We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jazmin Evers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jazmin below.
Hi Jazmin, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Coming from a more traditional household, I would be lying if I didn’t say I got my work ethic from dad. My family had a beautiful balance between masculine and feminine energy. Mom worked hard during the day but would come home once I got out of school and would be there to nurture: feeding and loving my sister and I, always making sure we had what we needed for our spirit. Dad would teach elementary school during the day, come home and relax in his recliner and read the newspaper for an hour or two then go teach night school at a community college I eventually attended, Imperial Valley College. Arguably one of the best colleges I’ve ever attended because of the amazing staff.
He didn’t just teach, the school and kids were a part of him. He created a “gator pit” at Harding Elementary which was a boot camp style jungle gym. Athletics were important and at recess he would go out and time the kids to see how fast they could get through the gator pit for whoever wanted to participate. There was always a line. He created the “globe” which was a an oversized representation of the earth which I helped paint and still stands on the school grounds today. He had fun ways of teaching which included the famous “HUM” where when he needed the students to be quiet he would start a loud “hummmm” noise and the kids would all follow until he expressively pointed his finger down and they would all get perfectly quiet. The kids loved it. He also built a wood working station which he would bring in and out of the classroom every day and yell “Lady with a baby!” as he rolled it out. He also would take the kids on random field trips in his red Volkswagon Thing to places like the Air Show and the river to go fishing. Back then you could do that with no real issues as long as the kids were safe.
Dad also learned perfect Spanish for fun. My mom is Mexican so it served him well and the kids and adults he taught were almost all Mexican and from predominantly rough backgrounds. As much hope and work ethic as my dad instilled in me, they got it too. I have adults to this day who were in his 5th grade class and they come up to me and ask if I’m “Mr. Evers daughter.” Honorably I say yes. They tell me that they love him and he saved their life. I never ask how and try not to cry hearing that. I even had a lady who was his former student ask once if he was single to which I reply with a laugh, “Sorry, he’s married to my mom.” That’s how much he impacted peoples lives.
How do I know what happened in his classes? Well, at a super young age there wasn’t always child care and he would take me to school. I would sit in the back of the class and draw while he taught and at recess his 5th grade students would play with me and take care of me. None of which would be allowed today. I also know firsthand because he was MY 5th grade teacher. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
The craziest part about all this is that he would come home from work and still be my dad. He would be as happy coming home as he was when he left in the morning. The gratitude he has for helping people and being a father figure in the family is incredible. This is where I get my work ethic from. I will always try my best to impact people in a positive way which is why I teach pottery and enjoy the process of eventually being able to help provide for a family, no matter how hard it gets. And most of all, I want to make mom and dad proud of who I’ve become because of their hard work and dedication to our community and family. I will never let them down.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
As a kid we are constantly asked what we want to be when we grow up and I honestly had no idea. I always admired my dad being a woodworker and knew I wanted to do something more hands on like him. I knew I couldn’t sit in an office and I wasn’t great at Math so I couldn’t be an accountant or anything like that. So in high school when I had two choices of classes: Ribbon Dancing or Welding I decided to try welding and to my surprise I was good at it! I loved the extreme heat, the way you can melt two pieces of molten metal together and make structurally sound pieces. My teacher Mr. Pritchard would bring in horse trailers that we would repair and when I later saw that same trailer cruising down the road in my small town, the pride I felt that I had worked on it was amazing. At age 15 I made my first Santa Maria style BBQ and Mr. Pritchard told me to show it in the fair. I ended up winning 500$ and back then I felt like I could retire because I was a millionaire! It was an amazing feeling.
I went on to get a degree in welding and received many different certifications including pipe and overhead. I loved it but the problem was that I loved surfing and being in the sun so being in full gear all day was bringing me down. I then took a pottery class and the teacher was awesome. Mr. Pfeiffer pushed me to my pottery limits, nothing was impossible. I also made friends with the student aid and got as involved as I could with the art and I couldn’t stop. Next thing I knew, I was applying to colleges to get my BFA in Ceramics.
After receiving my BFA I wanted to become a professor and get my MFA but Covid hit and I felt like my dreams were destroyed. The school put hard restrictions on us to the point where I couldn’t do my student show or walk when I graduated. I was devastated. I realized if I wanted to become a teacher I might just have to do it myself so I did. I have now been teaching adult group classes and occasionally teach children as well. I had one 15 year old student I taught for years and watching her grow and improve from my teaching was a reward I will always cherish.
