Meet Leonia Mckoy

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leonia Mckoy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leonia below.

Hi Leonia, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I remember it was a week day morning after dropping the kids at school I drove for at least an hour to see a client. My husband made sure the boxes with my ceramic pieces were stacked carefully in the car. We were very low on funds and school fee was outstanding. On the plus side, I had pieces to be sold. I introduced myself to the owner of a certain establishment and unloaded my art pieces for him to see. Luckily for me, he had an interest in art and one piece caught his fancy. However he wanted ‘a steal’ and hoped I could accommodate such. Since he was the boss and he was at work I could not have his undivided attention for long periods. I had to wait for him as he went back and forth, chit- chatting and appearing busy at times for me to know what price he was willing to pay. After about two to three hours he came and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. He counted two thirds of the cost from his pile and handed it to me and returned what remained to the safety of his pocket. In a firm tone he told me I could take it our leave it; that was his offer. I felt cheated but at least it could clear the school fee; I thought, so I took it with a heavy heart and continued with my day.
When I got home my husband was very perturbed by my business acumen. An emergency meeting was called to assess the situation. He was not happy that I sold myself short when I worked so hard. We needed to be clear that though our financial situation might have been dire, we were not desperate. The message I sent indirectly to the client was harmful for future business and I should not allow myself to fall prey to such schemes again. I had to sit with my business and decide what was the lowest I could sell a piece for and still be profitable. He made sure I understood that he is there to support whatever I decided.
The events of that day did something in me; my husband helped me to value my worth more. I learned that my reaction or solution to a similar scenario must take into account the long term impact of my actions even in my business. Taking the time to make pieces of great quality and dexterity requires much time, physical and mental exertion; the returns I receive are priceless. The positive response and appreciation that I see people give to my work has also helped to influence the growth of my confidence and self esteem.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I can’t say when I knew art would be my occupation, I just know that daily I am bombarded with images that I must convert to three dimensional pieces made from clay whose final destination is in someone’s space of choice. Persons can be entertained by beauty; as lines, shapes and forms move in a harmonious rhythm to entice the viewer’s eyes and emotion and find pleasure in caressing such fine work of art.
Having gone to Wolmer’s High School for Girls’ allowed me to be exposed to a high quality art program which aided the development of my artistic desires. I subsequently went to Edna Manley College Of The Visual And Performing Arts where I was introduced to ceramics and that was ‘love at first touch.’ Clay, being such a versatile material afforded me the ability to be creative in a myriad of ways.Having left the Art school in2001, I continue to make exquisite art pieces from clay that are suitable for home and office spaces, they also make excellent executive gifts.
Over the years my pieces have warmed the hearts of many and added value to various spaces such as The Bank of Jamaica, Bank of Nova Scotia, Sagicor, Guardian Life and others locally and internationally. It is my desire to use ceramics as a tool and monument of encouragement to inspire life to those who may be discouraged and feel hopeless and bring light and transformation to physical spaces.

The Butterfly series

I am pleased to inform about a series I have been working on for some years now. The ‘Butterfly’ series is inspired by the metamorphosis of the butterfly; changing from a creeping, crawling creature and then curling itself into the casing of the chrysalis where it seems to be in a comatose state for a while. This crucial state of inactivity can easily be interpreted as death. Suddenly, from this state, a beautiful winged creature emerges all crumpled and clumsy but with constant pumping of those wings, blood is distributed evenly to all the veins and causes the wings to become smooth and flat. This brings us to the final stage where the butterfly is no longer earth-bound; it now has the ability to fly. As the butterfly gets nectar from plants for its food, it distributes pollen. This helps fruits, vegetables and flowers to produce more seeds.
The Butterfly serves to motivate us that though things and times can be tough today and we feel like we are just creeping, crawling and even ridiculed we should never give up. Should we keep going we will emerge to impact various lives as we navigate our daily journey. We all have key roles to play, crucial purposes to fulfill in this life.

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?

