Meet Molly Glover

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

Hi Molly, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Throughout my life, I have always found myself drawn to creative pursuits. Initially, I believe it was for my own exploration, but now it is the way I understand the world around me. I started my artistic journey with a love for drawing and painting. Along the way, I have tried printmaking, pottery, photography, and a variety of crafts. Again and again, I found myself being inspired by my environment and the lives of those around me. This resulted in lots of portraits and landscapes which I would share with loved ones. I thought that this passion for the arts was best expressed through teaching. Due to this, I shifted my focus from my own creations to that of others when I taught elementary and middle school art. After two years of teaching, this path no longer felt like the best way to way to reach my purpose. From there, I started making art part-time while working in the service industry. At this point of my life, I was living in Key, West, FL, where there are lots of galleries and creative spaces to explore. Throughout my time there, I continued to feel more and more fulfilled while creating and selling artwork. After about a year and a half of this, I decided it was time to take a leap of faith and create art full-time. Not only does creating and selling art continually challenge me to grow and adapt, but it also allows me to feel fulfilled and connected to the world around me. I think that in order to find one’s purpose, one needs to trust their gut feeling as to what fuels their spirit. I feel very fortunate to have found mine.

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

My main focus in life is my artistic career. For the past 2 years, I have been navigating turning my passion into a business. I have always spent my time creating things. Whether it be painting, drawing, or pottery, I have always used art as an outlet. Turning these creative outlets into an artistic career has been both challenging and immensely fulfilling. I always imagined that I would leave an impact on this world, but I never realized that this impact could be in the form of coffee mugs and soup bowls. There is something incredibly special about leaving bits and pieces of myself with those I meet. Thinking about how many people and families use one of my pieces of pottery in their everyday lives fills me with pride and connectedness. Although I wish I could solely focus on these positive aspects of being an artist, it would be dishonest to not mention that this career path has its fair share of struggles. Having art no longer be just a passion, but also my primary source of income, has put pressure on the end product rather than the creative process itself. I have had to find a balance between what is fulfilling creatively and what I need to produce to satisfy consumers. Although this career path is constantly evolving and changing, I have been very fortunate to have the unconditional support of my loved ones. Without them, I would not have been able to take the leap of faith needed to turn my passion into a career. Even though being an artist has its ups and downs, I would not want to do anything else. I have recently relocated to the White Mountains, in New Hampshire. I cannot want to see what this change of environment spurs in both my paintings and ceramic work.

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, I believe the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey were intuitiveness, determination, and open-mindedness. I believe intuitiveness was important to my path because I would not have known which career would allow me to reach my purpose without it. If someone is wondering which direction they should go in, I believe the best way to know this is to listen to your gut. This can be developed by paying attention to what makes one happy, fulfilled, and less stressed. Determination was essential in becoming a full-time artist. There are always set backs and challenges, regardless of what one chooses for their career, and determination is necessary in order to get through these. This can be developed by setting goals. It can also be helpful to lean on loved ones for support when one needs to refocus. Lastly, open-mindedness was necessary for my journey. Whether it be trying new forms of art or new sales techniques, being open has played a huge role in my artistic career. This can be developed by looking to others for advice, criticism, or inspiration.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I am feeling overwhelmed, I have found the best thing to do is seek nature. Whether it be a short nature walk, or long hike, I find that being outside is grounding. It allows one to take a step back and see the bigger picture. When one sees how connected the world around them is, it is easier to look at our own individual challenges in a less overwhelming way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MollyGloverPottery
• Instagram: @mollygloverart