Dad instilled in me to be creative while also giving back to my community so my goal in life is to do just that. I love making anything from pots and bowls on the potters wheel to my little mini fridge magnet pots which are my best seller. I also love doing sculptural work such as my Dragon and Whale Chalices.
The most exciting part of what I do would definitely be teaching and watching my students improve. Clay itself is a wonderful teacher, as there are a million things that can go wrong during the process. My students get humbled pretty quickly when a piece they’ve been working on breaks or doesn’t turn out the way they’d hoped. It’s such a beautiful life lesson and as potters we learn to keep moving forward always. If something doesn’t work out we ask ourselves whether we can fix it, turn it into something else or smash it into tiny pieces and try again.
Another exciting thing about what I do is that people are willing to pay for the pieces I make. It is one of the most honorable things to know that people appreciate your work so much they’re willing to spend their hard earned money on it. They will be drinking or eating out of it or displaying it for others to see. The feeling I get when an item sells, big or small gives me a sense of gratitude that is indescribable.
My goal is to make pottery while supporting my community back home in El Centro, CA as well as where I live now in Long Beach, CA. But the reality is that I can’t do it without my communities support and I just want to thank everyone who has been there for me along this journey as there’s no way I could do it without you.
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?
Looking back, the three things I wish someone would have told me is that:
1. Do something you love, regardless of the amount of money you might get. If you love it and are good at it, the money will come.
I wanted to be a welder, the money was insane, especially as a woman but I was not happy about being in full gear. Pottery allowed me to do something I loved while wearing whatever I wanted and being able to step outside, check on the kiln, sit in the sun for a bit then come back in and keep working. If you’ve ever done pottery you know that sometimes you need to just walk away, take a breather and come back and try again.
2. If you’re not sure what you want to do as a career, try everything. Also, try things that might not be something you’re super interested in. This is what I did in college and I’m so happy I did. I took a Political Science Class at Imperial Valley College and the teacher was so amazing, she had been honored so highly that the Blue Angels asked her to fly with them. I can see why.
Also, once I realized I was going to start my own pottery business I took a Business and Economics class which just the thought of it made me uncomfortable. I hate the idea of asking people for money for my products, it is such an awful feeling for me but the reality is that clay isn’t free and I would somehow have to fund my work. The class ended up being taught by two lawyers (crazy, right?) and ended up being one of the most interesting and fun classes I’ve ever taken. The lawyers split the class time so we could have two different views and not create bias opinions. I thought that was amazing.
3. Have fun and keep going.
If you’re not having fun, why do it? Something you do for the rest of your life should bring you the ultimate joy. Times will get hard, you won’t always make tons of sales, some days will be better than others but just keep going. Giving up is not an option, get your 10,000 hours in. It will eventually pay off.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The book that played the most important role in my development is one that I ready recently, titled, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie. It is my life bible and I take it everywhere. The reality is that we are all humans, and humans have unconscious habits.
For example, when we introduce ourselves to someone new we almost never listen to their names. Did you know that the sound of your name is the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard? Because we naturally love our names, it is so important to listen and use peoples names. It will get their attention and make them feel like you’ve known each other forever, making them more comfortable with you which is great for relationships and of course business.
Did you know that we “spend about 95% of our time thinking about ourselves?” What can we do with this information? Talk about the other person of course! If we can stop thinking about ourselves for just a minute and ask about the other person, you can trust that they will start loving you and appreciate the fact that you care about them enough to talk about them.
Another simple tip from the book is to smile. This is a wonderful tip for numerous reasons. One is that if you smile, your own body will start thinking you are happy, even if you’re not. Also, smiling is contagious so if you’re smiling there is a good chance the people around you will also smile. Smiling is such a simple and beautiful thing people take for granted and it could completely change a persons day.
Lastly, the best part of the “tricks” in this book is that they will not work unless you are genuine. Maybe there’s someone you don’t get along with well at work. You would find something that you genuinely like about them. Perhaps they have nice hair and you can tell they took time to curl it. If you compliment them on their hair, asking them how they got it that way, etc. (genuinely of course), they will be happy, they will love that you asked and you both might have a better day at work because of it. It’s little tips like this that can improve your quality of life while making others be naturally attracted to your energy, creating better relationships and therefore better business.
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