When I was at Wolmer’s High School for Girls’ I maintained high grades in the subject Art. My friend Carie-ann or myself would be the ones to get the highest grades in the class. Later I went to college and the level of talent I saw was unbelievable. A ‘C’ was my first grade in college and it had me questioning my sense of belonging in such an institution, my confidence was smashed and for the first time in my life, Art was a struggle. It certainly was a ‘bed of rose’ going through Art school; the thorns were more visible than the petals at times. In second year I specialized in ceramics and I began enjoying the practical part of college more than the theoretical side. I remember one Art history class my teacher announced publicly that I got the highest grade; had she said it privately I would have been more comfortable, but this public announcement was now present for every written assignment thereafter. I found discipline in that period of my life. Discipline became a crucial quality and that became a turning point in my life. It took more out of me to get my written pieces done: you know, being in the studio was far more enjoyable but I could not jeopardize the integrity of the ‘public announcement’ previously made. By the end of the 4 years at the Edna Manley College Of The Visual and Performing Arts School, I topped my class. I knew it was not because I was the most skillful: I realized I had to work assiduously to complete assignments and be discipline to fulfil requirements, unfortunately my gifted batch mates were not all disciplined in this area.
Working hard is a quality that has been impactful in my journey. Texture is one of the element of design that is very prominent in my pieces. Sometimes the process to achieve such can be a very tedious one. One technique requires me to fill a large surface area with small clay balls; those clay beads must be applied one by one. I love what the finished piece looks like and yes the process is long but each bead applied takes me closer to the desired end. I keep a visual of that end product at the front of my mind and do what I need to do to bring that art work into being.
Gratitude is the third quality I would like to highlight in my life. Life is layered with good and bad times. It is easy to become overwhelm with all the challenges we face daily and the unpleasant parts can really darken our days. Gratitude is like flicking on the light switch in these areas. Being deliberate about looking for the things that are going right in our lives (and you can always find even one thing) will light our path, allow you to balance your emotions and give hope for tomorrow. It doesn’t matter how bad things get, the fact that we are alive is enough for us to be thankful.
My advice to upcoming artist is to spend time polishing their skill so that it shines bright in their own eyes. This will boost their confidence in presenting it to world. Being gifted is not enough: like the tortoise and the hare you might not have to exert as much effort to accomplish a job as oppose to someone with less talent; however, you must train yourself to be disciplined in putting in the necessary labor needed to fulfil a task. One should also develop a mind-set of ‘no excuses:’ take responsibility for your actions and bring solutions.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

I remember during the early years of our marriage one morning I accompanied my husband to work. We entered the lunch room (sort of a leisure informal room) where I was staying for about two hours before carrying on with my day. Upon arrival I was introduced to a colleague of his who was seated in the room. He proceeded to introduce me and her countenance lit up the minute the word ‘wife’ left my husband’s mouth she also had an eager hand extended for a hand shake. She said she really wanted to meet this ‘wife’ that my husband wont shut up about. She went on to tell me how he regularly speaks about his wife who cooks well, sews and is a talented artist. This is one of many memorable moments for me because in that moment I felt affirmed and I was honored to be Mrs. Mckoy.
My husband of 21 years constantly challenges me to be a better version of my current self as a woman, an artist, a wife and a mother. Among other things our daily devotions encourages me to know the God I serve and serve the God I know. My self confidence is stimulated when I know what my creator has to say about me and I make sure what I am saying to myself is not contradicting what he says about me. As a ceramic artist I had to debunk the idea that I had no control or guarantee over a piece making it safely through the firing process. Changing my mind-set about such has led me to research and seek audience with experienced potters (namely Donald and Belva Johnson – senior Jamaican potters) who helped me with developing a reliable clay body that is conducive to my way of doing ceramics. Also, I had to be consistent with my glaze recipes and my firing (baking) schedule. As a wife I’ve had to be clear about my role in our marriage and know how to play and seek to find ways to always improve in this area. As a mother I had to be aware of the various stages my children were in and how to nurture and care for them. I know I am co-parenting them to one day be independent of us and to be adults who live very purposeful lives hence, all my actions now are very intentional. Having said all this, I make time for reading, listen to programs that uplifts me, I guard those I allowed in my space and for how long. My time is valuable and so is my self worth. Those who speak in my life also have to affirm my worth, offer constructive criticism and have a desire to be better versions of themselves. I am the manager of my life, discipline has been a faithful partner and excuses have failed to find a thriving environment in my space.

Contact Info:

• Website: n\a
• Instagram: @leoniamckoy
• Facebook: leonia.ceramicart
• Linkedin: Leonia’s pottery
• Twitter: n\a
• Yelp: n\a
• Soundcloud: n\a
• Other: email: [email protected]