you will always chase money, do the best work and the money will find you”. I know that he is correct about an artist career but I think this applies to almost anything.
One more if you feel that you are smarter than your teacher stop wasting your time and there’s.If you are smarter than you waste your time and if you are wrong you waste everyone’s time. No one is born a master.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

For both of us certain family members were so important in show us our value and potential but in my case my grandma who was always there. She raised 11 children and a few of us grandchildren. An amazing woman who grew up an orphan in Philadelphia during the Great Depression. There was always food on the table for anyone who should up. You could literally be walking by as a complete stranger and you were welcome. Her and my grandpa who is 102 now never had locks on the doors because if one of their 60 some kids grandkids and great grandchildren needed to come in it would always be open. This wasn’t just for relatives. They taught me the strength of kindness, if you something no matter how little you have something to share. We try to live this way, money is sometimes scarce but we are always provided for in our times of need.
(Lisa)- for me also it was family members, in this question it was my Uncle Bob on my father’s side.
As children my brother and I found ourselves homeless sometimes, between my mother who was having a difficult time adjusting to life in the US , she moved here when she was 35, also found herself quickly divorced. Also, our father having ptsd from his time in Korea during the war.
Uncle Bob saved us from being taken into foster care during one of those times of homelessness, I was 10 or 11 at the time.
He showed me how to believe, take risks and follow through on dreams which I think I also learned from my mother who, always took chances, shifted how she needed to make it as a single parent.
Even when she made the hard choices.
All of these steps that they took impacted me in various ways, staying focused and positive, Risk in believing in myself no matter what, taking chances and always move forward.

Thirdly is some one that we know now in our adult lives, our friend Steve who generously helped us go from renters to having a stable home and workshop. He has said of us “ I could see that you just needed to get a foot on the first wrung of the ladder”. We try not to disappoint a friend who has had so much faith in us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Hodsdonkokeshi.com
• Instagram: @hodsdon_kokeshi
• Facebook: @naomigallery

Image Credits

Lisa Holt-Hodsdon