Meet Gigi Reedy

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gigi Reedy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gigi, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

I’ve always been a fairly optimistic person but I don’t think it was until I really started learning about manifestation that it became a staple in my life. I believe we can help shape the world around us with our mindset. If you’re focusing on the negative then anything negative or hard that happens will serve as confirmation. And vice versa. If you’re optimistic and focus on the positive it becomes confirmation that things do work out. Of course, negative things are still going to happen but with practice it becomes a lot easier to see those moments as a small set back rather than the end all, be all.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been a ceramicist for about 3 years now professionally. I think what is really special about ceramics is that it can be a constant lesson in letting go of expectations. Pieces can crack and break, glazes can come out completely different than you thought, they can end up more wonky but it just becomes a part of it. It’s a good lesson to just go with the flow. And that mentality definitely bleeds over into my everyday life.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Number 1 is definitely, again, learning to let go. You can work on a piece for weeks and once it’s in the kiln, it’s up to the kiln gods now. The second may seem obvious but it took me a while to really lean into it. It’s to create when you’re feeling inspired. In the beginning of my career I would do a lot more catering to what I thought people wanted and just made a lot of pieces to make pieces. But as I’ve grown into this art more I’ve found that taking my time and letting inspiration hit creates work that I am really proud of and people tend to resonate with it a lot more. And on that note, my third quality is authenticity. Staying true to what I like to make has helped me grow in and out of my ceramics life.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

One of the most impactful things my parents did was encouraging us to always create, in any form. Growing up with four siblings, we were always drawing, building legos, doing arts and crafts, writing and performing little movies, the list goes on! And because of it, all four of us are creative in some way or another. A lot of us became artists. Coupled with the fact that they are endlessly supportive of anything we do. They really fostered an environment of play and creativity and trying new things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gigiceramicsshop.com/
• Instagram: @gigir_ceramics