Meet Olivia Avery

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

Olivia, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic stemmed from growing up in a large family that all relied on each other to move through life. Both of my parents were working like dogs to give us kids food, a home, education, and arenas to dream. My grandparents on both sides emulated this as well. Time spent with either set of grandparents was often spent working and playing, in equal measure or more work! As a kid, it was not my favorite way to spend time. But the rewarding feeling you would get when you did finish a huge project was amazing. My parents were passionate about all of us kids working together as a team for household chores and outdoor projects and landscaping. But the work ethic really took off when I got my first job at 14 years old. I found out that I could get paid for doing this “Work” I had been doing all my life! It became a bit of an addiction, one i still struggle with to this day! In college I worked my way through, paying for my schooling and afterward decided I was only going to work. Not make art. I hadn’t been able to marry the two yet. But what i found was that I worked harder and better at things i loved, or that connected me with people. I worked my hardest trying to get people to see the beauty and pain i saw in life. I wondered if i could make Art work and work for me. Work became this strange thing of expressing myself and being able to fund my life on it. It seems every few years I get to re-identify or reinvent what my “work” and “work ethic” look like as I dive deeper into myself, my artwork, anti-capitalism, and sustainability.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a clay artist from Memphis TN. I never intended to be a clay artist, I came to accidentally in college. A few classmates were taking a hand buliding class and told me if i wanted to hangout I had to be in the studio clay class, I agreed. Fast forward to now, clay is where I spend most of my physical and mental energy everyday. I owe those friends. My current bread and butter is wheel thrown pottery, surface adorned with plant motifs. This work is special because it’s mine! i’ve been working with clay for 10 years and have in the last 3 years started making work I want to make. Work that feels honest and truthful. Clay is a strange material that has been a close friend these last ten years. But i learn more about her everyday it seems. I work out of a private studio detached from my house. I am currently really passionate about a few of the rabbit holes im traveling down. My work has taken on some new color and texture avenues i cant wait to explore further. I do most of my work on the road, I travel all over the US showing and selling work. A goal of mine in the next year or two is to cycle in selling online a bit more. Speaking of which I just dropped a green line on my site is anyone is interested and will be dropping a new batch of work August 6th 🙂

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Hmmm. This is a great question. I know people will not like this answer but working in areas that are not art related. Working in the service industry primarily. The ability to talk to people, to perform, or express, is a lifelong skill that was honed in a restaurant. Work ethic is a really important skill too and in my mind this ties into working for yourself. I know not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur but work ethic is vital when running your own business. The structure, the ability to meet deadlines, client interactions, organization, and scheduling, it all ties into how hard you work. – Clay (mostly wheel throwing) is a testament to most folks work ethic as well. Work ethic permeates such huge parts of our lives. And finally I would say compassion. The development of a compassion practice has been pivotal for my work. Compassion towards others, sure. But compassion towards myself. When you are out here bleeding art, living life, expressing all the time, you have to come back to tend to yourself out of pure love. The burn out, the stress, the fill in the blank, that causes the resistance or inflammation is a lack of compassion towards ourselves. I am learning this in real time, this idea is very new for me but what i’ve implemented out of compassion and rewarded me tenfold.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

They didn’t buy us shit. Now, I did grow up in a family that had 10 children, all in the same house. One working parent, we were very poor. But what my parents taught us about work and responsibility i find myself teaching my friends and partner. The idea that you can make it out there in the world without financial help from anyone is daunting. But people do it everyday. I had to buy my first car. No allowance. And when you got a car you had to buy gas, pay for insurance, and you cant go anywhere without a cell phone, so you pay for that too. You want something fancy? You buy it. You want some bubble gum from the drugstore? bring your quarters. The idea was that you value things and opportunities differently when you pay for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://OliviaAveryArt.com
• Instagram: OliviaAveryArt